DISCOHAT: An Acronym to Describe the Spectrum of Symptoms Related to Bilateral Vestibulopathy

Objective: To assess the prevalence of each symptom listed in the acronym DISCOHAT (worsening of symptoms in Darkness and/or uneven ground, Imbalance, Supermarket effect, Cognitive complaints, Oscillopsia, Head movements worsen symptoms, Autonomic complaints, and Tiredness) in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP), compared to patients with unilateral vestibulopathy (UVP).Methods: A descriptive case-control study was performed on BVP and UVP patients who were evaluated for their vestibular symptoms by two of the authors (RvdB, MCG) at a tertiary referral center, between 2017 and 2020. During history taking, the presence of each DISCOHAT symptom was checked and included in the electronic health record. Presence of a symptom was categorized into: “present,” “not present,” and “missing.”Results: Sixty-six BVP patients and 144 UVP patients were included in this study. Prevalence of single DISCOHAT symptoms varied from 52 to 92% in BVP patients and 18–75% in UVP patients. Patients with BVP reported “worsening of symptoms in darkness,” “imbalance,” “oscillopsia,” and “worsening of symptoms with fast head movements” significantly more than UVP patients (p ≤ 0.004).Conclusion: The DISCOHAT acronym is able to capture a wide spectrum of symptoms related to vestibulopathy, while it is easy and quickly to use in clinic. Application of this acronym might facilitate a more thorough and uniform assessment of bilateral vestibulopathy, within and between vestibular clinics worldwide.

Subluxed Shoulders Need TLC: Pilot Study of the T-L-C Taping Method to Address Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain, Passive Range of Motion, and Subluxation

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Hemiplegic shoulder pain and subluxation are prevalent sequelae following stroke. A gap in the literature exists for shoulder assessments specifically for taping, a common intervention. Studies and tape methods primarily focus on mechanical corrections. However, muscle tone and management, which are prevalent topics in neurological rehabilitation, are rarely addressed. The T-L-C taping method consists of a uniform assessment approach of the shoulder specifically to guide Kinesio® Tape application Primary Author and Speaker: Steven Frey Additional Authors and Speakers: Mark Stumpf, Jacob Wright, and Sara Stephenson Contributing Authors: John Wong, Lauren Loges

Markers for the Comparison of the Performances of Anoxic Biotrickling Filters in Biogas Desulphurisation: A Critical Review

The agriculture and livestock industry generate waste used in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas containing methane (CH4), useful in the generation of electricity and heat. However, although biogas is mainly composed of CH4 (~65%) and CO2 (~34%), among the 1% of other compounds present is hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which deteriorates engines and power generation fuel cells that use biogas, generating a foul smell and contaminating the environment. As a solution to this, anoxic biofiltration, specifically with biotrickling filters (BTFs), stands out in terms of the elimination of H2S as it is cost-effective, efficient, and more environmentally friendly than chemical solutions. Research on the topic is uneven in terms of presenting performance markers, underestimating many microbiological indicators. Research from the last decade was analyzed (2010–2020), demonstrating that only 56% of the reviewed publications did not report microbiological analysis related to sulphur oxidising bacteria (SOB), the most important microbial group in desulphurisation BTFs. This exposes fundamental deficiencies within this type of research and difficulties in comparing performance between research works. In this review, traditional and microbiological performance markers of anoxic biofiltration to remove H2S are described. Additionally, an analysis to assess the efficiency of anoxic BTFs for biogas desulphurisation is proposed in order to have a complete and uniform assessment for research in this field.

Pharmacovigilance: procedures for uniform assessment of periodic safety update reports and their implementation in national settings. Focus on analgesics

Pharmacovigilance activities are of vital importance for ensuring effective and safe medicinal products. In order to clarify to which extent marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) meet the requirements of the Law and the Directives related to this activities, we conducted a systematic search among the procedures submitted to the Bulgarian Drug Agency (BDA) related to the implementation of the decisions of the Pharmacovigilance Committee and the Co-ordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedures – Human (CMDh) for a period of 6 years. The results of the study showed significant discrepancies between regulatory requirements and the behavior of the MAH at the national level. This could be a serious problem, as inadequate or late implementations of the PRAC (Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee)/CMDh/EC recommendations can lead to untimely informing of healthcare professionals and patients about potential safety concerns and risks related to the use of medicinal products.

Defining Targets for Reversing Declines of Soil Carbon in High-Intensity Arable Cropping

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is declining globally due to intensification of agriculture. Reversing declines should reduce soil erosion, maintain yields, raise the soil’s atmospheric carbon sink, and improve habitat for biodiversity. Commercial fields were sampled in a diverse European Atlantic zone cropland to relate SOC status to cropping intensity and to define a realistic target for restoration. SOC (%C by mass) decreased from 4% to 2% as the proportion of high-intensity crops increased from zero to 55% (linear regression, F pr. < 0.001). In further sampling in and around high-intensity fields, mean SOC increased from 2.4% in cultivated soil to 3.3% in field margins and 4.8% in nearby uncultivated land (F pr. < 0.001). Three broad zones of SOC in close spatial proximity were then defined: 1) high-intensity arable from 1% to 3%, 2) mid-intensity arable and arable-grass from 3% to 5% and 3) uncultivated and semi-natural land from 5% upwards. C:N ratio was constrained around 12, unaffected by cropping intensity, but slightly lower in fields than in margins and uncultivated land (F pr. < 0.001). A feasible target SOC of just above 3% was defined for high-intensity sites. There should be no biophysical obstacle to raising SOC above 3% in the high-input sector. Results argue against treating cropland of this type as uniform: assessment and restoration should be implemented field by field.

Особенности стандартизации химических реагентов для подготовки питьевой воды (на примере коагулянта полиоксихлорида алюминия)

Распространенным технологическим приемом удаления из воды грубодисперсных примесей, находящихся во взвешенном состоянии, а также коллоидных органических загрязнений, присутствующих в растворенном виде, является процесс коагуляции. Эффективными коагулянтами для систем с водной дисперсионной средой являются соли поливалентных металлов. Цель работы заключалась в создании нового государственного стандарта, предназначенного для обеспечения единообразной оценки качества коагулянтов. Рассмотрена область применения коагулянтов в процессе водоподготовки и проведен их сравнительный анализ. Показана необходимость унификации в области процессов контроля качества коагулянтов. Сформулированы общие требования к контролю качества полиоксихлорида алюминия. Представлен разработанный и утвержденный новый национальный стандарт ГОСТ Р 58580-2019 Полиоксихлорид алюминия. Технические условия , который учитывает требования санитарного законодательства, технического регулирования, безопасности процессов производства и транспортировки полиоксихлорида алюминия.Coagulation process has been a widespread process technology for removing coarse suspended impurities from water, as well as colloidal organic contaminants present in dissolved form. Polyvalent metal salts are effective coagulants for the systems with aqueous disperse medium. The purpose of the work was developing a new state standard to provide for a uniform assessment of the quality of coagulants. The scope of coagulants in the process of water treatment is considered and their comparative analysis is carried out. The general requirements to the control of polyaluminium chloride quality are formulated. The developed and approved new national standard GOST R 58580-2019 Polyaluminium chloride. Technical conditions is presented that takes into account the requirements of sanitary legislation, technical regulation, safety of the processes of production and transportation of polyaluminium chloride.

Topical Problems of Criminal Prosecution for Illegal Banking Transactions

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of crimes under Art. 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation («Illegal banking»), whose subjects, among other things, act as intermediaries for their clients and are not one of the sides in a contract with the bank. Such practice is not indisputable, because innocent people could be prosecuted if there is a mistake in the qualification of actions. The authors of the article assess the actions of physical persons providing the services of intermediaries for the bank clients who open accounts, make payments, conduct encashment and different cash operations. Specifically, the authors note that different actions of the bank and the client connected with banking transactions are designated in law in the same way, which leads to controversial situations, including the qualification of such actions as crimes. The authors determine the legal nature of banking as an aggregate of systemic banking operations and conclude that the actions of physical persons — intermediaries who are not bank employees or managers or other persons authorized by the clients of the bank — do not correspond to the characteristics of a crime under Art. 172 of Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They stress that the current edition of Art. 172 of the CC of the RF does not allow for an unambiguous interpretation of the subject of the analyzed corpus delicti; the authors also present data from court practice that testify that it does not have a uniform assessment. The position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on this issue raises questions. The authors support the legal approach according to which Art. 172 of the CC of the RF refers to a special subject (head or other employee of a credit organization). They also point out that the disposition of the norm, in the part that includes subjective characteristics, makes it possible to prosecute a person for both intentional and negligent actions, which is not very well-grounded; the authors support the position that a person can only be prosecuted for illegal entrepreneurship if the intention is determined.

Honeybees show a context-dependent rightward bias

Lateralized behaviour in social insects is of biological significance, as certain lateral biases appear to have emerged in tandem with eusociality, and thus can provide insights into its functioning. Here, I investigate behavioural asymmetry in an ecologically important social insect, the honeybee Apis mellifera. Experiments show that foraging bees exhibit a strong rightward turning bias, accompanied by reduced decision latency when entering open cavities, yet demonstrate no directional preference in sequential choice-mazes. A rightward exploration preference within unknown cavities is consistent with current information relating to the physiology of this species, with workers being better equipped for sensory investigation and threat response using their right antenna and eye. Furthermore, when applied to collective nest-choice scenarios, a similar bias would promote the uniform assessment of nest cavities, and consistency in quorum attainment. Conversely, such laterality appears to provide no immediate advantage in enclosed decision-maze systems, where thigmotaxis instead predominates. As such, my results show that directional biases in A. mellifera are extent, yet context-dependent, thus providing a simple and optimized response to varied social challenges.

An interlaboratory study of complex variant detection

ABSTRACTNext-generation sequencing (NGS) is widely used and cost-effective. Depending on the specific methods, NGS can have limitations detecting certain technically challenging variant types even though they are both prevalent in patients and medically important. These types are underrepresented in validation studies, hindering the uniform assessment of test methodologies by laboratory directors and clinicians. Specimens containing such variants can be difficult to obtain; thus, we evaluated a novel solution to this problem in which a diverse set of technically challenging variants was synthesized and introduced into a known genomic background. This specimen was sequenced by 7 laboratories using 10 different NGS workflows. The specimen was compatible with all 10 workflows and presented biochemical and bioinformatic challenges similar to those of patient specimens. Only 10 of 22 challenging variants were correctly identified by all 10 workflows, and only 3 workflows detected all 22. Many, but not all, of the sensitivity limitations were bioinformatic in nature. We conclude that Synthetic controls can provide an efficient and informative mechanism to augment studies with technically challenging variants that are difficult to obtain otherwise. Data from such specimens can facilitate inter-laboratory methodologic comparisons and can help establish standards that improve communication between clinicians and laboratories.