A measurement campaign was performed for characterizing the neutron ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), in selected positions at ISA, Aarhus, Denmark, around the ASTRID and ASTRID2 storage rings. The ...neutron stray radiation field is characterized here by very intense radiation bursts with a low repetition rate, which result in a comparatively low average H*(10) rate. As a consequence, devices specifically conceived for operating in pulsed neutron fields must be employed for efficiently measuring in this radiation environment, in order to avoid severe underestimations of the H*(10) rate. The measurements were performed with the ELSE NUCLEAR LUPIN 5401 BF3-NP rem counter, a detector characterized by an innovative working principle that is not affected by dead time losses. This allowed characterizing both the H*(10) and the time structure of the radiation field in the pre-selected positions.
A novel method for measuring particle multiplicity correlations is presented. The method takes reduced acceptance and detection efficiency into account, in a purely statistical manner. The method ...does therefore not require any information from simulations - only knowledge of the detectors capability. The method provides the ability to measure forward-backward particle multiplicity correlations with high accuracy and negligible bias. The validity of the method is provided through numerous simulations. The correlation values calculated from carefully selected detection acceptances and efficiencies are compared to the correlation values at the event-generator level. Further validity to the method is given by incorporating different event generators into the simulations. Although the emphasis is on fwd-bwd correlations, the method can be extended to other multiplicity correlation measurements.
In the original ridge tillage system as practiced in the US Corn Belt, ridges are formed during the growing season. Several studies have documented that this can reduce leaching of nutrients and ...improve fertilizer efficiency. This study was conducted to determine whether ridges formed in autumn can be used as an alternative to ploughing to reduce N leaching during autumn and winter, and thereby increase growth and N uptake of a subsequent unfertilized crop. A factorial field experiment with tillage and residues as factors was conducted during 1998–2000. Tillage treatments were autumn ridging and ploughing. Residue treatments were stubble, stubble
+
straw and stubble
+
liquid manure in order to create a gradient of C/N ratios. From the time of harvest until planting of a subsequent barley crop (
Hordeum vulgare L.), inorganic N was determined 11 times in 1998–1999 and 10 times in 1999–2000 in the 0–10, 10–30, 30–60 and 60–90
cm soil layers. Growth and N uptake of barley was quantified nine times in both 1999 and 2000. Barley grain and straw yields were determined. Ridging resulted in lower levels of inorganic N in the 30–90
cm soil layer in November and a significantly higher level of inorganic N in the 0–30
cm soil layer in late April, indicating reduced leaching and increased N availability for the subsequent crop. Ridging significantly increased growth, yield and N uptake of barley whereas incorporation of straw generally reduced growth, yield and N uptake. It is concluded that ridging in autumn has a N conserving effect, and it is suggested that the potential of ridging in autumn as an alternative to ploughing is further investigated in detailed studies of solute movement, N immobilization/mineralization and crop performance.
Kemink subsoiling before and after planting Henriksen, Christian Bugge; Rasmussen, Jesper; Søgaard, Carsten
Soil & tillage research,
2005, 2005-1-00, Letnik:
80, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Kemink exact soil management system is a non-inversion soil management system based on subsoiling, ridges and controlled traffic. Previous studies have documented benefits of the Kemink system ...used in its entirety, but the isolated effect of Kemink subsoiling has not been investigated before. To determine the isolated effect of Kemink subsoiling before and after planting two field experiments in sugar beet and barley were conducted in 1999 and 2000 under low nutrient input conditions in a conventional soil management system without recognized compaction problems. Kemink subsoiling after planting generally showed a negative effect on the growth and yield of both crops, whereas subsoiling before planting increased sugar beet yield from 8.4 to 9.5
t
ha
−1 and sugar beet nitrogen uptake from 48.5 to 57.4
kg
ha
−1. There was no effect of subsoiling before planting on the grain yield of barley. The negative effect of subsoiling after planting was more pronounced in 1999 than in 2000, and more pronounced in spring barley. The study shows that Kemink subsoiling after planting involves a significant risk of crop damage and cannot be expected to improve crop performance in conventional soil management systems in its current form, whereas Kemink subsoiling before planting may have potential as a measure to increase yield of sugar beet and possibly other row crops too, under low nutrient input conditions.
The Kemink Exact Soil Management System is an alternative soil tillage system developed in Germany between 1970 and 1980. It is based on subsoiling, ridges and controlled traffic. All tillage ...operations are performed with the special Kemink implements. The soil management system rests on an alternative perception of tillage and soil fertility, which is controversial within both conventional and organic farming. The system has not previously been subjected to experimental comparisons with conventional tillage systems. In this study, the Kemink System and a modified version including ploughing after grass/clover mixtures were compared with a conventional tillage system based on ploughing. A factorial field experiment was conducted in 1998-2000 including tillage systems, crop rotations (barley-grass/cloversugarbeet vs. barley-potato-sugarbeet) and fertilization. The experiment showed that it was often difficult to establish a proper seedbed with the Kemink implements which resulted in reduced crop emergence. Furthermore weed pressure increased during the experiment due to insufficient weed control. Subsoiling only had a loosening effect on the soil in one crop rotation where soil penetration resistance was reduced. Despite a looser soil, there was no general impact on crop yield. There was, however, a positive crop yield development over time showing that the yield in the Kemink System changed from being relatively lower in 1998 and 1999 to the same level as in the traditional tillage system in 2000. In non-manured plots there was a tendency to higher yields in the Kemink System in 2000 and this difference was significant for sugarbeet. There was no significant difference in terms of crop yield between the Kemink System and the modified version which included ploughing. Experimental approaches are discussed and it is assumed that experimental methodology, e.g. plot size and traffic pattern, may influence the performance of tillage systems and thereby conclusion. If farmer skills and knowledge are important to the achievable results it can be argued whether the farmer should be considered to be a part of the tillage system.
Abstract Objectives The aim of this prospective multicenter study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic performance of PET/CT, MRI and transvaginal two-dimensional ultrasound (2DUS) in the ...preoperative assessment of endometrial cancer (EC). Methods 318 consecutive women with EC were included when referred to three Danish tertiary gynecological centers for surgical treatment. Preoperatively they were PET/CT-, MRI-, and 2DUS scanned. The imaging results were compared to the final pathological findings. This study was approved by the National Committee on Health Research Ethics. Results For predicting myometrial invasion, we found sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy for PET/CT to be 93%, 49%, 41%, 95% and 61%, for MRI to be 87%, 57%, 44%, 92%, and 66% and for 2DUS to be 71%, 72%, 51%, 86% and 72%. For predicting cervical invasion, the values were 43%, 94%, 69%, 85% and 83%, respectively, for PET/CT, 33%, 95%, 60%, 85%, and 82%, respectively, for MRI, and 29%, 92%, 48%, 82% and 78% for 2DUS. Finally, for lymph node metastases, the values were 74%, 93%, 59%, 96%, and 91% for PET/CT and 59%, 93%, 40%, 97% and 90% for MRI. When comparing the diagnostic performance we found PET/CT, MRI and 2DUS to be comparable in predicting myometrial invasion. For cervical invasion and lymph node metastases, however, PET/CT was the best. Conclusions None of the modalities can yet replace surgical staging. However, they all contributed to important knowledge and were, furthermore, able to upstage low-risk patients who would not have been recommended lymph node resection based on histology and grade alone.
•Self-reported alcohol consumption should be supplemented by biomarkers.•Assessment on self-reported alcohol intake should cover a relevant time span.•Biomarkers should be direct markers of ...alcohol.•Biomarkers should cover a relevant time span.•Inconsistency between self-reported alcohol consumption and biomarkers may occur.
No systematic review has yet examined the consistency between self-reports of alcohol consumption and alcohol biomarkers among patients in treatment for alcohol use disorders (AUD). Therefore, we aimed to provide an overview of the consistency between self-reported alcohol intake and biomarkers among patients in treatment for AUD.
The electronical databases MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and CENTRAL were searched for all original studies that examined the validity of self-reported alcohol consumption using a biological marker in samples of patients with AUD. Eligible studies were included in a qualitative synthesis of the outcomes. Quality assessment was conducted with the quality assessment tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional studies, developed by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
The search identified 7672 hits, and 11 papers comprising 13 eligible studies were included. All the identified studies revealed inconsistencies between self-reporting and biomarkers. Under-reporting was the most common type of inconsistency across short-, intermediate- and long-term biomarkers. For short-term markers, under-reporting was indicated in 7 studies (n = 15–585) in a range from 5.5%–56.0% of the patients, and over-reporting in 2 studies (n = 34–65) in a range from 5.9%–74.1%. Only under-reporting was reported for intermediate-term, direct markers and was indicated in 2 studies (n = 18–54) in a range from 5.0%–50.0% of the patients. Although the results for long-term biomarkers were not reported consistently across the studies, under-reporting was indicated in 3 studies (n = 73–1580) in a range from 0.1%–40.0% of the patients, and over-reporting in 2 studies (n = 15–1580) in a range from 13.0%–70.6%. Correlations between self-reported alcohol consumption and biological markers were strongest for the intermediate-term direct markers, ranging from moderate to strong. For short-term and long-term markers, the correlations were mostly weak. Most of the studies were quality rated as fair.
The findings indicate that inconsistency between self-reported alcohol consumption and biomarkers may occur in a considerable proportion of patients with AUD. However, further studies applying more sensitive, specific, and easily assessable biological markers are warranted to confirm this preliminary synthesis.
PROSPERO registration no.: CRD42018105308
Super-resolution ultrasound imaging (SRUS) enables in vivo microvascular imaging of deeper-lying tissues and organs, such as the kidneys or liver. The technique allows new insights into microvascular ...anatomy and physiology and the development of disease-related microvascular abnormalities. However, the microvascular anatomy is intricate and challenging to depict with the currently available imaging techniques, and validation of the microvascular structures of deeper-lying organs obtained with SRUS remains difficult. Our study aimed to directly compare the vascular anatomy in two in vivo 2D SRUS images of a Sprague-Dawley rat kidney with ex vivo μCT of the same kidney. Co-registering the SRUS images to the μCT volume revealed visually very similar vascular features of vessels ranging from ~ 100 to 1300 μm in diameter and illustrated a high level of vessel branching complexity captured in the 2D SRUS images. Additionally, it was shown that it is difficult to use μCT data of a whole rat kidney specimen to validate the super-resolution capability of our ultrasound scans, i.e., validating the actual microvasculature of the rat kidney. Lastly, by comparing the two imaging modalities, fundamental challenges for 2D SRUS were demonstrated, including the complexity of projecting a 3D vessel network into 2D. These challenges should be considered when interpreting clinical or preclinical SRUS data in future studies.
To investigate the long-term effectiveness of high-load versus low-load strengthening exercise on self-reported function in patients with hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) and shoulder symptoms.
...A secondary analysis of a superiority, parallel-group, randomised trial (balanced block randomisation 1:1, electronic concealment) including adult patients (n=100) from primary care with HSD and shoulder pain and/or instability ≥3 months. Patients received 16 weeks of shoulder exercises (three sessions/week): HEAVY (n=50, full-range, high-load, supervised twice/week) or LIGHT (n=50, neutral/mid-range, low-load, supervised three times in total). The 1-year between-group difference in change in self-reported function was measured using the Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI, scale 0-2100, 0=best). Secondary outcomes were self-reported measures including changes in shoulder-related symptoms, function, emotions and lifestyle, quality of life, patient-perceived effect, treatment utility and adverse events. A blinded analyst conducted the analyses using linear mixed model repeated measurements analysis.
One-year data were available in 86 out of 100 participants (79% women, mean age 37.8 years) (LIGHT 84%, HEAVY 88%). The mean WOSI score between-group difference favoured HEAVY (-92.9, 95% CI -257.4 to 71.5, p=0.268) but was not statistically significant. The secondary outcomes were mostly inconclusive, but patients in HEAVY had larger improvement in the WOSI emotions subdomain (-36.3; 95% CI -65.4 to -7.3, p=0.014). Patient-perceived effect favoured HEAVY anchored in WOSI-emotions (55% vs 31%, p=0.027) and WOSI-lifestyle (50% vs 29%, p=0.042).
High-load shoulder strengthening exercise was not superior to low-load strengthening exercise in improving self-reported function at 1 year. High-load strengthening exercise may be more effective in improving patient emotions about shoulder pain and function, but more robust data are needed to support these findings.
NCT03869307.
PDF
