Observed Time Period Research Articles

Myopia control with dual-focus soft contact lenses during the first year of measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study compared refractive and axial length (AL) changes in children wearing dual-focus soft contact lenses for myopia control (MiSight®) with myopic children wearing spectacles one year from the start of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. This retrospective, descriptive, parallel-group, observational study reviewed the charts of 11 children who began treatment for myopia control with dual-focus soft contact lenses for myopia control (MiSight®) in March 2020 and 11 matched spectacle-wearing controls. The mean increase in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and AL from the beginning of the lockdown and up to 1 year later were compared. The parents of the children were asked about the average time spent on near work, contact lens wearing time both during and after the strict confinement and whether they had discontinued contact lens wear during lockdown. During this first year of preventive COVID-19 measures (March 2020-March 2021), for the contact lens group the average SER and AL increased -0.14 ± 0.09D and 0.13 ± 0.05 mm, respectively. For the spectacle wearers, the corresponding increases were -0.54 ± 0.16D and 0.25 ± 0.08 mm, respectively. A significant difference was found between the groups for both SER (p < 0.001) and AL (p < 0.05). The average time spent outdoors was restricted for both groups during lockdown and increased after. However, statistically significant changes in the time spent outdoors during and after lockdown were only found for the spectacle group (p < 0.05; t-test), whereas this change was not significant for the contact lens group (p=0.08). Over the observed time period, dual-focus soft contact lenses for myopia control were effective despite the decreased time spent outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Probing the nature of dark matter via gravitational waves lensed by small dark matter halos

Dark matter (DM) occupies the majority of matter content in the universe and is probably cold (CDM). However, modifications to the standard CDM model may be required by the small-scale observations, and DM may be self-interacting (SIDM) or warm (WDM). Here we show that the diffractive lensing of gravitational waves (GWs) from binary black hole mergers by small halos ($\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{3}--{10}^{6}\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$; minihalos) may serve as a clean probe to the nature of DM, free from the contamination of baryonic processes in the DM studies based on dwarf/satellite galaxies. The expected lensed GW signals and event rates resulting from CDM, WDM, and SIDM models are significantly different from each other, because of the differences in halo density profiles and abundances predicted by these models. We estimate the detection rates of such lensed GW events for a number of current and future GW detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatories (LIGO), the Einstein Telescope (ET), the Cosmic Explorer (CE), Gravitational-wave Lunar Observatory for Cosmology (GLOC), the Deci-Hertz Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (DECIGO), and the Big Bang Observer (BBO). We find that GLOC may detect one such event per year assuming the CDM model, DECIGO (BBO) may detect more than several (hundreds of) such events per year, by assuming the CDM, WDM (with mass $&gt;30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{keV}$) or SIDM model, suggesting that the DM nature may be strongly constrained by DECIGO and BBO via the detection of diffractive lensed GW events by minihalos. Other GW detectors are unlikely to detect a significant number of such events within a limited observational time period. However, if the inner slope of the minihalo density profile is sufficiently steeper than the Navarro-Frenk-White profile, e.g., the pseudo-Jaffe profile, one may be able to detect one to more than 100 such GW events by ET and CE.

Adverse events of subcutaneous loop recorders: Insights from the MAUDE database.

Complications using internal cardiac monitors (ICM) have been reported at a low rate. Targeted analyses of complications have not been well described in the literature. To investigate and describe complications associated with ICM events reported to the FDA's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. Our team reviewed all reported events for the Reveal LINQ loop recorder submitted to the MAUDE database over 7 years (1/1/2013-12/31/2019). A 5% random selection of reports was audited by two researchers to ensure report validity. Two cardiologists manually reviewed death and incongruent events for final interpretation. 12,652 records were obtained during the observed time period. A total of 15,587 device complications were reported. Of this, undersensing (n=4509, 28.93%), premature discharge of battery (n=3262, 20.93%), oversensing (n=2788, 17.89%), and other sensing issues (n=1532, 9.83%) were most commonly reported. Patient adverse events were reported 1,030 times. Pain or discomfort (n=275, 26.70%), site infection (n=213, 20.68%), erosion (n=138, 13.40%), and impaired healing (n=49, 4.76%) were most commonly reported to affect patients. Death was reported four times; after expert review, no reports justified the device or procedure as a reasonable cause. Several non-life-threatening ICM complications were commonly noted from the analysis. This study supports the safe use of ICMs. A better understanding of the complication profile will help providers select patients, provide informed consent, and expected management.

Influence of racial and ethnic identity on overall survival in patients with chronic lymphocytic lymphoma.

7508 Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent adult leukemia and results in highly variable clinical outcomes. Epidemiologically, CLL occurs in White ethnicity more frequently and thus, CLL outcomes among underrepresented minorities are not well studied. We sought to examine differences in treatment patterns and survival outcomes based on racial identity of CLL patients and how these have changed over time. Methods: The National Cancer Database was used to identify CLL patients diagnosed from 2004-2018. Demographic and treatment characteristics were compared between White, Black, Asian, Hispanic and other minority groups. Kaplan Meier and adjusted Cox regression survival analysis were used to compare overall survival (OS) between races. Survival analysis was repeated by year of diagnosis in Black and White populations. Results: Of 97,804 CLL pts identified, 90.7% of patients were White, 7.6% Black (N = 7,391), 2.6% Hispanic (N = 2,487), 0.6% Asian (N = 613), and 1.1% were other. Compared to White pts, Black pts were younger at diagnosis (median age 66 years [interquartile range 61-79] vs. 70 years [range 58-75], more likely to have ≥1 comorbidity (27.9% vs. 21.3%), and be uninsured (6.6% vs. 2.1%) (all p &lt; 0.001). Black pts were more likely than White pts to have CLL directed treatment immediately after diagnosis (35.9% vs 23.6%; p &lt; 0.001). With a median follow-up of 4.3 years, median OS for all CLL patients was 9.0 years (CI 8.9-9.1 years). Black pts had a shorter median OS of 7.0 years (CI 6.7-7.3 years) compared to White pts (9.14 years [CI 9.0-9.3]), p &lt; 0.001), as well as inferior OS at 5-years (61% vs. 69%) and 10-years (36% vs. 46%), p &lt; 0.001. On multivariate analysis adjusted for age and Charlson-Deyo score, Black race was independently associated with shorter OS (HR 1.51 [CI 1.46-1.57], p &lt; 0.001). While OS lengthened with successive year of diagnosis for all races, the relative survival of Black compared to White pts did not improve over the observed time period. Referenced to the White population, Black pts diagnosed between 2004-2006 had a HR of 1.64 (CI 1.52-1.76) for mortality, and those diagnosed between 2016-2018 had a HR of 1.64 (CI 1.44-1.85). Conclusions: We present the largest study to date describing racial disparities in CLL. Black pts have significantly shorter OS compared to White pts, which is sustained when adjusted for the higher prevalence of comorbidities in the Black CLL population. Unfortunately, the survival gap between White and Black patients has not improved since 2004, highlighting the need for targeted research directed at improving survival in Black pts with CLL. [Table: see text]

P-247 Outcomes of randomized crossover trial of systemic chemotherapy in patients with low-grade mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinoma

Appendiceal adenocarcinoma is both a rare and heterogenous tumor, with marked contrast in the natural history of low-grade and high-grade tumors (5-year OS 68% for low-grade vs. 7% for high-grade). The rarity of appendiceal adenocarcinoma has made it difficult to study with traditional prospective, randomized controlled trials. As a result, current national guidelines still suggest that appendiceal cancer be treated similarly to colorectal cancer (CRC) despite clear differences between the two in terms of both clinical and molecular features. While low-grade appendiceal adenocarcinoma is primarily treated with surgical resection sometimes followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), many inoperable candidates are treated with systemic chemotherapy although there is no prospective data supporting this practice. The purpose of our study was to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of systemic chemotherapy in low-grade mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinoma. A randomized crossover trial of surgically unresectable low-grade (well differentiated) mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinoma was performed with patients randomized to either 6 months observation followed by 6 months of chemotherapy (physician’s choice), or initial chemotherapy followed by observation. In this way each patient would serve as their own control. Up to 30 patients were planned to have complete 6- and 12-month tumor measurements for 24 patients, providing 80% power at 0.05 significance level to detect a 5.0% difference in change in tumor size in observation vs. treatment periods. Patients were monitored for rate of bowel complications as a secondary endpoint for the study. The trial closed early due to slow accrual. A total of 24 patients were enrolled. The majority of patients were treated with either 5FU or capecitabine (n = 15, 63%), bevacizumab was added for 3 (13%), one patient was treated with FOLFOX, 2 (8%) were treated with FOLFIRI. Four patients did not get any chemotherapy (17%). There were 15 patients available for the primary analysis of change in tumor volume as measured by modified peritoneal RECIST. The mean difference in tumor size was -4.5 (95% CI: -12.6, 3.7), indicating a trend towards faster growth on treatment than observation, however there was no significant difference in growth of tumor during observation vs. treatment time periods (8.4% growth treatment vs. 4.0% observation, p=0.26). Separately we combined all patients with available 6- or 12-month information regardless of treatment order accounting for repeated measures again finding no significant difference (13.1% vs. 4.4%, p=0.14, n=18). There was no significant difference in overall survival between treatment first or observation first arms (76 vs. 42 months, p = 0.37). There was not a significant difference in rate of bowel obstruction between the treatment first vs. observation first arms (12.5%, (n=3) vs 8.3%, (n=2)), and no bowel perforations occurred on study. These data from a prospective, randomized crossover design trial suggest that patients with low-grade mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinoma do not appear to derive benefit from 5FU based chemotherapy. These data further highlight the unique biology of low-grade mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinomas and demonstrates the need to identify effective systemic therapies for this patient population.

Outcome of older myeloma patients in relationship to comorbidities and availability of second-generation novel agents in a real-life setting.

Major improvements in outcome of older patients with multiple myeloma (MM) have been achieved with the introduction of novel agents. Their impact in real-life treatment of older patients is unclear. In this single center retrospective study, we analyzed the outcome of patients >65years treated with first-generation (FGNA) and second-generation novel agents (SGNA) within two time periods 2012-2014 and 2015-2017. Patients were analyzed based on age, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), International Staging System stage, year of diagnosis and withdrawal of agents due to toxicities. Overall 96 patients were included for analysis. Median age was 73years (range 65-90), 55 (57%) patients were 65-75years and 41 (43%) were >75years old. 84 patients received a first-line therapy, whereas 45 patients had ≥2 lines of systemic therapy. 20 patients were consolidated with autologous stem cell transplantation. 12 patients had no systemic therapy at all. In 17 of 21 cases a FGNA and in 4 of 21 a SGNA was withdrawn due to toxicity. Median overall survival (OS) for all patients with systemic therapy was 4.75years (95% CI, 3.05-NA). Borderline significant improvement of OS was observed in patients diagnosed 2015-2017 compared to 2012-2014 with HR 0.57 (95% CI, 0.31-1.02) p=0.06. OS significantly differed for comorbid patients with low and intermediate risk CCI, HR 1.94 (95% CI, 1.07-3.54), p=0.03 in the overall population. OS in patients treated with SGNA was not significantly different in patients with intermediate versus low risk CCI (HR 1.48 (95% CI 0.43-5.14, p=0.54)). In conclusion, we found a trend toward improved survival for older MM patients after the introduction of novel agents during the observed time period. In patients treated with SGNA a smaller effect that comorbidity negatively affects survival was observed.

Measurements and Modeling of Optical Turbulence in the Coastal Environment

The goal of this study was to characterize optical turbulence in the near-coastal environment. Measurements to obtain the refractive index structure parameter and other meteorological data were taken over the course of a month along the shore of Monterey Bay. The results were compared to a new version of the Navy Vertical Surface Layer Model (NAVSLaM), a model of turbulence originally developed for maritime environments but now extended to terrestrial environments. The new version has not been previously validated by comparisons to experiments, particularly in a complex environment such as near the coastline. Our experimental results showed generally good agreement between measured and modeled levels of turbulence. Specifically, the differences between experimental and modeled values of the refractive index structure parameter were less than an order of magnitude in most conditions and followed the same diurnal trend. There were some greater differences during near-neutral conditions, but this is a known limitation of the model. Overall, this extended model appears to do a good job of predicting turbulence in this environment for the observed time period.

Environmental Benefits of Air Emission Reduction in the Waste Tire Management Practice

Montenegro faces serious challenges in terms of waste tire management. The main goal of our paper is to consider the financial and economic justification of the implementation of the first phase of the project of collection, takeover and transport, sorting, and storage of waste tires from the three municipalities in Montenegro. The financial feasibility analysis pointed out the need to organize the second phase of the project and the production of commercially usable and energy efficient products. That phase would lead to the desired commercial effects and will probably ensure the financial sustainability of the project. The economic feasibility analysis of the project included an assessment of the socio-economic benefits from the emission reduction of the first group of pollutants (PM, SOX, NOX, VOC, CO) as a consequence of the waste tires’ destruction, predominantly by combusting them. Unit values of pollution costs by types of gases, adjusted for Montenegro, were defined in the interval from 192 EUR/t for CO to 24,294 EUR/t for PM. We proved that the direct socio-economic benefits of this project are savings in the cost of environmental pollution. The total present value of discounted costs in the observed time period was calculated at the level of EUR 1,620,080, while the total present value of the positive socio-economic effects was estimated at EUR 1,991,180. Dynamic justification indicators suggest that this investment has a satisfactory socio-economic justification, i.e., the economic rate of return is higher than the opportunity cost of capital (ERR = 15.82%), the economic net present value is greater than 0 (ENPV = 371,100 EUR), and the benefit–cost ratio is greater than 1 (B/C ratio = 1.23).

Temporal trends in treatment strategies and clinical outcomes among patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and ST-elevation myocardial infarctions: results from the Bremen STEMI registry

BackgroundAlthough the detrimental effects of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) on prognosis in coronary artery disease is known, there are few data on the efficacy and safety of modern interventional therapies and medications in patients with advanced CKD, because this special patient cohort is often excluded or underrepresented in randomized trials.MethodsIn the present study all patients admitted with ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) from the region of Bremen/Germany treated between 2006 and 2019 were analyzed. Advanced CKD was defined as glomerular filtration rate < 45 ml/min.ResultsOf 9605 STEMI-patients, 1018 (10.6%) had advanced CKD with a serum creatinine of 2.22 ± 4.2 mg/dl at admission and with lower rates of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) (84.1 vs. 94.1%, p < 0.01) and higher all-cause-mortality (44.4 vs. 3.6%, p < 0.01). Over time, advanced CKD-patients were more likely to be treated with pPCI (2015–2019: 90.3% vs. 2006–2010:75.8%, p < 0.01) and with ticagrelor/prasugrel (59.6% vs. 1.7%, p < 0.01) and drug eluting stents (90.7% vs. 1.3%, p < 0.01). During the study period a decline in adverse ischemic events (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1–0.7) and an increase in bleedings (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3–3.8) within 1 year after the index event could be observed in patients with advanced CKD while 1-year-mortality (OR 1.0, 95% CI 0.7–1.4) and rates of acute kidney injury (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.8–1.7) did not change in a multivariate model. Both, ticagrelor/prasugrel (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.2–0.98) and DES (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.2–0.8) were associated with a decrease in ischemic events at 1 year.ConclusionsDuring the observed time period STEMI-patients with advanced CKD were more likely to be treated with primary PCI, ticagrelor or prasugrel and DE-stents. These changes probably have contributed to the decline in ischemic events and the increase in bleedings within 1 year after STEMI while overall mortality at 1-year remained unchanged for this high-risk patient group.

Mount Everest's photogenic weather during the post‐monsoon

Mount Everest's photogenic weather during the post‐monsoon

Short - term dynamics of structural complexity in differently managed and unmanaged European beech forests

The dynamics of forest structure influence forest ecosystem functions and are modified by forest management and natural disturbances. Here, we quantified the dynamics of stand structural complexity of differently managed and unmanaged European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests. We determined changes of different aspects of stand structural complexity between 2014 and 2019 using terrestrial laser scanning data from 42, one hectare-sized forest plots, representing even - aged forest management, uneven - aged forest management and unmanaged stands. Unmanaged forests showed no significant changes in stand structural complexity within the time frame investigated, due to the absence of major disturbances. On the contrary, managed uneven - aged and even - aged forest stands showed more pronounced dynamics in stand structural complexity than the unmanaged forests. In this context, uneven - aged stands with higher initial canopy openness showed a higher increase in structural complexity than stands with lower canopy openness, which could be attributed to growth responses of understory vegetation in lower strata due to improved light availability at the beginning of the observed time period. Dynamics of structural complexity under even - aged forest management strongly differed between different developmental stages, with young thickets and mature timber stands showing highest increases in stand structural complexity. Overall, we did not observe significant decreases in stand structural complexity within the observed time frame. Our findings need to be viewed in the context of long-term dynamics of forest structure and contribute to the understanding of how forest management can affect short - term structural dynamics in beech forests.

First dose ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccinations and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: A pooled self-controlled case series study of 11.6 million individuals in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Several countries restricted the administration of ChAdOx1 to older age groups in 2021 over safety concerns following case reports and observed versus expected analyses suggesting a possible association with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Large datasets are required to precisely estimate the association between Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and CVST due to the extreme rarity of this event. We aimed to accomplish this by combining national data from England, Scotland, and Wales. We created data platforms consisting of linked primary care, secondary care, mortality, and virological testing data in each of England, Scotland, and Wales, with a combined cohort of 11,637,157 people and 6,808,293 person years of follow-up. The cohort start date was December 8, 2020, and the end date was June 30, 2021. The outcome measure we examined was incident CVST events recorded in either primary or secondary care records. We carried out a self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis of this outcome following first dose vaccination with ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2. The observation period consisted of an initial 90-day reference period, followed by a 2-week prerisk period directly prior to vaccination, and a 4-week risk period following vaccination. Counts of CVST cases from each country were tallied, then expanded into a full dataset with 1 row for each individual and observation time period. There was a combined total of 201 incident CVST events in the cohorts (29.5 per million person years). There were 81 CVST events in the observation period among those who a received first dose of ChAdOx1 (approximately 16.34 per million doses) and 40 for those who received a first dose of BNT162b2 (approximately 12.60 per million doses). We fitted conditional Poisson models to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs). Vaccination with ChAdOx1 was associated with an elevated risk of incident CVST events in the 28 days following vaccination, IRR = 1.93 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20 to 3.11). We did not find an association between BNT162b2 and CVST in the 28 days following vaccination, IRR = 0.78 (95% CI 0.34 to 1.77). Our study had some limitations. The SCCS study design implicitly controls for variables that are constant over the observation period, but also assumes that outcome events are independent of exposure. This assumption may not be satisfied in the case of CVST, firstly because it is a serious adverse event, and secondly because the vaccination programme in the United Kingdom prioritised the clinically extremely vulnerable and those with underlying health conditions, which may have caused a selection effect for individuals more prone to CVST. Although we pooled data from several large datasets, there was still a low number of events, which may have caused imprecision in our estimates. In this study, we observed a small elevated risk of CVST events following vaccination with ChAdOx1, but not BNT162b2. Our analysis pooled information from large datasets from England, Scotland, and Wales. This evidence may be useful in risk-benefit analyses of vaccine policies and in providing quantification of risks associated with vaccination to the general public.

Observations Indicate That Clouds Amplify Mechanisms of Southern Ocean Heat Uptake

AbstractThe Southern Ocean has absorbed most of the excess heat associated with anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Since Southern Ocean observations are sparse in certain regions and seasons, much of our knowledge of ocean heat uptake is based on climate model simulations. However, climate models still inadequately represent some properties of Southern Ocean clouds, and they have not identified the mechanisms by which clouds may affect Southern Ocean heat uptake (SOHU). Here, we use the ERA5 and JRA‐55 reanalyses to assess the influence of clouds and other atmospheric processes on SOHU from 1979 to 2020. We find that years with the highest SOHU between 45° and 65°S are dominated by ocean heat uptake anomalies during winter and spring, but not during summer or fall. Winter and spring cloud cover are up to 7% higher when SOHU is up to 5.5 W/m2 higher than the climatological seasonal mean, with the largest increases in the South Pacific Ocean. Clouds also contain more liquid water. These changes in cloud properties increase downwelling longwave radiation, amplifying ocean heat uptake. Cloud changes are also concomitant with a more stable lower atmosphere, which suppresses turbulent heat fluxes out of the surface. Overall, we find that SOHU is likely not mediated by enhanced surface shortwave absorption over the observational time period. A better understanding of how atmospheric processes impact ocean heat uptake may help improve our understanding of ocean heat uptake mechanisms in the current generation of climate models.

Decomposition of the Shrinking Middle-class and Directional Mobility in Finland 1995–2012

This paper investigates the middle-class decline in Finland from 1995 to 2012. The purpose is to examine how changes in the probabilities of belonging to the middle class in different socioeconomic groups have contributed to the middle-class decline while taking into account changes in the relative sizes of the groups. A decomposition analysis indicates that most of the decline has been due to the probability effect, especially among the least-educated population. Changes in age demographics and educational structure have contributed to the decline. The results of the decomposition are supported by mobility results, which indicate that individuals with a tertiary (no secondary) degree have been subject to upward (downward) mobility over the observed time period. In conclusion, the middle-class decline and polarization in Finland are asymmetrically reflected in different education groups. The highly educated have climbed up the income distribution, while the least educated have fallen.

EFFECTS OF CALENDAR VARIATIONS ON THE INDONESIA STOCK EXCHANGE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF POTENTIAL STOCKS

This study examines the effect of calendar variations on potential stocks on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Calendar variations are observed in telecommunications, retail, food and cigarettes sub-sectors. The observed calendar variations are divided into two: the holiday effect, namely the effect of the month of Ramadan, the effect of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, and the effect of changes in the month of the Eid holidays; and the trading day effect, namely the effect of the day of the week and month of the year effects. ARIMA and ARIMAX model is used to see the effect of previous return data and the calendar variations on predicting stock returns. Descriptively, there is the effect of calendar variations due to Ramadan and Eid holidays and the influence of Monday and January effect. The existence of calendar variations does not apply equally to all types of stocks and to all observation time periods. The calendar variation tends to vary, does not form a clear pattern, does not consistently affect stock returns on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and is not statistically significant. Based on the analysis, it was found that the Monday effect and January effect are the most common phenomena in the Indonesian stock exchange.

Psychiatric Rehabilitation in Austria - A Comparison of Symptoms at Admission Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as Rehabilitation Success

ZusammenfassungZiele In der internationalen Literatur werden Steigerungen der Inzidenzraten psychischer Erkrankungen durch die COVID-19-Pandemie berichtet. Junge Menschen und Menschen mit psychischen Vorerkrankungen sind besonders durch die Pandemie belastet. Gegenstand dieser Studie sind das Ausmaß psychischer Symptombelastung, die Funktionsfähigkeit und der Behandlungserfolg bei Rehabilitanden der medizinisch-psychiatrischen Rehabilitation im Jahr vor Beginn der COVID-19-Pandemie und während der COVID-19-Phase. Methodik Die Daten von N=1715 Rehabilitanden mit Reha-Abschluss vor dem ersten Lockdown und von N=707 Rehabilitanden mit Reha-Beginn nach der Corona-bedingten Schließung der Klinik von März bis Mai 2020 aus den Jahren 2019 und 2020 werden hinsichtlich der Stichprobencharakteristik sowie der Ergebnisse in den Patient-reported Outcomes (Beginn und Ende der Rehabilitation) verglichen. Ergebnisse Zwischen den beiden Beobachtungszeiträumen zeigen sich keine bedeutsamen Unterschiede in der soziodemografischen Charakteristik der Rehabilitanden. Bei Reha-Beginn zeigt sich in der Skala Somatisierung kein signifikanter Unterschied, in den Skalen Ängstlichkeit und Depressivität zeigt sich während der COVID-19-Phase ein signifikant höherer Wert, allerdings im Ausmaß eines sehr kleinen Effekts. In den Skalen zu Aktivitäten und Teilhabe (ICF 3 F AT) sowie bei der Funktionsfähigkeit (WHODAS 2.0) unterscheiden sich die Werte der Vergleichszeiträume bei Reha-Beginn nicht. Rehabilitanden mit niedrigerem sozioökonomischem Status (Reha-Geld oder Invaliditäts-/Berufsunfähigkeitspension) weisen hingegen in einigen Skalen kritischere Werte auf. Der Reha-Erfolg ist vergleichbar mit dem Zeitraum vor der COVID-19-Pandemie und liegt im Bereich von mittleren bis hohen Effektgrößen. Schlussfolgerung Die Studie zeigt – unter Berücksichtigung der Limitationen – geringe oder gar keine signifikanten Unterschiede in den soziodemografischen Daten und in der Symptombelastung bei Reha-Beginn und die Effektgrößen sind vergleichbar mit dem Zeitraum vor der COVID-19-Pandemie. Die Ergebnisse internationaler Studien, dass es zu einem deutlichen Anstieg psychischer Belastungen während der COVID-19-Pandemie in der Bevölkerung gekommen ist, können nicht direkt auf die österreichische Reha-Klientel übertragen werden.

Radial Distribution of the Dust Comae of Comets 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdus̆áková and 46P/Wirtanen

Abstract There was an unprecedented opportunity to study the inner dust coma environments, where the dust and gas are not entirely decoupled, of comets 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdus̆áková (45P/HMP) from 2016 December 26 to 2017 March 15, and 46P/Wirtanen from 2018 November 10 to 2019 February 13, both in visible wavelengths. The radial profile slopes of these comets were measured in the R and HB-BC filters most representative of dust, and deviations from a radially expanding coma were identified as significant. The azimuthally averaged radial profile slope of comet 45P/HMP gradually changes from −1.81 ± 0.20 at 5.24 days preperihelion to −0.35 ± 0.16 at 74.41 days postperihelion. Contrastingly, the radial profile slope of 46P/Wirtanen stays fairly constant over the observed time period at −1.05 ± 0.05. Additionally, we find that the radial profile of 46P/Wirtanen is azimuthally dependent on the sky-plane-projected solar position angle, while that of 45P/HMP is not. These results suggest that comets 45P/HMP and 46P/Wirtanen have vastly different coma dust environments and that their dust expansion properties are distinct. As evident from these two comets, well-resolved inner comae are vital for detailed characterization of dust environments.

Optimal Timing of Surveillance Ultrasounds in Small Aortic Aneurysms

Small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) surveillance intervals remain controversial and difficult to standardize. Current Society for Vascular Surgery guidelines lack quality evidence. The objective of this study is to examine patients followed in a high volume non-invasive vascular laboratory, determine if the current guidelines are fitting in clinical practice, and attempt to further identify risk factors for accelerated aneurysm growth. A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent at least two ultrasounds for AAA in the vascular laboratory during 2008 -2018 with baseline diameter less than 5.0 cm was conducted. Patient demographics were collected. Groups were then created for comparison using the size criteria according to SVS guidelines. In addition, we compared overall growth rates specifically evaluating rapid growth (rate of at least 1.0 cm/year and size change of at least 0.5 cm from previous imaging), expected growth (any growth below 1.0 cm/year and of at least 0.5 cm from baseline) and no growth. A total of 1581 patients (1232 male and 349 female) were identified with a total of 5945 ultrasound studies. The median age was 73 years and mean follow-up was 27.8 months. Baseline AAA size was 3.0 -3.9 cm in 986 patients and 4.0 -4.9 cm in 595 patients. The average maximum growth rate was 0.18 cm/year for AAAs 3.0 -3.9 cm and 0.36 cm/year for AAAs 4.0 -4.9 cm (P <0.001). Patients with AAA 4.0 -4.9 cm at baseline were more likely to be white, male, hypertensive and have chronic kidney disease (P <0.05). 1078 patients (68.2%) demonstrated no growth over the observed time period with 342 patients (21.6%) demonstrating expected growth and 161 (10.2%) rapid growth. Male gender and baseline AAA size of 4.0 -4.9 cm were more likely to demonstrate rapid growth (P=0.002) and eventual repair (P <0.001). Metformin use was more common in the AAA group with no growth (P <0.05). Freedom from rapid growth and repair indication at 2 years was significantly lower in those patients with baseline aneurysms 3.0 -3.9 cm (P <0.001). The overall low rate of events in small AAAs supports continued surveillance every 3 years for AAAs 3.0-3.9 cm and yearly for male patients with AAAs 4.0 -4.9 cm as recommended by the SVS Guidelines. Female gender may have less rapid growth than previously reported but likely merit more rigorous surveillance particularly as the AAAs approach 5.0 cm. Metformin use continues to demonstrate it may abrogate aneurysmal growth. Lastly, there is a subset of patients that exhibit more rapid growth of their small AAAs, and further study will be required to classify these patients.

Decomposition Rate of Avicennia lanata in Bakau Kecil Mangrove Forest Area, Mempawah District

Avicenna lanata is a type of mangrove that dominates the Mempawah Kecil Mangrove Forest. As many as 10 bacterial genera were identified from station 1 which is close to the influence of sea water, and 8 bacterial genera from station 2 which are close to residential areas. This study aims to determine the rate of decomposition of A. lanata leaf litter with 4 observation time periods with an interval of 15 days, namely the 15th, 30th, 45th and 60th days. The observations show that the rate of decomposition of the litter on the 15th day of observation is higher. Namely 0.206 gram/day at station I and 0.19 gram/day at station II, while the lowest rate of decomposition of litter occurred on the 60th day of observation, namely 0.112 gram/day at station I and 0.106 gram/day at station II. In addition, the parameters of physical and chemical of the environment such as DO, temperature, pH and salinity are in the range of their optimum values.

Heteroscedasticity and Precise Estimation Model Approach for Complex Financial Time-Series Data: An Example of Taiwan Stock Index Futures before and during COVID-19

In this paper, we provide a mathematical and statistical methodology using heteroscedastic estimation to achieve the aim of building a more precise mathematical model for complex financial data. Considering a general regression model with explanatory variables (the expected value model form) and the error term (including heteroscedasticity), the optimal expected value and heteroscedastic model forms are investigated by linear, nonlinear, curvilinear, and composition function forms, using the minimum mean-squared error criterion to show the precision of the methodology. After combining the two optimal models, the fitted values of the financial data are more precise than the linear regression model in the literature and also show the fitted model forms in the example of Taiwan stock price index futures that has three cases: (1) before COVID-19, (2) during COVID-19, and (3) the entire observation time period. The fitted mathematical models can apparently show how COVID-19 affects the return rates of Taiwan stock price index futures. Furthermore, the fitted heteroscedastic models also show how COVID-19 influences the fluctuations of the return rates of Taiwan stock price index futures. This methodology will contribute to the probability of building algorithms for computing and predicting financial data based on mathematical model form outcomes and assist model comparisons after adding new data to a database.