Inorganics, Vol. 4, Pages 10: Adsorption of Water on Two-Dimensional Crystals: Water/Graphene and Water/Silicatene

The adsorption of water on solid surfaces is a scientific evergreen which again recently prompted considerable attention in the materials, nano-, and surface science communities, respectively, due to conflicting evidence presented in the most highly regarded scientific journals. This mini review is a brief and personal perspective of the current literature (and our own data) about water adsorption for two examples, namely graphene and silicatene, which are both two-dimensional (2D) crystals. Silicatene, an inorganic companion of graphene, is intriguing as it presents us with the possibility to synthesize a 2D analog to zeolites by doping this crystalline silicon film. The wettability by water and whether or not support effects of epitaxial 2D crystals are present is of concern. Regarding applications: some 2D crystals appear promising for the hydrogen evolution reaction, i.e., hydrogen generation from water; a functionalization of graphene (by oxygen/water) to graphene oxide may be interesting for metal-free catalysis; the latest highlight in this field appears to be "icephobicity", an application related to the hydrophobicity of surfaces.

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Metals, Vol. 6, Pages 97: Erratum: Wally, Z.J.; van Grunsven, W.; Claeyssens, F.; Goodall, R.; Reilly, G.C. Porous Titanium for Dental Implant Applications. Metals 2015, 5, 1902–1920.

The authors wish to make the following corrections to the citations in the published paper [1].[...]

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Micromachines, Vol. 7, Pages 75: Quasi-Optical Terahertz Microfluidic Devices for Chemical Sensing and Imaging

We first review the development of a frequency domain quasi-optical terahertz (THz) chemical sensing and imaging platform consisting of a quartz-based microfluidic subsystem in our previous work. We then report the application of this platform to sensing and characterizing of several selected liquid chemical samples from 570–630 GHz. THz sensing of chemical mixtures including isopropylalcohol-water (IPA-H2O) mixtures and acetonitrile-water (ACN-H2O) mixtures have been successfully demonstrated and the results have shown completely different hydrogen bond dynamics detected in different mixture systems. In addition, the developed platform has been applied to study molecule diffusion at the interface between adjacent liquids in the multi-stream laminar flow inside the microfluidic subsystem. The reported THz microfluidic platform promises real-time and label-free chemical/biological sensing and imaging with extremely broad bandwidth, high spectral resolution, and high spatial resolution.

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Cells, Vol. 5, Pages 20: Role of Intermediate Filaments in Vesicular Traffic

Intermediate filaments are an important component of the cellular cytoskeleton. The first established role attributed to intermediate filaments was the mechanical support to cells. However, it is now clear that intermediate filaments have many different roles affecting a variety of other biological functions, such as the organization of microtubules and microfilaments, the regulation of nuclear structure and activity, the control of cell cycle and the regulation of signal transduction pathways. Furthermore, a number of intermediate filament proteins have been involved in the acquisition of tumorigenic properties. Over the last years, a strong involvement of intermediate filament proteins in the regulation of several aspects of intracellular trafficking has strongly emerged. Here, we review the functions of intermediate filaments proteins focusing mainly on the recent knowledge gained from the discovery that intermediate filaments associate with key proteins of the vesicular membrane transport machinery. In particular, we analyze the current understanding of the contribution of intermediate filaments to the endocytic pathway.

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Elevated serum ferritin is associated with increased mortality in NAFLD after 16 years of follow-up

Liver International

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Comparison of clinical efficacy and renal safety of telbivudine and entecavir in chronic hepatitis B patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy

Journal of Digestive Diseases

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Potential role of the microbiome in Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma

Digestive Diseases and Sciences

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Benchmarking trial between France and Australia comparing management of primary rectal cancer beyond TME and locally recurrent rectal cancer (PelviCare Trial): rationale and design

BMC Cancer

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Role of percutaneous abscess drainage in the management of young patients with Crohn's disease

Pediatric Radiology

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Exploring hepatitis from the perspective of Iranian Traditional Medicine: Using a qualitative approach

Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine

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Does gastroesophageal reflux increase chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations?

Respiratory Medicine

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Mucosal pathobiology and molecular signature of epithelial barrier dysfunction in the small intestine in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

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Clinicopathological characteristics of cancer associated with Crohn's disease

Surgery Today

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Similarities and differences among eosinophilic esophagitis, proton-pump inhibitor-responsive esophageal eosinophilia, and reflux esophagitis: comparisons of clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological findings in Japanese patients

Journal of Gastroenterology

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Molecular detection of H. pylori using adherent gastric mucous to biopsy forceps

Helicobacter

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Adverse events after radiofrequency ablation in patients with Barrett’s esophagus—A systematic review and meta-analysis

Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

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Ulcerative colitis patients With Clostridium difficile are at increased risk of death, colectomy, and postoperative complications: A population-based inception cohort study

The American Journal of Gastroenterology

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Effect and safety of daclatasvir-asunaprevir combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1b -infected patients on hemodialysis

Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis

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Effects of daily telephone-based re-education before taking medicine on Helicobacter pylori eradication

World Journal of Gastroenterology

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ACG Clinical Guideline: Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of acute diarrheal infections in adults

The American Journal of Gastroenterology

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Treatment with oxidized phospholipids directly inhibits nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis without affecting steatosis

Digestive Diseases and Sciences

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Hepatitis C virus resistance to direct-acting antiviral drugs in interferon-free regimens

Gastroenterology

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Early nasojejunal tube feeding versus nil-by-mouth in acute pancreatitis: A randomized clinical trial

Pancreatology

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An international consensus report on a new algorithm for the management of infant diarrhoea

Acta Pediatrica

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Insights into the morphology of symbiotic shrimp eyes (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palaemonidae); the effects of habitat demands

Morphometric differences in the optical morphology of symbiotic palaemonid shrimps can be observed among species symbiotic with different host organisms. Discriminant functional analysis revealed three distinct groups within the species examined. Of these, bivalve symbionts appear to have an eye design that is solely unique to this host-symbiont grouping, a design that spans across multiple genera of phylogenetically unrelated animals. Although some taxonomic effects may be evident, this does not explain the difference and similarities in eye morphology that are seen within these shrimps. Therefore evolutionary pressures from their host environments are having an impact on the optical morphology of their eyes however, as indicated by host-hopping events there ecological adaptations occur post host invasion.

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Nutrient uplift in a cyclonic eddy increases diversity, primary productivity and iron demand of microbial communities relative to a western boundary current

The intensification of western boundary currents in the global ocean will potentially influence meso-scale eddy generation, and redistribute microbes and their associated ecological and biogeochemical functions. To understand eddy-induced changes in microbial community composition as well as how they control growth, we targeted the East Australian Current (EAC) region to sample microbes in a cyclonic (cold-core) eddy (CCE) and the adjacent EAC. Phototrophic and diazotrophic microbes were more diverse (2–10 times greater Shannon index) in the CCE relative to the EAC, and the cell size distribution in the CCE was dominated (67%) by larger micro-plankton $(\geq 20\lrm{\mu }\mathrm{m})$ ≥ 20 μ m , as opposed to pico- and nano-sized cells in the EAC. Nutrient addition experiments determined that nitrogen was the principal nutrient limiting growth in the EAC, while iron was a secondary limiting nutrient in the CCE. Among the diazotrophic community, heterotrophic NifH gene sequences dominated in the EAC and were attributable to members of the gamma-, beta-, and delta-proteobacteria, while the CCE contained both phototrophic and heterotrophic diazotrophs, including Trichodesmium, UCYN-A and gamma-proteobacteria. Daily sampling of incubation bottles following nutrient amendment captured a cascade of effects at the cellular, population and community level, indicating taxon-specific differences in the speed of response of microbes to nutrient supply. Nitrogen addition to the CCE community increased picoeukaryote chlorophyll a quotas within 24 h, suggesting that nutrient uplift by eddies causes a 'greening' effect as well as an increase in phytoplankton biomass. After three days in both the EAC and CCE, diatoms increased in abundance with macronutrient (N, P, Si) and iron amendment, whereas haptophytes and phototrophic dinoflagellates declined. Our results indicate that cyclonic eddies increase delivery of nitrogen to the upper ocean to potentially mitigate the negative consequences of increased stratification due to ocean warming, but also increase the biological demand for iron that is necessary to sustain the growth of large-celled phototrophs and potentially support the diversity of diazotrophs over longer time-scales.

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Elevational variation in body-temperature response to immune challenge in a lizard

Immunocompetence benefits animal fitness by combating pathogens, but also entails some costs. One of its main components is fever, which in ectotherms involves two main types of costs: energy expenditure and predation risk. Whenever those costs of fever outweigh its benefits, ectotherms are expected not to develop fever, or even to show hypothermia, reducing costs of thermoregulation and diverting the energy saved to other components of the immune system. Environmental thermal quality, and therefore the thermoregulation cost/benefit balance, varies geographically. Hence, we hypothesize that, in alpine habitats, immune-challenged ectotherms should show no thermal response, given that (1) hypothermia would be very costly, as the temporal window for reproduction is extremely small, and (2) fever would have a prohibitive cost, as heat acquisition is limited in such habitat. However, in temperate habitats, immune-challenged ectotherms might show a febrile response, due to lower cost/benefit balance as a consequence of a more suitable thermal environment. We tested this hypothesis in Psammodromus algirus lizards from Sierra Nevada (SE Spain), by testing body temperature preferred by alpine and non-alpine lizards, before and after activating their immune system with a typical innocuous pyrogen. Surprisingly, non-alpine lizards responded to immune challenge by decreasing preferential body-temperature, presumably allowing them to save energy and reduce exposure to predators. On the contrary, as predicted, immune-challenged alpine lizards maintained their body-temperature preferences. These results match with increased costs of no thermoregulation with elevation, due to the reduced window of time for reproduction in alpine environment.

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Watch out where you sleep: nocturnal sleeping behaviour of Bay Island lizards

Sleeping exposes lizards to predation. Therefore, sleeping strategies must be directed towards avoiding predation and might vary among syntopic species. We studied sleeping site characteristics of two syntopic, congeneric lizards—the Bay Island forest lizard, Coryphophylax subcristatus and the short-tailed Bay Island lizard, C. brevicaudus and evaluated inter-specific differences. We measured structural, microclimatic and potential predator avoidance at the sleeping perches of 386 C. subcristatus and 185 C. brevicaudus. Contrary to our expectation, we found similar perch use in both species. The lizards appeared to use narrow girth perch plants and accessed perches by moving both vertically and horizontally. Most lizards slept on leaves, with their heads directed towards the potential path of a predator approaching from the plant base. There was no inter-specific competition in the choices of sleeping perches. These choices indicate an anti-predator strategy involving both tactile and visual cues. This study provides insight into a rarely studied behaviour in reptiles and its adaptive significance.

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PKC in motorneurons underlies self-learning, a form of motor learning in Drosophila

Tethering a fly for stationary flight allows for exquisite control of its sensory input, such as visual or olfactory stimuli or a punishing infrared laser beam. A torque meter measures the turning attempts of the tethered fly around its vertical body axis. By punishing, say, left turning attempts (in a homogeneous environment), one can train a fly to restrict its behaviour to right turning attempts. It was recently discovered that this form of operant conditioning (called operant self-learning), may constitute a form of motor learning in Drosophila. Previous work had shown that Protein Kinase C (PKC) and the transcription factor dFoxP were specifically involved in self-learning, but not in other forms of learning. These molecules are specifically involved in various forms of motor learning in other animals, such as compulsive biting in Aplysia, song-learning in birds, procedural learning in mice or language acquisition in humans. Here we describe our efforts to decipher which PKC gene is involved in self-learning in Drosophila. We also provide evidence that motorneurons may be one part of the neuronal network modified during self-learning experiments. The collected evidence is reminiscent of one of the simplest, clinically relevant forms of motor learning in humans, operant reflex conditioning, which also relies on motorneuron plasticity.

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Development of a stem taper equation and modelling the effect of stand density on taper for Chinese fir plantations in Southern China

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) is the most important commercial tree species in southern China. The objective of this study was to develop a variable taper equation for Chinese fir, and to quantify the effects of stand planting density on stem taper in Chinese fir. Five equations were fitted or evaluated using the diameter-height data from 293 Chinese fir trees sampled from stands with four different densities in Fenyi County, Jiangxi Province, in southern China. A total of 183 trees were randomly selected for the model development, with the remaining 110 trees used for model evaluation. The results show that the Kozak's, Sharma/Oderwald, Sharma/Zhang and modified Brink's equations are superior to the Pain/Boyer equation in terms of the fitting and validation statistics, and the modified Brink's and Sharma/Zhang equations should be recommended for use as taper equations for Chinese fir because of their high accuracy and variable exponent. The relationships between some parameters of the three selected equations and stand planting densities can be built by adopting some simple mathematical functions to examine the effects of stand planting density on tree taper. The modelling and prediction precision of the three taper equations were compared with or without incorporation of the stand density variable. The predictive accuracy of the model was improved by including the stand density variable and the mean absolute bias of the modified Brink's and Sharma/Zhang equations with a stand density variable were all below 1.0 cm in the study area. The modelling results showed that the trees have larger butt diameters and more taper when stand density was lower than at higher stand density.

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Ectopic expression of Jatropha curcas APETALA1 (JcAP1) caused early flowering in Arabidopsis, but not in Jatropha

Jatropha curcas is a promising feedstock for biofuel production because Jatropha oil is highly suitable for the production of biodiesel and bio-jet fuels. However, Jatropha exhibits a low seed yield as a result of unreliable and poor flowering. APETALA1 (AP1) is a floral meristem and organ identity gene in higher plants. The flower meristem identity genes of Jatropha have not yet been identified or characterized. To better understand the genetic control of flowering in Jatropha, an AP1 homolog (JcAP1) was isolated from Jatropha. An amino acid sequence analysis of JcAP1 revealed a high similarity to the AP1 proteins of other perennial plants. JcAP1 was expressed in inflorescence buds, flower buds, sepals and petals. The highest expression level was observed during the early developmental stage of the flower buds. The overexpression of JcAP1 using the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter resulted in extremely early flowering and abnormal flowers in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Several flowering genes downstream of AP1 were up-regulated in the JcAP1-overexpressing transgenic plant lines. Furthermore, JcAP1 overexpression rescued the phenotype caused by the Arabidopsis AP1 loss-of-function mutant ap1-11. Therefore, JcAP1 is an ortholog of AtAP1, which plays a similar role in the regulation of flowering in Arabidopsis. However, the overexpression of JcAP1 in Jatropha using the same promoter resulted in little variation in the flowering time and floral organs, indicating that JcAP1 may be insufficient to regulate flowering by itself in Jatropha. This study helps to elucidate the function of JcAP1 and contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of flower development in Jatropha.

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Diversity improves performance in excitable networks

As few real systems comprise indistinguishable units, diversity is a hallmark of nature. Diversity among interacting units shapes properties of collective behavior such as synchronization and information transmission. However, the benefits of diversity on information processing at the edge of a phase transition, ordinarily assumed to emerge from identical elements, remain largely unexplored. Analyzing a general model of excitable systems with heterogeneous excitability, we find that diversity can greatly enhance optimal performance (by two orders of magnitude) when distinguishing incoming inputs. Heterogeneous systems possess a subset of specialized elements whose capability greatly exceeds that of the nonspecialized elements. We also find that diversity can yield multiple percolation, with performance optimized at tricriticality. Our results are robust in specific and more realistic neuronal systems comprising a combination of excitatory and inhibitory units, and indicate that diversity-induced amplification can be harnessed by neuronal systems for evaluating stimulus intensities.

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GoPros™ as an underwater photogrammetry tool for citizen science

Citizen science can increase the scope of research in the marine environment; however, it suffers from necessitating specialized training and simplified methodologies that reduce research output. This paper presents a simplified, novel survey methodology for citizen scientists, which combines GoPro imagery and structure from motion to construct an ortho-corrected 3D model of habitats for analysis. Results using a coral reef habitat were compared to surveys conducted with traditional snorkelling methods for benthic cover, holothurian counts, and coral health. Results were comparable between the two methods, and structure from motion allows the results to be analysed off-site for any chosen visual analysis. The GoPro method outlined in this study is thus an effective tool for citizen science in the marine environment, especially for comparing changes in coral cover or volume over time.

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Viruses, Vol. 8, Pages 117: Glutamic Acid Residues in HIV-1 p6 Regulate Virus Budding and Membrane Association of Gag

The HIV-1 Gag p6 protein regulates the final abscission step of nascent virions from the cell membrane by the action of its two late (l-) domains, which recruit Tsg101 and ALIX, components of the ESCRT system. Even though p6 consists of only 52 amino acids, it is encoded by one of the most polymorphic regions of the HIV-1 gag gene and undergoes various posttranslational modifications including sumoylation, ubiquitination, and phosphorylation. In addition, it mediates the incorporation of the HIV-1 accessory protein Vpr into budding virions. Despite its small size, p6 exhibits an unusually high charge density. In this study, we show that mutation of the conserved glutamic acids within p6 increases the membrane association of Pr55 Gag followed by enhanced polyubiquitination and MHC-I antigen presentation of Gag-derived epitopes, possibly due to prolonged exposure to membrane bound E3 ligases. The replication capacity of the total glutamic acid mutant E0A was almost completely impaired, which was accompanied by defective virus release that could not be rescued by ALIX overexpression. Altogether, our data indicate that the glutamic acids within p6 contribute to the late steps of viral replication and may contribute to the interaction of Gag with the plasma membrane.

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Atmosphere, Vol. 7, Pages 62: Examining the Impacts of Land Use on Air Quality from a Spatio-Temporal Perspective in Wuhan, China

Air pollution is one of the key environmental problems associated with urbanization and land use. Taking Wuhan city, Central China, as a case example, we explore the quantitative relationship between land use (built-up land, water bodies, and vegetation) and air quality (SO2, NO2, and PM10) based on nine ground-level monitoring sites from a long-term spatio-temporal perspective in 2007–2014. Five buffers with radiuses from 0.5 to 4 km are created at each site in geographical information system (GIS) and areas of land use categories within different buffers at each site are calculated. Socio-economic development, energy use, traffic emission, industrial emission, and meteorological condition are taken into consideration to control the influences of those factors on air quality. Results of bivariate correlation analysis between land use variables and annual average concentrations of air pollutants indicate that land use categories have discriminatory effects on different air pollutants, whether for the direction of correlation, the magnitude of correlation or the spatial scale effect of correlation. Stepwise linear regressions are used to quantitatively model their relationships and the results reveal that land use significantly influence air quality. Built-up land with one standard deviation growth will cause 2% increases in NO2 concentration while vegetation will cause 5% decreases. The increases of water bodies with one standard deviation are associated with 3%–6% decreases of SO2 or PM10 concentration, which is comparable to the mitigation effect of meteorology factor such as precipitation. Land use strategies should be paid much more attention while making air pollution reduction policies.

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Animals, Vol. 6, Pages 26: Cecil: A Moment or a Movement? Analysis of Media Coverage of the Death of a Lion, Panthera Leo

The killing of a satellite-tagged male lion by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe in July 2015 provoked an unprecedented media reaction. We analyse the global media response to the trophy hunting of the lion, nicknamed "Cecil", a study animal in a long-term project run by Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). We collaborated with a media-monitoring company to investigate the development of the media coverage spatially and temporally. Relevant articles were identified using a Boolean search for the terms Cecil AND lion in 127 languages. Stories about Cecil the Lion in the editorial media increased from approximately 15 per day to nearly 12,000 at its peak, and mentions of Cecil the Lion in social media reached 87,533 at its peak. We found that, while there were clear regional differences in the level of media saturation of the Cecil story, the patterns of the development of the coverage of this story were remarkably similar across the globe, and that there was no evidence of a lag between the social media and the editorial media. Further, all the main social media platforms appeared to react in synchrony. This story appears to have spread synchronously across media channels and geographically across the globe over the span of about two days. For lion conservation in particular, and perhaps for wildlife conservation more generally, we speculate that the atmosphere may have been changed significantly. We consider the possible reasons why this incident provoked a reaction unprecedented in the conservation sector.

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Viruses, Vol. 8, Pages 107: Development of a Triple-Color Pseudovirion-Based Assay to Detect Neutralizing Antibodies against Human Papillomavirus

Pseudovirion-based neutralization assay is considered the gold standard method for evaluating the immune response to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. In this study, we developed a multicolor neutralization assay to simultaneously detect the neutralizing antibodies against different HPV types. FluoroSpot was used to interpret the fluorescent protein expression instead of flow cytometry. The results of FluoroSpot and flow cytometry showed good consistency, with R2 > 0.98 for the log-transformed IC50 values. Regardless of the reporter color, the single-, dual-, and triple-color neutralization assays reported identical results for the same samples. In low-titer samples from naturally HPV-infected individuals, there was strong agreement between the single- and triple-color assays, with kappa scores of 0.92, 0.89, and 0.96 for HPV16, HPV18, and HPV58, respectively. Good reproducibility was observed for the triple-color assay, with coefficients of variation of 2.0%–41.5% within the assays and 8.3%–36.2% between the assays. Three triple-color systems, HPV16-18-58, HPV6-33-45, and HPV11-31-52, were developed that could evaluate the immunogenicity of a nonavalent vaccine in three rounds of the assay. With the advantages of an easy-to-use procedure and less sample consumption, the multiple-color assay is more suitable than classical assays for large sero-epidemiological studies and clinical trials and is more amenable to automation.

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Toxins, Vol. 8, Pages 121: Dynamic Duo—The Salmonella Cytolethal Distending Toxin Combines ADP-Ribosyltransferase and Nuclease Activities in a Novel Form of the Cytolethal Distending Toxin

The cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a well characterized bacterial genotoxin encoded by several Gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella enterica (S. enterica). The CDT produced by Salmonella (S-CDT) differs from the CDT produced by other bacteria, as it utilizes subunits with homology to the pertussis and subtilase toxins, in place of the traditional CdtA and CdtC subunits. Previously, S-CDT was thought to be a unique virulence factor of S. enterica subspecies enterica serotype Typhi, lending to its classification as the "typhoid toxin." Recently, this important virulence factor has been identified and characterized in multiple nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) serotypes as well. The significance of S-CDT in salmonellosis with regards to the: (i) distribution of S-CDT encoding genes among NTS serotypes, (ii) contributions to pathogenicity, (iii) regulation of S-CDT expression, and (iv) the public health implication of S-CDT as it relates to disease severity, are reviewed here.

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Energies, Vol. 9, Pages 314: Economic Impact of Intelligent Dynamic Control in Urban Outdoor Lighting

This paper presents and compares the possible energy savings in various approaches to outdoor lighting modernization. Several solutions implementable using currently-available systems are presented and discussed. An innovative approach using real-time sensor data is also presented in detail, along with its formal background, based on Artificial Intelligence methods (rule-based systems) and graph transformations. The efficiency of all approaches has been estimated and compared using real-life data recorded at an urban setting. The article also presents other aspects which influence the efficiency and feasibility of intelligent lighting projects, including design quality, design workload and conformance to standards.

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Energies, Vol. 9, Pages 317: Power Production Losses Study by Frequency Regulation in Weak-Grid-Connected Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Plants

Nowadays, an increasing penetration of utility-scale photovoltaic plants (USPVPs) leads to a change in dynamic and operational characteristics of the power distribution system. USPVPs must help to maintain the system stability and reliability while implementing minimum technical requirements (MTRs) imposed by the utility grid. One of the most significant requirements is about frequency regulation (FR). Overall production of USPVPs is reduced significantly by applying FR curves, especially in weak grids with high rate of frequency faults. The introduction of a battery energy storage system (BESS) reduces losses and improves the grid system reliability. Experimental frequency and irradiance data of several weak grids have been used to analyse USPVPs losses related to FR requirements and benefits from the introduction of a BESS. Moreover, its economic viability is showen without the need for any economic incentives.

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Energies, Vol. 9, Pages 311: Optimal Day-Ahead Scheduling of a Smart Distribution Grid Considering Reactive Power Capability of Distributed Generation

In the traditional paradigm, large power plants provide active and reactive power required for the transmission system and the distribution network purchases grid power from it. However, with more and more distributed energy resources (DERs) connected at distribution levels, it is necessary to schedule DERs to meet their demand and participate in the electricity markets at the distribution level in the near future. This paper proposes a comprehensive operational scheduling model to be used in the distribution management system (DMS). The model aims to determine optimal decisions on active elements of the network, distributed generations (DGs), and responsive loads (RLs), seeking to minimize the day-ahead composite economic cost of the distribution network. For more detailed simulation, the composite cost includes the aspects of the operation cost, emission cost, and transmission loss cost of the network. Additionally, the DMS effectively utilizes the reactive power support capabilities of wind and solar power integrated in the distribution, which is usually neglected in previous works. The optimization procedure is formulated as a nonlinear combinatorial problem and solved with a modified differential evolution algorithm. A modified 33-bus distribution network is employed to validate the satisfactory performance of the proposed methodology.

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Energies, Vol. 9, Pages 312: Comparison of Dissolved Gases in Mineral and Vegetable Insulating Oils under Typical Electrical and Thermal Faults

Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is attracting greater and greater interest from researchers as a fault diagnostic tool for power transformers filled with vegetable insulating oils. This paper presents experimental results of dissolved gases in insulating oils under typical electrical and thermal faults in transformers. The tests covered three types of insulating oils, including two types of vegetable oil, which are camellia insulating oil, Envirotemp FR3, and a type of mineral insulating oil, to simulate thermal faults in oils from 90 °C to 800 °C and electrical faults including breakdown and partial discharges in oils. The experimental results reveal that the content and proportion of dissolved gases in different types of insulating oils under the same fault condition are different, especially under thermal faults due to the obvious differences of their chemical compositions. Four different classic diagnosis methods were applied: ratio method, graphic method, and Duval's triangle and Duval's pentagon method. These confirmed that the diagnosis methods developed for mineral oil were not fully appropriate for diagnosis of electrical and thermal faults in vegetable insulating oils and needs some modification. Therefore, some modification aiming at different types of vegetable oils based on Duval Triangle 3 were proposed in this paper and obtained a good diagnostic result. Furthermore, gas formation mechanisms of different types of vegetable insulating oils under thermal stress are interpreted by means of unimolecular pyrolysis simulation and reaction enthalpies calculation.

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JCM, Vol. 5, Pages 49: Treatment of Established Status Epilepticus

Status epilepticus is the most severe form of epilepsy, with a high mortality rate and high health care costs. Status epilepticus is divided into four stages: early, established, refractory, and super-refractory. While initial treatment with benzodiazepines has become standard of care for early status epilepticus, treatment after benzodiazepine failure (established status epilepticus (ESE)) is incompletely studied. Effective treatment of ESE is critical as morbidity and mortality increases dramatically the longer convulsive status epilepticus persists. Phenytoin/fosphenytoin, valproic acid, levetiracetam, phenobarbital, and lacosamide are the most frequently prescribed antiseizure medications for treatment of ESE. To date there are no class 1 data to support pharmacologic recommendations of one agent over another. We review each of these medications, their pharmacology, the scientific evidence in support and against each in the available literature, adverse effects and safety profiles, dosing recommendations, and limitations of the available evidence. We also discuss future directions including the established status epilepticus treatment trial (ESETT). Substantial further research is urgently needed to identify these patients (particularly those with non-convulsive status epilepticus), elucidate the most efficacious antiseizure treatment with head-to-head randomized prospective trials, and determine whether this differs for convulsive vs. non-convulsive ESE.

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Nitric oxide synthase and changes in oxidative stress levels in embryonic kidney observed in a rabbit model of intrauterine growth restriction.

Abstract

Objective

To study the effect of uteroplacental circulation restriction on endothelial kidney damage in a fetal rabbit model.

Methods

New Zealand rabbits were subjected to 40-50% of uteroplacental artery ligation at day 25 of pregnancy. After 5 days, surviving fetuses were harvested by cesarean section. The gene and protein expression of selected enzymes associated with nitric oxide production and oxidative stress were analyzed in fetal kidney homogenates.

Results

The placenta weight (6,06 ± 0,27, p < 0,0319) and fetal body (19.90 ± 1.03, p < 0,0001) were significantly reduced in the uteroplacental circulation restriction group. The kidneys from restricted fetuses presented a mild vascular congestion and glomerular capillary congestion, without inflammation or hypertrophy. We found eNOS phosphorylation inhibition (0.23 ± 0.13, p < 0.012) and Arginase-2 (0.29 + 0.14, p < 0.023) protein induction in fetal kidneys of the circulation restriction group. Finally, the kidneys from circulation-restricted fetuses showed increased iNOS mRNA (2.68 + 0.24, p < 0.01) and reduced HO-1 mRNA (23 + 1.3, p < 0.003), with increased ROS (1.69 + 0.09, p < 0.001) and nitrotyrosine-protein (1.74 + 0.28, p < 0.003) levels, without changes in Nox mRNA.

Conclusion

We describe significant deregulation of vascular activity and oxidative damage in kidneys of fetal rabbits that have been exposed to restriction of the uterine circulation.

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Elevated yolk progesterone moderates prenatal heart rate and postnatal auditory learning in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus)

Abstract

Previous studies have established that yolk hormones of maternal origin can influence physiology and behavior in birds. However, few studies have examined the effects of maternal gestagens, like progesterone, on chick behavior and physiology. We tested the effects of experimentally elevated egg yolk progesterone on embryonic heart rate and postnatal auditory learning in bobwhite quail hatchlings. Quail chicks were passively exposed to an individual maternal assembly call for 10 min/hr during the 24 hr following hatching. Preference for the familiarized call was tested at 48 hr following hatching in three experimental groups: chicks that received artificially elevated yolk progesterone (P) prior to incubation, vehicle-only controls (V), and non-manipulated controls (C). Resting heart rate of P, V, and C embryos were also measured on prenatal day 17. The resting heart rate of P embryos was significantly higher than both the V and C embryos. Chicks from the P group also showed an enhanced preference for the familiarized bobwhite maternal call when compared to chicks from the C and V groups. Our results indicate that elevated yolk progesterone in pre-incubated bobwhite quail eggs can influence arousal level in bobwhite embryos and postnatal perceptual learning in bobwhite neonates.

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Energies, Vol. 9, Pages 316: Solar Hydrogen Production via a Samarium Oxide-Based Thermochemical Water Splitting Cycle

The computational thermodynamic analysis of a samarium oxide-based two-step solar thermochemical water splitting cycle is reported. The analysis is performed using HSC chemistry software and databases. The first (solar-based) step drives the thermal reduction of Sm2O3 into Sm and O2. The second (non-solar) step corresponds to the production of H2 via a water splitting reaction and the oxidation of Sm to Sm2O3. The equilibrium thermodynamic compositions related to the thermal reduction and water splitting steps are determined. The effect of oxygen partial pressure in the inert flushing gas on the thermal reduction temperature (TH) is examined. An analysis based on the second law of thermodynamics is performed to determine the cycle efficiency (ηcycle) and solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency (ηsolar−to−fuel) attainable with and without heat recuperation. The results indicate that ηcycle and ηsolar−to−fuel both increase with decreasing TH, due to the reduction in oxygen partial pressure in the inert flushing gas. Furthermore, the recuperation of heat for the operation of the cycle significantly improves the solar reactor efficiency. For instance, in the case where TH = 2280 K, ηcycle = 24.4% and ηsolar−to−fuel = 29.5% (without heat recuperation), while ηcycle = 31.3% and ηsolar−to−fuel = 37.8% (with 40% heat recuperation).

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Toxins, Vol. 8, Pages 121: Dynamic Duo—The Salmonella Cytolethal Distending Toxin Combines ADP-Ribosyltransferase and Nuclease Activities in a Novel Form of the Cytolethal Distending Toxin

The cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a well characterized bacterial genotoxin encoded by several Gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella enterica (S. enterica). The CDT produced by Salmonella (S-CDT) differs from the CDT produced by other bacteria, as it utilizes subunits with homology to the pertussis and subtilase toxins, in place of the traditional CdtA and CdtC subunits. Previously, S-CDT was thought to be a unique virulence factor of S. enterica subspecies enterica serotype Typhi, lending to its classification as the "typhoid toxin." Recently, this important virulence factor has been identified and characterized in multiple nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) serotypes as well. The significance of S-CDT in salmonellosis with regards to the: (i) distribution of S-CDT encoding genes among NTS serotypes, (ii) contributions to pathogenicity, (iii) regulation of S-CDT expression, and (iv) the public health implication of S-CDT as it relates to disease severity, are reviewed here.

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Biosensors, Vol. 6, Pages 18: Current-Induced Transistor Sensorics with Electrogenic Cells

The concepts of transistor recording of electroactive cells are considered, when the response is determined by a current-induced voltage in the electrolyte due to cellular activity. The relationship to traditional transistor recording, with an interface-induced response due to interactions with the open gate oxide, is addressed. For the geometry of a cell-substrate junction, the theory of a planar core-coat conductor is described with a one-compartment approximation. The fast electrical relaxation of the junction and the slow change of ion concentrations are pointed out. On that basis, various recording situations are considered and documented by experiments. For voltage-gated ion channels under voltage clamp, the effects of a changing extracellular ion concentration and the enhancement/depletion of ion conductances in the adherent membrane are addressed. Inhomogeneous ion conductances are crucial for transistor recording of neuronal action potentials. For a propagating action potential, the effects of an axon-substrate junction and the surrounding volume conductor are distinguished. Finally, a receptor-transistor-sensor is described, where the inhomogeneity of a ligand–activated ion conductance is achieved by diffusion of the agonist and inactivation of the conductance. Problems with regard to a development of reliable biosensors are mentioned.

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Energies, Vol. 9, Pages 309: One-Dimensional Modelling of Marine Current Turbine Runaway Behaviour

If a turbine loses its electrical load, it will rotate freely and increase speed, eventually achieving that rotational speed which produces zero net torque. This is known as a runaway situation. Unlike many other types of turbine, a marine current turbine will typically overshoot the final runaway speed before slowing down and settling at the runaway speed. Since the hydrodynamic forces acting on the turbine are dependent on rotational speed and acceleration, turbine behaviour during runaway becomes important for load analyses during turbine design. In this article, we consider analytical and numerical models of marine current turbine runaway behaviour in one dimension. The analytical model is found not to capture the overshoot phenomenon, while still providing useful estimates of acceleration at the onset of runaway. The numerical model incorporates turbine wake build-up and predicts a rotational speed overshoot. The predictions of the models are compared against measurements of runaway of a marine current turbine. The models are also used to recreate previously-published results for a tidal turbine and applied to a wind turbine. It is found that both models provide reasonable estimates of maximum accelerations. The numerical model is found to capture the speed overshoot well.

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Micromachines, Vol. 7, Pages 73: Influence of Geometry and Surrounding Conditions on Fluid Flow in Paper-Based Devices

Fluid flow behaviour in paper is of increasing interest due to the advantages and expanding use of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (known as µPADs). Applications are expanding from those which often have low sample fluid volumes, such as diagnostic testing, to those with an abundance of sample fluid, such as water quality testing. The rapid development of enhanced features in μPADs, along with a need for increased sensitivity and specificity in the embedded chemistry requires understanding the passively-driven fluid motion in paper to enable precise control and consistency of the devices. It is particularly important to understand the influence of parameters associated with larger fluid volumes and to quantify their impact. Here, we experimentally investigate the impacts of several properties during imbibition in paper, including geometry (larger width and length) and the surrounding conditions (humidity and temperature) using abundant fluid reservoirs. Fluid flow velocity in paper was found to vary with temperature and width, but not with length of the paper strip and humidity for the conditions we tested. We observed substantial post-wetting flow for paper strips in contact with a large fluid reservoir.

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Sports, Vol. 4, Pages 23: The Effects of Mental Imagery with Video-Modeling on Self-Efficacy and Maximal Front Squat Ability

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of mental imagery supplemented with video-modeling on self-efficacy and front squat strength (three repetition maximum; 3RM). Subjects (13 male, 7 female) who had at least 6 months of front squat experience were assigned to either an experimental (n = 10) or a control (n = 10) group. Subjects′ 3RM and self-efficacy for the 3RM were measured at baseline. Following this, subjects in the experimental group followed a structured imagery protocol, incorporating video recordings of both their own 3RM performance and a model lifter with excellent technique, twice a day for three days. Subjects in the control group spent the same amount of time viewing a placebo video. Following three days with no physical training, measurements of front squat 3RM and self-efficacy for the 3RM were repeated. Subjects in the experimental group increased in self-efficacy following the intervention, and showed greater 3RM improvement than those in the control group. Self-efficacy was found to significantly mediate the relationship between imagery and front squat 3RM. These findings point to the importance of mental skills training for the enhancement of self-efficacy and front squat performance.

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Atmosphere, Vol. 7, Pages 57: Effect of Pollution Controls on Atmospheric PM2.5 Composition during Universiade in Shenzhen, China

The 16th Universiade, an international multi-sport event, was hosted in Shenzhen, China from 12 to 23 August 2011. During this time, officials instituted the Pearl River Delta action plan in order to enhance the air quality of Shenzhen. To determine the effect of these controls, the current study examined the trace elements, water-soluble ions, and stable lead isotopic ratios in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) collected during the controlled (when the restrictions were in place) and uncontrolled periods. Fine particles (PM2.5) were collected at two sampling sites in Shenzhen: "LG"—a residential building in the Longgang District, with significant point sources around it and "PU"—Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School in the Nanshan District, with no significant point sources. Results from this study showed a significant increase in the concentrations of elements during the uncontrolled periods. For instance, samples at the LG site showed (controlled to uncontrolled periods) concentrations (in ng·m−3) of: Fe (152 to 290), As (3.65 to 8.38), Pb (9.52 to 70.8), and Zn (98.6 to 286). Similarly, samples at the PU site showed elemental concentrations (in ng·m−3) of: Fe (114 to 301), As (0.634 to 8.36), Pb (4.86 to 58.1), and Zn (29.5 to 259). Soluble Fe ranged from 7%–15% for the total measured Fe, indicating an urban source of Fe. Ambient PM2.5 collected at the PU site has an average 206Pb/204Pb ratio of 18.257 and 18.260 during controlled and uncontrolled periods, respectively. The LG site has an average 206Pb/204Pb ratio of 18.183 and 18.030 during controlled and uncontrolled periods, respectively. The 206Pb/204Pb ratios at the PU and the LG sites during the controlled and uncontrolled periods were similar, indicating a common Pb source. To characterize the sources of trace elements, principal component analysis was applied to the elements and ions. Although the relative importance of each component varied, the major sources for both sites were identified as residual oil combustion, secondary inorganic aerosols, sea spray, and combustion. The PM2.5 levels were severely decreased during the controlled period, but it is unclear if this was a result of the controls or change in meteorology.

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Nutrients, Vol. 8, Pages 222: Wine Resveratrol: From the Ground Up

The ability of the grapevine to activate defense mechanisms against some pathogens has been shown to be linked to the synthesis of resveratrol and other stilbenes by the plant (inducible viniferins). Metabolized viniferins may also be produced or modified by extracellular enzymes released by the pathogen in an attempt to eliminate undesirable toxic compounds. Because of the important properties of resveratrol, there is increasing interest in producing wines with higher contents of this compound and a higher nutritional value. Many biotic and abiotic elicitors can trigger the resveratrol synthesis in the berries, and some examples are reported. Under the same elicitation pressure, viticultural and enological factors can substantially affect the resveratrol concentration in the wine. The production of high resveratrol-containing grapes and wines relies on quality-oriented viticulture (suitable terroirs and sustainable cultural practices) and winemaking technologies that avoid degradation of the compound. In general, the oenological practices commonly used to stabilize wine after fermentation do not affect resveratrol concentration, which shows considerable stability. Finally the paper reports on two sirtuin genes (SIRT) expressed in grapevine leaves and berries and the role of resveratrol on the deacetylation activity of the encoded enzymes.

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Harm reduction interventions in HIV care: a qualitative exploration of patient and provider perspectives

Background. A culture of stringent drug policy, one-size-fits-all treatment approaches, and drug-related stigma has clouded clinical HIV practice in the United States. The result is a series of missed opportunities in the HIV care environment. An approach which may address the broken relationship between patient and provider is harm reduction—which removes judgment and operates at the patient's stage of readiness. Harm reduction is not a routine part of care; rather, it exists outside clinic walls, exacerbating the divide between compassionate, stigma-free services and the medical system. Methods. Qualitative, phenomenological, semi-structured, individual interviews with patients and providers were conducted in three publicly-funded clinics in Chicago, located in areas of high HIV prevalence and drug use and serving African-American patients (N = 38). A deductive thematic analysis guided the process, including: the creation of an index code list, transcription and verification of interviews, manual coding, notation of emerging themes and refinement of code definitions, two more rounds of coding within AtlasTi, calculation of Cohen's Kappa for interrater reliability, queries of major codes and analysis of additional common themes. Results. Thematic analysis of findings indicated that the majority of patients felt receptive to harm reduction interventions (safer injection counseling, safer stimulant use counseling, overdose prevention information, supply provision) from their provider, and expressed anticipated gratitude for harm reduction information and/or supplies within the HIV care visit, although some were reluctant to talk openly about their drug use. Provider results were mixed, with more receptivity reported by advanced practice nurses, and more barriers cited by physicians. Notable barriers included: role-perceptions, limited time, inadequate training, and the patients themselves. Discussion. Patients are willing to receive harm reduction interventions from their HIV care providers, while provider receptiveness is mixed. The findings reveal critical implications for diffusion of harm reduction into HIV care, including the need to address cited barriers for both patients and providers to ensure feasibility of implementation. Strategies to address these barriers are discussed, and recommendations for further research are also shared.

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Translation and validation of the Child and the Adolescent HARDSHIP (Headache-attributed restriction, disability, social handicap and impaired participation) questionnaire into Danish language

Background. The prevalence of headaches among children and adolescents varies considerably between countries. This may be due to a lack of appropriate instruments to capture the prevalence. The purpose of this study was to translate the Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaires from English into Danish language, conduct cross-cultural adaptation, face validation by cognitive interviewing and conduct a pilot study exploring time requirements. Methods. The questionnaire was translated using the guidelines proposed by "The Global Campaign to Reduce the Burden of Headache." A total of 25 children from 6 to 12 years of age completed the questionnaire with 24 h between test and retest to assess reliability. A total of 169 children and adolescents from 6 to 17 years of age completed the translated questionnaire to assess time requirements for completing it. Results. Only minor discrepancies were observed in the translation process. Test-retest reliability of the translated questionnaire showed substantial agreement (kappa: 0.65–0.78). The questionnaires were completed within 30 min (age 6–11 years of age) and within 15 min (age 12–17 years of age) respectively. Discussion. No major problems were observed in the forward translations of the questionnaires. The face validation prompted no major changes in the questionnaire. The face-to-face interviews showed that pupils of different ethnic backgrounds than Danish and pupils in the age group of 6–11 had more difficulty in understanding a minority of the questions. The Danish Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaire therefore complies with the intentions of the originators, aiming at a maximal completion time of 45 min and in comparison with actual completion time. The test-retest study showed substantial agreement between test and retest in the headache, migraine and MOH domains and questions referring to time.The Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaire, includes a section specifically recording a four-week period.The Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaire is intended to measure burden of headache in large populations and there is therefore no need to reflect the states of individuals. We therefore find the substantial reliability of the Danish version of the Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaire to be adequate, without supplementing with a diary. The pilot study indicates that headache is a major problem among children and adolescents in Denmark. A total of 95.3% of the pupils have experienced headache in their life, 76.6% during the last year. A total of 14% left school early because of their headache and 14.9% missed school during the last four weeks, due to headache. 49.2% have experienced headaches during the last week and 47% describe the headache as "quite bad." A total of 24.1% have taken pills or medicine during the last week due to headache. This pilot study clearly demonstrates the need to investigate the burden of headache among Danish schoolchildren as it seems to have a profound effect on their lives.

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The role of Rnf in ion gradient formation in Desulfovibrio alaskensis

Rnf is a membrane protein complex that has been shown to be important in energy conservation. Here, Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20 and Rnf mutants of G20 were grown with different electron donor and acceptor combinations to determine the importance of Rnf in energy conservation and the type of ion gradient generated. The addition of the protonophore TCS strongly inhibited lactate-sulfate dependent growth whereas the sodium ionophore ETH2120 had no effect, indicating a role for the proton gradient during growth. Mutants in rnfA and rnfD were more sensitive to the protonophore at 5 µM than the parental strain, suggesting the importance of Rnf in the generation of a proton gradient. The electrical potential (ΔΨ), ΔpH and proton motive force were lower in the rnfA mutant than in the parental strain of D.alaskensis G20. These results provide evidence that the Rnf complex in D. alaskensis functions as a primary proton pump whose activity is important for growth.

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The macroevolution of size and complexity in insect male genitalia

The evolution of insect male genitalia has received much attention, but there is still a lack of data on the macroevolutionary origin of its extraordinary variation. We used a calibrated molecular phylogeny of 71 of the 150 known species of the beetle genus Limnebius to study the evolution of the size and complexity of the male genitalia in its two subgenera, Bilimneus, with small species with simple genitalia, and Limnebius s.str., with a much larger variation in size and complexity. We reconstructed ancestral values of complexity (perimeter and fractal dimension of the aedeagus) and genital and body size with Bayesian methods. Complexity evolved more in agreement with a Brownian model, although with evidence of weak directional selection to a decrease or increase in complexity in the two subgenera respectively, as measured with an excess of branches with negative or positive change. On the contrary, aedeagus size, the variable with the highest rates of evolution, had a lower phylogenetic signal, without significant differences between the two subgenera in the average change of the individual branches of the tree. Aedeagus size also had a lower correlation with time and no evidence of directional selection. Rather than to directional selection, it thus seems that the higher diversity of the male genitalia in Limnebius s.str. is mostly due to the larger variance of the phenotypic change in the individual branches of the tree for all measured variables.

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Preliminary study on non-viral transfection of F9 (factor IX) gene by nucleofection in human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Background. Hemophilia is a rare recessive X-linked disease characterized by a deficiency of coagulation factor VIII or factor IX. Its current treatment is merely palliative. Advanced therapies are likely to become the treatment of choice for the disease as they could provide a curative treatment. Methods. The present study looks into the use of a safe non-viral transfection method based on nucleofection to express and secrete human clotting factor IX (hFIX) where human adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells were used as target cells in vitro studies and NOD. Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ mice were used to analyze factor IX expression in vivo studies. Previously, acute liver injury was induced by an injected intraperitoneal dose of 500 mg/kg body weight of acetaminophen. Results. Nucleofection showed a percentage of positive cells ranging between 30.7% and 41.9% and a cell viability rate of 29.8%, and cells were shown to secrete amounts of hFIX between 36.8 and 71.9 ng/mL. hFIX levels in the blood of NSG mice injected with ASCs transfected with this vector, were 2.7 ng/mL 48 h after injection. Expression and secretion of hFIX were achieved both in vitro cell culture media and in vivo in the plasma of mice treated with the transfected ASCs. Such cells are capable of eventually migrating to a previously damaged target tissue (the liver) where they secrete hFIX, releasing it to the bloodstream over a period of at least five days from administration. Conclusions. The results obtained in the present study may form a preliminary basis for the establishment of a future ex vivo non-viral gene/cellular safe therapy protocol that may eventually contribute to advancing the treatment of hemophilia.

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Natural selection drives chemical resistance of Datura stramonium

Plant resistance to herbivores involves physical and chemical plant traits that prevent or diminish damage by herbivores, and hence may promote coevolutionary arm-races between interacting species. Although Datura stramonium's concentration of tropane alkaloids is under selection by leaf beetles, it is not known whether chemical defense reduces seed predation by the specialist weevil, Trichobaris soror, and if it is evolving by natural selection. We measured infestation by T. soror as well as the concentration of the plants' two main tropane alkaloids in 278 D. stramonium plants belonging to 31 populations in central Mexico. We assessed whether the seed predator exerted preferences on the levels of both alkaloids and whether they affect plant fitness. Results show great variation across populations in the concentration of scopolamine and atropine in both leaves and seeds of plants of D. stramonium, as well as in the intensity of infestation and the proportion of infested fruits by T. soror. The concentration of scopolamine in seeds and leaves are negatively associated across populations. We found that scopolamine concentration increases plant fitness. Our major finding was the detection of a positive relationship between the population average concentrations of scopolamine with the selection differentials of scopolamine. Such spatial variation in the direction and intensity of selection on scopolamine may represent a coevolutionary selective mosaic. Our results support the view that variation in the concentration of scopolamine among-populations of D. stramonium in central Mexico is being driven, in part, by selection exerted by T. soror, pointing an adaptive role of tropane alkaloids in this plant species.

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Laminectomy plus Fusion versus Laminectomy Alone for Lumbar Spondylolisthesis

The increased use of the lumbar spinal fusion procedure in the United States, along with the wide variation in practice, is attracting interest from multiple stakeholders, including patients, physicians, payers, and policymakers. In a report published in 2014, spinal fusion (465,000 hospital-based…

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A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Fusion Surgery for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Lumbar spinal stenosis is caused by a gradual narrowing of the spinal canal. Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis typically present with low back pain and leg pain, which occur especially when they are walking. This degenerative condition severely restricts function, walking ability, and quality of…

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Longitudinal association between gross motor capacity and neuromusculoskeletal function in children and youth with cerebral palsy

Publication date: Available online 13 April 2016
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Rimke C. Vos, Jules G. Becher, Jeanine M. Voorman, Jan Willem Gorter, Mirjam van Eck, Jetty van Meeteren, Dirk-Wouter Smits, Jos WR. Twisk, Annet J. Dallmeijer
ObjectiveTo examine associations over longitudinal measurements between neuromusculoskeletal function and gross motor capacity in children and youth with Cerebral Palsy (CP).DesignA prospective cohort studySettingRehabilitation departments of university medical centers and rehabilitations centers in The NetherlandsParticipants148 children (5-9 years) and 179 youth (11-20 years) with CP, GMFCS I(n=180), II(n=44), III(n=36), IV(n=34) and V(n=33).Interventionsnot applicableOutcome measuresGross motor capacity was assessed with the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) over a period of 2-4 years in different age cohorts. Neuromusculoskeletal function included selective motor control (SMC), muscle strength, spasticity and range of motion (ROM) of the lower extremities.ResultsMulti-level analyses showed that SMC was significantly associated with gross motor capacity in children and youth with CP, showing higher values and a more favourable course in those with better SMC. Strength was only associated to gross motor capacity in youth. Reduced ROM of hip (children) and knee extension (youth) and spasticity of the hip adductors (youth) were additionally - but more weakly- associated with lower values and a less favourable course of gross motor capacity.ConclusionsResults indicate that children and youth with more severely impaired SMC and youth with reduced muscle strength have a less favourable course of gross motor capacity, while spasticity and reduced ROM are less determinative.



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Thalamic Functional Connectivity in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Longitudinal Associations with Patient-Reported Outcomes and Neuropsychological Tests

Publication date: Available online 13 April 2016
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Sarah D. Banks, Rogelio A. Coronado, Lori R. Clemons, Christine M. Abraham, Sumit Pruthi, Benjamin N. Conrad, Victoria L. Morgan, Oscar D. Guillamondegui, Kristin R. Archer
ObjectiveTo examine: (1) differences in patient-reported outcomes, neuropsychological tests, and thalamic functional connectivity (FC) between patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and healthy controls; (2) the longitudinal association between changes in these measures.DesignProspective observational case-control study.SettingAcademic medical center.ParticipantsThirteen patients with mTBI (mean age = 39.3 years, 4 female) and 11 healthy, age and sex-matched control subjects (mean age = 37.6, 4 female) were enrolled.InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome Measure(s)Resting-state FC (3T MRI scanner) was examined between the thalamus and the Default Mode Network (THAL-DMN), Dorsal Attention Network (THAL-DAN), and Frontoparietal Control Network (THAL-FPC). Patient-reported outcomes included pain (Brief Pain Inventory), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD Checklist), and post-concussive (Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire) symptoms. Neuropsychological tests included the D-KEFS Tower test, Trails B, and Hotel task. Assessments occurred at 6 weeks and 4 months after hospitalization for patients with mTBI and at a single visit for controls.ResultsStudent's t-tests found increased pain and depressive, PTSD, and post-concussive symptoms, decreased performance on Trails B, increased THAL-DMN FC, and decreased THAL-DAN and THAL-FPC FC in patients with mTBI compared to healthy controls. Spearman correlation coefficient indicated that increased THAL-DAN FC from baseline to 4 months was associated with decreased pain and post-concussive symptoms (corrected p < 0.05).ConclusionsFindings suggest that alterations in thalamic FC occur after mTBI and improvements in pain and post-concussive symptoms are correlated with normalization of thalamic FC over time.



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A Comparison of Rates of Hospitalization and Emergency Department Visits Using Self-report and South Carolina Administrative Billing Data Among a Population-based Cohort with Spinal Cord Injury

Publication date: Available online 12 April 2016
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Lee L. Saunders, David Murday, Beth Corley, Yue Cao, James S. Krause
ObjectiveTo compare self-report and South Carolina (SC) administrative billing data documentation of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations in the past 12 months among a population-based cohort of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).DesignCross-sectionalSettingSCI Surveillance System in SCParticipantsPersons sustaining a traumatic SCI between 1998 and 2011 in SC who, at the time of study assessment, were adults, were 1+ years post-injury, and had not made a complete recovery. 605 participants were included in the analysis.InterventionsN/AMain Outcome Measure(s)Hospitalizations and ED visits in the past 12 months.ResultsThere was significantly higher rate of reporting 1+ hospitalization in the past year for self-report (36%) compared to SC administrative billing data (26%) (p<.001), but not for 1+ ED visits (48% vs. 45%, p=.11). Decreased physical health and increased injury severity were associated with higher reporting rates of hospitalization. Physical health and injury severity were predictive of both self-report and SC administrative billing data of hospitalizations, while years post-injury and race were also predictors of SC administrative billing data hospitalizations.ConclusionsOur comparison of self-report and SC administrative billing data hospitalizations and ED visits showed a significantly higher rate of reporting of hospitalizations using self-report, specifically among those with poor physical health and higher injury severity. Future work should look at different ways of asking about health care utilization and compare with SC administrative billing data documentation to identify the best ways to assess through self-report.



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The Immediate Biomechanical Implications of Transfer Component Skills Training on Independent Wheelchair Transfers

Publication date: Available online 12 April 2016
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Chung-Ying Tsai, Michael L. Boninger, Jennifer Hastings, Rory A. Cooper, Laura Rice, Alicia M. Koontz
ObjectiveTo evaluate the immediate effects of transfer training based on the Transfer Assessment Instrument (TAI) on the UL biomechanics during transfers.DesignPre-post interventionSettingBiomechanics laboratoryParticipantsTwenty-four full-time manual wheelchair users (MWUs) performed up to five transfers to a level height bench while their natural transfer skills were scored using the TAI and their biomechanical data were recorded.InterventionParticipants with two or more component skill deficits were invited to return back to receive personalized transfer training.Main Outcome MeasuresTAI part 1 summary scores and biomechanical variables calculated at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints were compared before and immediately after transfer training.ResultsSixteen of the 24 MWUs met the criteria for training and 11 MWUs came back for the re-visit. Their TAI part 1 summary scores improved from 6.31(±0.98) to 9.92(±0.25). They had significantly smaller elbow range of motion, shoulder resultant moment and rates of rise of elbow and wrist resultant forces on their trailing side during transfers after training (p < 0.05). On the leading side, shoulder maximum internal rotation and elevation angles, and shoulder resultant moments and rates of rise of shoulder resultant force and moment decreased after training (p < 0.04).ConclusionsThe TAI-based training showed short-term beneficial biomechanical effects on wheelchair users' ULs, such as better shoulder positioning and lower joint loadings. If the skills are practiced longer term, they may help protect the ULs from developing pain and injuries.



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Comorbid traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury: Screening validity and effect on outcomes

Publication date: Available online 12 April 2016
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Charles H. Bombardier, Darren C. Lee, Debbie L. Tan, Jason Barber, Jeanne M. Hoffman
ObjectiveTo determine the diagnostic accuracy of a self-report measure of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to assess the potential effect of TBI on acute and post-acute outcomes.DesignWe compared incident TBI as determined by self-report versus systematic medical records review by physicians blinded to self-reported TBI.SettingInpatient rehabilitation unitParticipants105 of 155 consecutive admissions met inclusion criteria, were admitted on the day of injury, and were assessed.Intervention(s)not applicableMain outcome measure(s)Step 2 of the TBI-4 interview was used to estimate the presence and severity of TBI.ResultsThe sample was 73% male, 45.9 years old on average, 73% Caucasian, and 58% had tetraplegia. Estimated incidence of TBI was 33% by chart review and 60% based on Step 2 of the TBI-4. 91% of those with TBI based on chart review sustained mild injuries. At the optimal cutoff of "possible TBI", the TBI-4 had a sensitivity of 83% (95% confidence interval (CI), 66-93%), specificity of 51% (95%CI, 39-64%), and Youden's index of 0.3 (95% CI, 0.2-0.5). Compared to those without TBI, those with chart review determined TBI had non-significant trends toward longer acute care length of stay and higher functional status at rehabilitation discharge, but equivalent one-year outcomes.ConclusionsStep 2 of theTBI-4 did not meet Youden's criteria (0.8 or higher) for good diagnostic accuracy in the context of recent SCI. Comorbid TBIs were almost exclusively mild and not associated with poorer outcomes one year after SCI.



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Prevalence of Diabetic Foot Disease in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus under Renal Replacement Therapy in Lleida, Spain

Aim. To assess the prevalence of diabetic foot and other associated conditions in patients with diabetes mellitus under renal replacement in the region of Lleida, Spain. Methods. This was an observational, cross-sectional study of 92 dialysis-treated diabetic patients. Besides a podiatric examination, we explored the presence of cardiovascular risk factors, late diabetes complications, including peripheral neuropathy, atherosclerotic disease, and peripheral artery disease. We assessed risk factors for foot ulceration and amputation by logistic regression. Results. Prevalent diabetic foot was found in 17.4% of patients, foot deformities were found in 54.3%, previous ulcer was found in 19.6%, and amputations were found in 16.3%; and 87% of them had some risk of suffering diabetic foot in the future. We observed a high prevalence of patients with peripheral neuropathy and peripheral artery disease (89.1% and 64.2%, resp.). Multivariable analysis identified diabetic retinopathy and advanced atherosclerotic disease (stenosing carotid plaques) as independent risk factors for foot ulceration ( and , resp.) and diabetic retinopathy also as an independent risk factor for lower-limb amputations (). Moreover, there was a temporal association between the initiation of dialysis and the incidence of amputations. Conclusion. Diabetic patients receiving dialysis therapy are at high risk of foot complications and should receive appropriate and intensive foot care.

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Nanomaterials, Vol. 6, Pages 71: Gold Nanoparticles: An Efficient Antimicrobial Agent against Enteric Bacterial Human Pathogen

Enteric bacterial human pathogens, i.e., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Klebsiella pneumoniae, are the major cause of diarrheal infections in children and adults. Their structure badly affects the human immune system. It is important to explore new antibacterial agents instead of antibiotics for treatment. This project is an attempt to explain how gold nanoparticles affect these bacteria. We investigated the important role of the mean particle size, and the inhibition of a bacterium is dose-dependent. Ultra Violet (UV)-visible spectroscopy revealed the size of chemically synthesized gold nanoparticle as 6–40 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis confirmed the size and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) analysis determined the polycrystalline nature of gold nanoparticles. The present findings explained how gold nanoparticles lyse Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

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Polymers, Vol. 8, Pages 128: Transparent Blend of Poly(Methylmethacrylate)/Cellulose Acetate Butyrate for the Protection from Ultraviolet

The use of transparent polymers as an alternative to glass has become widespread. However, the direct exposure of these materials to climatic conditions of sunlight and heat decrease the lifetime cost of these products. The aim of this study was to minimize the harm caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure to transparent poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), which usually leads to changes in the physical and chemical properties of these materials and reduced performance. This was achieved using environmentally friendly cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). The optical, morphological, and thermal properties of CAB blended with transparent PMMA was studied using UV-VIS spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The results show that CAB was able to reduce the effects of UV radiation by making PMMA more transparent to UV light, thereby preventing the negative effects of trapped radiation within the compositional structure, while maintaining the amorphous structure of the blend. The results also show that CAB blended with PMMA led to some properties commensurate with the requirements of research in terms of a slight increase in the value of the modulus and the glass transition temperature for the PMMA/CAB blend.

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Challenges, Vol. 7, Pages 10: Flaws and Drawbacks in Present Regulation and the Need to Take Action and Support the Renewable Energies Policies in Italy

Renewable energies is an important sector that needs to be sustained and increased by the action of policies and economic support.[...]

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JFB, Vol. 7, Pages 9: Evaluating the Surface Topography of Pyrolytic Carbon Finger Prostheses through Measurement of Various Roughness Parameters

The articulating surfaces of four different sizes of unused pyrolytic carbon proximal interphalangeal prostheses (PIP) were evaluated though measuring several topographical parameters using a white light interferometer: average roughness (Sa); root mean-square roughness (Sq); skewness (Ssk); and kurtosis (Sku). The radii of the articulating surfaces were measured using a coordinate measuring machine, and were found to be: 2.5, 3.3, 4.2 and 4.7 mm for proximal, and 4.0, 5.1, 5.6 and 6.3 mm for medial components. ANOVA was used to assess the relationship between the component radii and each roughness parameter. Sa, Sq and Ssk correlated negatively with radius (p = 0.001, 0.001, 0.023), whilst Sku correlated positively with radius (p = 0.03). Ergo, the surfaces with the largest radii possessed the better topographical characteristics: low roughness, negative skewness, high kurtosis. Conversely, the surfaces with the smallest radii had poorer topographical characteristics.

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Sensors, Vol. 16, Pages 540: Acute Sleep Deprivation Induces a Local Brain Transfer Information Increase in the Frontal Cortex in a Widespread Decrease Context

Sleep deprivation (SD) has adverse effects on mental and physical health, affecting the cognitive abilities and emotional states. Specifically, cognitive functions and alertness are known to decrease after SD. The aim of this work was to identify the directional information transfer after SD on scalp EEG signals using transfer entropy (TE). Using a robust methodology based on EEG recordings of 18 volunteers deprived from sleep for 36 h, TE and spectral analysis were performed to characterize EEG data acquired every 2 h. Correlation between connectivity measures and subjective somnolence was assessed. In general, TE showed medium- and long-range significant decreases originated at the occipital areas and directed towards different regions, which could be interpreted as the transfer of predictive information from parieto-occipital activity to the rest of the head. Simultaneously, short-range increases were obtained for the frontal areas, following a consistent and robust time course with significant maps after 20 h of sleep deprivation. Changes during sleep deprivation in brain network were measured effectively by TE, which showed increased local connectivity and diminished global integration. TE is an objective measure that could be used as a potential measure of sleep pressure and somnolence with the additional property of directed relationships.

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Sensors, Vol. 16, Pages 539: Sparsity-Aware DOA Estimation Scheme for Noncircular Source in MIMO Radar

In this paper, a novel sparsity-aware direction of arrival (DOA) estimation scheme for a noncircular source is proposed in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. In the proposed method, the reduced-dimensional transformation technique is adopted to eliminate the redundant elements. Then, exploiting the noncircularity of signals, a joint sparsity-aware scheme based on the reweighted <> l 1 norm penalty is formulated for DOA estimation, in which the diagonal elements of the weight matrix are the coefficients of the noncircular MUSIC-like (NC MUSIC-like) spectrum. Compared to the existing <> l 1 norm penalty-based methods, the proposed scheme provides higher angular resolution and better DOA estimation performance. Results from numerical experiments are used to show the effectiveness of our proposed method.

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Viruses, Vol. 8, Pages 100: Purification and Biochemical Characterisation of Rabbit Calicivirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerases and Identification of Non-Nucleoside Inhibitors

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a calicivirus that causes acute infections in both domestic and wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). The virus causes significant economic losses in rabbit farming and reduces wild rabbit populations. The recent emergence of RHDV variants capable of overcoming immunity to other strains emphasises the need to develop universally effective antivirals to enable quick responses during outbreaks until new vaccines become available. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is a primary target for the development of such antiviral drugs. In this study, we used cell-free in vitro assays to examine the biochemical characteristics of two rabbit calicivirus RdRps and the effects of several antivirals that were previously identified as human norovirus RdRp inhibitors. The non-nucleoside inhibitor NIC02 was identified as a potential scaffold for further drug development against rabbit caliciviruses. Our experiments revealed an unusually high temperature optimum (between 40 and 45 °C) for RdRps derived from both a pathogenic and a non-pathogenic rabbit calicivirus, possibly demonstrating an adaptation to a host with a physiological body temperature of more than 38 °C. Interestingly, the in vitro polymerase activity of the non-pathogenic calicivirus RdRp was at least two times higher than that of the RdRp of the highly virulent RHDV.

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Author response: 'Does cadmium exposure contribute to depressive symptoms in the elderly population?

We thank Dr Tomoyuki Kawada1 for his interest in our manuscript entitled 'Does cadmium exposure contribute to depressive symptoms in the elderly population?'2 In the letter, Dr Kawada depicted three possible reasons for the inconsistent results of our study: limited statistical power, use of blood cadmium as marker of cadmium exposure and the presence of other potential confounding variables.

First, we agree with Dr Kawada's opinion on the limited statistical power of the study regarding the small number of depression patients in the second and the third visit data. In our study, the point estimates for the association between blood cadmium levels and elderly depressive symptoms were not consistent across the three visits. The direction of the point estimate at the second and the third visit should be consistent as long as depression patients are similarly distributed across the quartile group as their distribution at...

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Blood cadmium level in the elderly population: perspective for the cause of inconsistent results

Han et al1 investigated the association between blood cadmium levels (B-Cd) and depression in 395 people, aged 60 years or older. Survey was conducted three times, and positive association between B-Cd and depression was only observed in the first visit. The authors used the Korean version of the Short Form Generic Depression Scale test (SGDS-K) for screening depression and logistic regression model was used for the analysis. I present my speculation on their statistical inconsistency.

First, the authors well recognised the relatively small number of participants and depression cases, especially in the second and the third visit data. Even in the first visit data, the number of depression cases was only 50. In their tables 3–5, wide ranges of 95% CIs were observed. There is a limitation in the total number of events for logistic regression analysis.2 Peduzzi et al3 simulated the effect of...

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Interventions to increase the reporting of occupational diseases by physicians: a Cochrane systematic review

Introduction

Under-reporting of occupational diseases is an important issue in many countries. Timely and complete reporting is fundamental to a successful physician-based public health surveillance system and to plan intervention programmes and allocation of resources.

For physicians, the main reasons for under-reporting consist of lack of awareness regarding reporting requirements, time and effort involved in reporting and lack of benefit from reporting.

There are no systematic reviews of the effects of interventions for increasing the reporting (or reducing the under-reporting) of occupational diseases. Therefore, we conducted a Cochrane systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing the reporting of occupational diseases by physicians.1

Methods

We searched the Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, OSH UPDATE, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Open-SIGLE and Health Evidence, up...

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Associations of short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions in London, UK

Objectives

There is evidence of adverse associations between short-term exposure to traffic-related pollution and health, but little is known about the relative contribution of the various sources and particulate constituents.

Methods

For each day for 2011–2012 in London, UK over 100 air pollutant metrics were assembled using monitors, modelling and chemical analyses. We selected a priori metrics indicative of traffic sources: general traffic, petrol exhaust, diesel exhaust and non-exhaust (mineral dust, brake and tyre wear). Using Poisson regression models, controlling for time-varying confounders, we derived effect estimates for cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions at prespecified lags and evaluated the sensitivity of estimates to multipollutant modelling and effect modification by season.

Results

For single day exposure, we found consistent associations between adult (15–64 years) cardiovascular and paediatric (0–14 years) respiratory admissions with elemental and black carbon (EC/BC), ranging from 0.56% to 1.65% increase per IQR change, and to a lesser degree with carbon monoxide (CO) and aluminium (Al). The average of past 7 days EC/BC exposure was associated with elderly (65+ years) cardiovascular admissions. Indicated associations were higher during the warm period of the year. Although effect estimates were sensitive to the adjustment for other pollutants they remained consistent in direction, indicating independence of associations from different sources, especially between diesel and petrol engines, as well as mineral dust.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that exhaust related pollutants are associated with increased numbers of adult cardiovascular and paediatric respiratory hospitalisations. More extensive monitoring in urban centres is required to further elucidate the associations.

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Expected number of asbestos-related lung cancers in the Netherlands in the next two decades: a comparison of methods

Objectives

Exposure to asbestos fibres increases the risk of mesothelioma and lung cancer. Although the vast majority of mesothelioma cases are caused by asbestos exposure, the number of asbestos-related lung cancers is less clear. This number cannot be determined directly as lung cancer causes are not clinically distinguishable but may be estimated using varying modelling methods.

Methods

We applied three different modelling methods to the Dutch population supplemented with uncertainty ranges (UR) due to uncertainty in model input values. The first method estimated asbestos-related lung cancer cases directly from observed and predicted mesothelioma cases in an age-period-cohort analysis. The second method used evidence on the fraction of lung cancer cases attributable (population attributable risk (PAR)) to asbestos exposure. The third method incorporated risk estimates and population exposure estimates to perform a life table analysis.

Results

The three methods varied substantially in incorporated evidence. Moreover, the estimated number of asbestos-related lung cancer cases in the Netherlands between 2011 and 2030 depended crucially on the actual method applied, as the mesothelioma method predicts 17 500 expected cases (UR 7000–57 000), the PAR method predicts 12 150 cases (UR 6700–19 000), and the life table analysis predicts 6800 cases (UR 6800–33 850).

Conclusions

The three different methods described resulted in absolute estimates varying by a factor of ~2.5. These results show that accurate estimation of the impact of asbestos exposure on the lung cancer burden remains a challenge.

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A cost-benefit analysis of peer coaching for overhead lift use in the long-term care sector in Canada

Objectives

To evaluate whether a peer-coaching programme for patient lift use in British Columbia, Canada, was effective and cost-beneficial.

Methods

We used monthly panel data from 15 long-term care facilities from 2004 to 2011 to estimate the number of patient-handling injuries averted by the peer-coaching programme using a generalised estimating equation model. Facilities that had not yet introduced the programme served as concurrent controls. Accepted lost-time claim counts related to patient handling were the outcome of interest with a denominator of full-time equivalents of nursing staff. A cost-benefit approach was used to estimate the net monetary gains at the system level.

Results

The coaching programme was found to be associated with a reduction in the injury rate of 34% during the programme and 56% after the programme concluded with an estimated 62 lost-time injury claims averted. 2 other factors were associated with changes in injury rates: larger facilities had a lower injury rate, and the more care hours per bed the lower the injury rate. We calculated monetary benefits to the system of $748 431 and costs of $894 000 (both in 2006 Canadian dollars) with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 0.84. The benefit-to-cost ratio was –0.05 in the worst case scenario and 2.31 in the best case scenario. The largest cost item was peer coaches' time. A simulation of the programme continuing for 5 years with the same coaching intensity would result in a benefit-to-cost ratio of 0.63.

Conclusions

A peer-coaching programme to increase effective use of overhead lifts prevented additional patient-handling injuries but added modest incremental cost to the system.

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Self-guided internet-based and mobile-based stress management for employees: results of a randomised controlled trial

Objective

This randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a self-guided internet-based stress management intervention (iSMI) for employees compared to a 6-month wait-list control group (WLC) with full access for both groups to treatment as usual.

Method

A sample of 264 employees with elevated symptoms of perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-10 ≥22) was randomly assigned to either the iSMI or to the WLC. The iSMI consisted of seven sessions and one booster session including problem-solving and emotion regulation techniques. Self-report data were assessed at baseline, at 7 weeks and at 6 months following randomisation. The primary outcome was perceived stress (PSS-10). The secondary outcomes included other relevant mental-related and work-related health outcomes. Data were analysed based on intention-to-treat principles.

Results

The iSMI participants showed a significantly higher reduction in perceived stress from baseline to post-treatment at 7 weeks (d=0.96, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.21) and to the 6-month follow-up (d=0.65, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.89) compared to the WLC. Significant differences with small to moderate effect sizes were also found for depression, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, sleeping problems, worrying, mental health-related quality of life, psychological detachment, emotion regulation skills and presenteeism, in favour of the experimental group. At the 6 -month follow-up, all outcomes remained significantly better for the experimental group with the exception of work engagement, physical health-related quality of life and absenteeism, which were not found to significantly differ between the iSMI and WLC groups.

Conclusions

The iSMI investigated in this study was found to be effective in reducing typical mental-related and work-related health symptoms of stressed employees. Internet-based self-guided interventions could be an acceptable, effective and potentially cost-effective approach to reduce the negative consequences associated with work-related stress.

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Statutory prevention of work injuries in Italy: an effectiveness evaluation with interrupted time series analysis in a sample of 5000 manufacturing plants from the Veneto region

Objectives

According to Italian law, prevention of injuries in the workplace falls under the National Health System Service of Prevention, Health and Safety at Work (SPISAL). In a sample of about 5000 industrial firms in the Veneto region (North-Eastern Italy), the study examines the impact of SPISAL safety programmes on injuries.

Methods

The study is based on the before-and-after comparison of injury rates in 795 industrial settings that were subject to SPISAL interventions and 4186 reference firms, which were all manufacturing industries with >10 employees; construction companies were excluded. The time window (2001–2007) was chosen in order to have 8 quarters of observation before and 8 after the intervention. The National Institute for Workers' Compensation provided data on injuries and plants, while SPISAL gave information on interventions carried out. The preintervention and postintervention rates of injuries were compared by means of interrupted time series analyses, estimating the rate ratio (RR) with a 95% CI.

Results

Inspection after injury reduced by 24% (RR=0.76; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.90; p=0.001) all injuries, and by 36% (RR=0.64; 95% CI 0.50 to 0.83; p=0.001) severe injuries (fatalities, lost workdays >30, degree of permanent disability >0). These changes occurred immediately and persisted for 2 years. The effects of programmed inspections were never significant.

Conclusions

It can be presumed that, after a severe injury, the employees raised their standard of what they considered good work safety and, at the same time, the employers were pushed to improve the work environment as a result of the sudden attention from the workplace hygiene and safety authority and court authority. Inspection after injury was an effective strategy; however, confirmatory evidence is needed.

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Pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer risks in relation to occupational history and asbestos lung burden

Background

We have conducted a population-based study of pleural mesothelioma patients with occupational histories and measured asbestos lung burdens in occupationally exposed workers and in the general population. The relationship between lung burden and risk, particularly at environmental exposure levels, will enable future mesothelioma rates in people born after 1965 who never installed asbestos to be predicted from their asbestos lung burdens.

Methods

Following personal interview asbestos fibres longer than 5 µm were counted by transmission electron microscopy in lung samples obtained from 133 patients with mesothelioma and 262 patients with lung cancer. ORs for mesothelioma were converted to lifetime risks.

Results

Lifetime mesothelioma risk is approximately 0.02% per 1000 amphibole fibres per gram of dry lung tissue over a more than 100-fold range, from 1 to 4 in the most heavily exposed building workers to less than 1 in 500 in most of the population. The asbestos fibres counted were amosite (75%), crocidolite (18%), other amphiboles (5%) and chrysotile (2%).

Conclusions

The approximate linearity of the dose–response together with lung burden measurements in younger people will provide reasonably reliable predictions of future mesothelioma rates in those born since 1965 whose risks cannot yet be seen in national rates. Burdens in those born more recently will indicate the continuing occupational and environmental hazards under current asbestos control regulations. Our results confirm the major contribution of amosite to UK mesothelioma incidence and the substantial contribution of non-occupational exposure, particularly in women.

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