Notes

Focusing mild into dispersing media together with ultrasound-induced field perturbation.
The participants who did not have a family history of chronic disease were reported to be significantly associated with better mental component summary (MCS). Further, males were significantly positively associated with bodily pain (BP) and general health (GH) only, whereas better occupational status was limited to social functioning (SF). In conclusion, the results of this study provide motivation for future research and initiatives for improving the physical, emotional, and social well-being of government employees.This paper presents a lumped element model (LEM) to describe the coupled dynamic properties of thermomagnetic generators (TMGs) based on magnetic shape memory alloy (MSMA) films. The TMG generators make use of the concept of resonant self-actuation of a freely movable cantilever, caused by a large abrupt temperature-dependent change of magnetization and rapid heat transfer inherent to the MSMA films. The LEM is validated for the case of a Ni-Mn-Ga film with Curie temperature TC of 375 K. For a heat source temperature of 443 K, the maximum power generated is 3.1 µW corresponding to a power density with respect to the active material's volume of 80 mW/cm3. Corresponding LEM simulations allow for a detailed study of the time-resolved temperature change of the MSMA film, the change of magnetic field at the position of the film and of the corresponding film magnetization. Resonant self-actuation is observed at 114 Hz, while rapid temperature changes of about 10 K occur within 1 ms during mechanical contact between heat source and Ni-Mn-Ga film. The LEM is used to estimate the effect of decreasing TC on the lower limit of heat source temperature in order to predict possible routes towards waste heat recovery near room temperature.Inuit communities in the Circumpolar North have experienced a nutrition transition characterized by the decreased intake of culturally important, nutrient-rich traditional food (country food), and an increased intake of market food, resulting in concerns over reduced diet quality and emerging chronic diseases. Nutrition in early life is critical for development, may influence health risks in later life, and is an important concern for Inuit community health. The goal of this scoping review was to characterize the nature, extent, and range of the published literature on Inuit country food and health in pregnancy and childhood. A search string was developed and applied to three databases, followed by title and abstract screening and full text review. Articles published between 1995 and 2019 were included, and data were extracted and summarized descriptively. The number of articles generally increased over time, despite the unequal geographic distribution of articles. The majority of the articles focused on environmental contaminants, and one-quarter described nutrient adequacy. Few articles described food security or food safety in pregnancy, and the most utilized quantitative methods. Gaps in understanding of country food use in pregnancy and early childhood highlight areas of future research to support public health policy for this population. Given the critical role of good nutrition in early life and the important contribution country food makes to diet quality for Inuit, further understanding of this interface is warranted.Prefabricated solutions incorporating thermal insulation are increasingly adopted as an energy conservation measure for building renovation. The InnoWEE European project developed three technologies from Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) materials through a manufacturing process that supports the circular economy strategy of the European Union. Two of them consisted of geopolymer panels incorporated into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and a ventilated façade. This study evaluates their thermal performance by means of monitoring data from three pilot case studies in Greece, Italy, and Romania, and calibrated building simulation models enabling the reliable prediction of energy savings in different climates and use scenarios. Results showed a reduction in energy demand for all demo buildings, with annual energy savings up to 25% after placing the novel insulation solutions. However, savings are highly dependent on weather conditions since the panels affect cooling and heating loads differently. Zimlovisertib Finally, a parametric assessment is performed to assess the impact of insulation thickness through an energy performance prediction and a cash flow analysis.Early detection of gestational complications is a priority in obstetrics. In our social context, this is linked to maternity age. Most studies are focused on biological factors. However, pregnancy is also influenced by social and psychological factors, which have not been deeply explored. We aimed to identify biopsychosocial risk and protective factors associated with the development of maternal and fetal complications. link2 We enrolled 182 healthy pregnant women, and plasma melatonin and cortisol levels were measured in the first trimester by chemiluminescent immunoassays. At different time points along gestation, women answered several questionnaires (positive and negative affect schedule, hospital anxiety and depression scale, pregnancy concerns scale, life orientation test, resilience scale, life satisfaction scale and life-work conflicts scale). They were followed up until delivery and categorized as normal pregnancy, maternal or fetal complications. Maternal complications were associated with low melatonin (OR = 0.99 [0.98; 1.00]; p-value = 0.08) and life satisfaction (OR = 0.64 [0.41; 0.93]; p-value = 0.03) and fetal complications were associated with high cortisol (OR = 1.06 [1.02; 1.13]; p-value = 0.04), anxiety (OR = 2.21 [1.10; 4.55]; p-value = 0.03) and life-work conflicts (OR = 1.92 [1.04; 3.75]; p-value = 0.05). We conclude that psychological factors influence pregnancy outcomes in association with melatonin and cortisol alterations. High maternal melatonin and life satisfaction levels could be potential protective factors against the development of maternal complications during pregnancy. Low anxiety and cortisol levels and reduced work-life conflicts could prevent fetal complications.Although physical exercise-induced autophagy activation has been considered a therapeutic target to enhance tissue health and extend lifespan, the effects of different exercise models on autophagy in specific metabolic tissues are not completely understood. This descriptive investigation compared the acute effects of endurance (END), exhaustive (ET), strength (ST), and concurrent (CC) physical exercise protocols on markers of autophagy, genes, and proteins in the gastrocnemius muscle, heart, and liver of mice. The animals were euthanized immediately (0 h) and six hours (6 h) after the acute exercise for the measurement of glycogen levels, mRNA expression of Prkaa1, Ppargc1a, Mtor, Ulk1, Becn1, Atg5, Map1lc3b, Sqstm1, and protein levels of Beclin 1 and ATG5. The markers of autophagy were measured by quantifying the protein levels of LC3II and Sqstm1/p62 in response to three consecutive days of intraperitoneal injections of colchicine. In summary, for gastrocnemius muscle samples, the main alterations in mRNA expressions were observed after 6 h and for the ST group, and the markers of autophagy for the CC group were increased (i.e., LC3II and Sqstm1/p62). In the heart, the Beclin 1 and ATG5 levels were downregulated for the ET group. Regarding the markers of autophagy, the Sqstm1/p62 in the heart tissue was upregulated for the END and ST groups, highlighting the beneficial effects of these exercise models. The liver protein levels of ATG5 were downregulated for the ET group. After the colchicine treatment, the liver protein levels of Sqstm1/p62 were decreased for the END and ET groups compared to the CT, ST, and CC groups. These results could be related to diabetes and obesity development or liver dysfunction improvement, demanding further investigations.Tungsten-copper (W-Cu) composites are widely used as electrical contact materials, resistance welding, electrical discharge machining (EDM), and plasma electrode materials due to their excellent arc erosion resistance, fusion welding resistance, high strength, and superior hardness. However, the traditional preparation methods pay little attention to the compactness and microstructural uniformity of W-Cu composites. Herein, W-Cu composite coatings are prepared by pulse electroplating using nano-W powder as raw material and the influence of forward-reverse duty cycle of pulse current on the structure and mechanical properties is systematically investigated. Moreover, the densification mechanism of the W-Cu composite coating is analyzed from the viewpoints of forward-pulse plating and reverse-pulse plating. At the current density (J) of 2 A/dm2, frequency (f) of 1500 Hz, forward duty cycle (df) of 40% and reverse duty cycle (dr) of 10%, the W-Cu composite coating rendered a uniform microstructure and compact structure, resulting in a hardness of 127 HV and electrical conductivity of 53.7 MS/m.
To date, there are no studies associating the dried blood spot (DBS) levels of globotrioasylsphingosine (lysoGb3) with quantitative optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters in Fabry disease (FD) patients. Here, we aimed to investigate the association between OCTA vessel density (VD), vessel length density (VLD) with DBS lysoGb3.

A retrospective, single center analysis of all consecutive FD patients enrolled at the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Hospital of Zurich from 1 December 2017 to 9 September 2020. An association between VD and VLD detected by OCTA and lysoGb3 was investigated using a linear mixed model.

A total of 57 FD patients (23 male, 34 female; 109 eyes) were included. Forty-one patients suffered from the classic phenotype and 16 from the later-onset phenotype. LysoGb3 inversely correlated with VD and VLD in both the superficial (VD
= 0.034; VLD
= 0.02) and deep capillary plexus (VD
= 0.017; VLD
= 0.018) in the overall FD cohort.

Our study shows an association between lysoGb3 and OCTA VD and VLD. link3 This supports the hypothesis that quantitative OCTA parameters might be useful as diagnostic biomarkers for evaluating systemic involvement in FD, and possibly other diseases.
Our study shows an association between lysoGb3 and OCTA VD and VLD. This supports the hypothesis that quantitative OCTA parameters might be useful as diagnostic biomarkers for evaluating systemic involvement in FD, and possibly other diseases.We aimed to evaluate the angiogenic capacity of CXCL2 and IL8 affecting human endothelial cells to clarify their potential role in glioblastoma (GBM) angiogenesis. Human GBM samples and controls were stained for proangiogenic factors. Survival curves and molecule correlations were obtained from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database. Moreover, proliferative, migratory and angiogenic activity of peripheral (HUVEC) and brain specific (HBMEC) primary human endothelial cells were investigated including blockage of CXCR2 signaling with SB225502. Gene expression analyses of angiogenic molecules from endothelial cells were performed. Overexpression of VEGF and CXCL2 was observed in GBM patients and associated with a survival disadvantage. Molecules of the VEGF pathway correlated but no relation for CXCR1/2 and CXCL2/IL8 was found. Interestingly, receptors of endothelial cells were not induced by addition of proangiogenic factors in vitro. Proliferation and migration of HUVEC were increased by VEGF, CXCL2 as well as IL8.
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