Notes

Homeostasis along with foods needing inside being overweight: a practical MRI research.
particularly high rates of masked hypertension. The diagnostic accuracy of office BP for identifying elevated ambulatory BP is poor. These findings call for a wider use of ABPM in KTRs.
At both corresponding thresholds studied, ABPM revealed particularly high hypertension prevalence and poor BP control in KTRs. Misclassification of KTRs by office BP is substantial, due to particularly high rates of masked hypertension. The diagnostic accuracy of office BP for identifying elevated ambulatory BP is poor. These findings call for a wider use of ABPM in KTRs.The influence of multiple dimensional carbon nanomaterials, such as graphene quantum dots (GQD), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), and graphene sheets (GNS) of the thermoelectric properties in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT PSS)-based hybrids have been investigated. PEDOT PSS matrix was successfully used to prepare PEDOT PSS/GQDs (PGQD), PEDOT PSS/MWCNT (PCNT) and PEDOT PSS/GNS (PGNS) composite films. According to structural characteristics, strongπ-πinteractions existed between carbon materials and PEDOT PSS, and PEDOT PSS layers with organized and arranged morphology were easier templated by GNS than GQD or MWCNT. It was found that besides energy filtering effect, hole-phonon interaction occurred with further addition of GNS and GQDs in PGNS and PGQD composite films. The optimal power factor (PF) of approximately 580 and 103μW m-1K-2at 363 K were acquired in PGNS composite films at 5 wt% GNS and PGQD films with 1 wt% GQD filling, respectively. Unlike PGNS and PGQD films, electrical conductivity of PCNT reduced upon the addition of MWCNT, while the Seebeck coefficient decreased firstly, and then increased and reached to the highest value at 10 wt% MWCNT. The optimal PF of 381.8μW m-1K-2at 363 K was obtained with weight fraction of 0.1 wt% in PCNT films.Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets are promising candidates as earth-abundant and low-cost catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nevertheless, compared with the benchmark Pt/C catalyst, the application of MoS2nanosheets is limited to its relatively low catalytic activity, especially in alkaline environments. Here, we developed a dual-cation doping strategy to improve the alkaline HER performance of MoS2nanosheets. The designed Ni, Co co-doped MoS2nanosheets can promote the tandem HER steps simultaneously, thus leading to a much enhanced catalytic activity in alkaline solution. Density functional theory calculations revealed the individual roles of Ni and Co dopants in the catalytic process. The doped Ni is uncovered to be the active site for the initial water-cleaving step, while the Co dopant is conducive to the H desorbing by regulating the electronic structure of neighboring edge-S in MoS2. The synergistic effect resulted by the dual-cation doping thus facilitates the tandem HER steps, providing an effective route to raise the catalytic performance of MoS2materials in alkaline solution.We study Al-1.74 at.% Cu as a typical binary model alloy to obtain new information on the precipitation sequence. The alloy has been solution heat treated, rapidly quenched, and then isochronally annealed up to 540 °C. We reveal new effects on the evolution of the precipitation sequence by combining positron annihilation lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopies. Positron parameters do very sensitively respond to changes in the type of precipitates present. We find that in the as-quenched state after exposing the alloy just a few minutes to room temperature GP-I zones containing vacancies inside their copper platelet dominate. They represent about 80% of all detected GP-I zones. At 200 °C GP-II (Θ″) is the dominating type of precipitate. However, the GP-II zones have obviously expelled all structural vacancies on growing from larger GP-I zones. Also the transition from GP-II zones dissolving while precipitates of the Θ' phase do form at about 250 °C can be clearly observed. The signals support that Θ' precipitates contain vacancies on their Cu sublattice, since they have to grow in a copper-poor environment. Finally, our signals indicate coarsening of Θ'-precipitates forT> 400 °C and their dissolution until 450 °C. All our experimental results agree well withab initiotheoretical calculations of positron parameters. However, the formation of the equilibrium Θ-phase cannot be observed since these have a too low number density due to their large size.We present the evolution of the structural, electronic, and lattice dynamical properties, as well as the electron-phonon (el-ph) coupling and superconducting critical temperature (Tc) of ScH2and YH2metal hydrides solid solutions, as a function of the electron- and hole-doping content. The study was performed within the density functional perturbation theory, taking into account the effect of zero-point energy through the quasi-harmonic approximation, and the solid solutions Sc1-xMxH2(M = Ca, Ti) and Y1-xMxH2(M = Sr, Zr) were modeled by the virtual crystal approximation. We have found that, under hole-doping (M = Ca, Sr), the ScH2and YH2hydrides do not improve their el-ph coupling properties, sensed byλ(x). Instead, by electron-doping (M = Ti, Zr), the systems reach a critical contentx≈ 0.5 where the latent coupling is triggered, increasingλas high as 70%, in comparison with itsλ(x= 0) value. Our results show thatTcquickly decreases as a function ofxon the hole-doping region, fromx= 0.2 tox= 0.9, collapsing at the end. Alternatively, for electron-doping,Tcfirst decreases steadily untilx= 0.5, reaching its minimum, but forx> 0.5 it increases rapidly, reaching its maximum value of the entire range at the Sc0.05Ti0.95H2and Y0.2Zr0.8H2solid solutions, demonstrating that electron-doping can improve the superconducting properties of pristine metal hydrides, in the absence of applied pressure.Hydride species on oxide catalysts are widely involved in oxide-catalyzed reactions, and relevant fundamental understanding is important to establish reaction mechanisms and structure-performance relations of oxide catalysts. In this topical review, recent progresses on the formation and reactivity of hydride species on the surface or in the bulk of oxides are briefly summarized. Firstly, characterization techniques for hydride species are introduced. Secondly, formation of hydride species on the surface or in the bulk of various oxides and their reactivity in oxide-catalyzed hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions are reviewed. Finally, short summary and outlook are given.Objective.The original motor imagery electroencephalography (MI-EEG) data contains not only temporal features but also a large number of spatial features related to the distribution of electrodes on the brain. However, in the process of MI-EEG decoding, most of the current convolutional neural network (CNN) based methods do not make the utmost of the spatial features related to electrode distribution.Approach.In this study, we adopt a concise 3D representation for the MI-EEG data to take full advantage of the spatial features and propose a two-branch 3D CNN (TB-3D CNN) for the 3D representation of MI-EEG data. First, the spatial and temporal features of the input 3D samples are extracted by the spatial and temporal feature learning branches, respectively, to avoid the mutual interference between the temporal and spatial features. Then, the central loss is introduced into the TB-3D CNN framework to further improve the MI-EEG decoding accuracy. And a 3D data augmentation method based on the cyclic translation of time dimension is proposed for the 3D representation method to alleviate the overfitting problem.Main results.Some experiments are conducted on the famous BCI competition IV 2a dataset to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed MI-EEG decoding method. The experimental results comparison with some state-of-the-art methods demonstrates that the average accuracy of our method is 4.42% higher than that of the best of the comparative methods.Significance.The proposed MI-EEG decoding method has great promise to improve the performance of motor imagery brain-computer interface system.We investigate the properties of excitons in the SiGe inverted quantum huts (IQHs) embedded in Si employing high-resolution x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Ultra-small Si/Ge IQHs (13.3 nm × 6.6 nm) were grown on a Si buffer layer deposited on a Si (001) substrate using molecular beam epitaxy. We study the behavior of the excitons at different depths of the IQH structures by exposing the desired surfaces via controlled sputtering and annealing processes. The Si and Ge core level spectra show interesting properties at different surfaces; additionally, we discover distinct new features at the lower binding energy side of the Ge 3dpeak. The emergence of these features is attributed to the final state effects arising from core hole screening by the excitons. The properties of these features in the spectra collected at different locations of the IQHs are found significantly different from each other, indicating the local character of the excitons. These results provide a pathway to study the properties of excitons in such quantum structures. The evidence of the local character of the excitons suggests a type I behavior of the system, which is important for the devices for optoelectronic applications, quantum communications, etc.Recently, prussian blue analogues (PBAs), as the most classical class of metal-organic frameworks, have been widely studied by scientists. Nevertheless, the inferior conductivity of PBAs restricts the application in supercapacitors. In this work, nickel cobalt hexacyanoferrate (Ni2CoHCF) had been produced via a simple co-precipitation approach and coated with polypyrrole on its surface. The conductivity of PBAs was improved by the polypyrrole coating. The Ni2CoHCF@PPy-400 microspheres were demonstrated to the outstanding specific capacity of 82 mAh g-1at 1 A g-1. After 3000 cycles, the Ni2CoHCF@PPy-400 microspheres had a long cycle life and 86% specific capacity retention rate at 5 A g-1. Additionally, it was coupled with activated carbon to build high performance asymmetric supercapacitor (Ni2CoHCF@PPy-400//AC), which displayed a high energy density of 21.7 Wh kg-1at the power density of 888 W kg-1and good cycle stability after 5000 cycles (a capacity retention rate of 85.2%). What is more, the results reveal that the Ni2CoHCF@PPy-400 microspheresare a prospective candidate for exceptional energy storage devices.Objective. To formulate, validate, and apply an alternative to the finite element method (FEM) high-resolution modeling technique for electrical brain stimulation-the boundary element fast multipole method (BEM-FMM). To include practical electrode models for both surface and embedded electrodes.Approach. Integral equations of the boundary element method in terms of surface charge density are combined with a general-purpose fast multipole method and are expanded for voltage, shunt, current, and floating electrodes. The solution of coupled and properly weighted/preconditioned integral equations is accompanied by enforcing global conservation laws charge conservation law and Kirchhoff's current law.Main results.A sub-percent accuracy is reported as compared to the analytical solutions and simple validation geometries. Comparison to FEM considering realistic head models resulted in relative differences of the electric field magnitude in the range of 3%-6% or less. Quantities that contain higher order spatial derivatives, such as the activating function, are determined with a higher accuracy and a faster speed as compared to the FEM. The method can be easily combined with existing head modeling pipelines such as headreco or mri2mesh.Significance.The BEM-FMM does not rely on a volumetric mesh and is therefore particularly suitable for modeling some mesoscale problems with submillimeter (and possibly finer) resolution with high accuracy at moderate computational cost. Utilizing Helmholtz reciprocity principle makes it possible to expand the method to a solution of EEG forward problems with a very large number of cortical dipoles.Injuries to the nervous system that involve the disruption of axonal pathways are devastating to the individual and require specific tissue engineering strategies. Here we analyse a cells-biomaterials strategy to overcome the obstacles limiting axon regenerationin vivo, based on the combination of a hyaluronic acid (HA) single-channel tubular conduit filled with poly-L-lactide acid (PLA) fibres in its lumen, with pre-cultured Schwann cells (SCs) as cells supportive of axon extension. The HA conduit and PLA fibres sustain the proliferation of SC, which enhance axon growth acting as a feeder layer and growth factor pumps. The parallel unidirectional ensemble formed by PLA fibres and SC tries to recapitulate the directional features of axonal pathways in the nervous system. A dorsal root ganglion (DRG) explant is planted on one of the conduit's ends to follow axon outgrowth from the DRG. After a 21 d co-culture of the DRG + SC-seeded conduit ensemble, we analyse the axonal extension throughout the conduit by scanning, transmission electronic and confocal microscopy, in order to study the features of SC and the grown axons and their association. The separate effects of SC and PLA fibres on the axon growth are also experimentally addressed. The biohybrid thus produced may be considered a synthetic axonal pathway, and the results could be of use in strategies for the regeneration of axonal tracts.In the last decade, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been intensively synthesized/studied thus linking their morphological aspect to their physical properties, and consequently leading to the understanding of the possible benefits of defects in such materials. Nevertheless, for future applications, quantifying and identifying defects in TMDs is still a milestone to reach in order to better employ these materials in optoelectronic devices. Raman Spectroscopy has been successfully employed in graphene to quantify punctual or line defects. In this paper, we bombarded monolayer MoSe2with He ions and found out the existence of three defect activated Raman bands around 250-300 cm-1. Density functional theory calculations were employed to obtain the electronic and phonon dispersion bands, making it possible to infer that these bands arise from inter-valley Raman double resonance processes. Interestingly, the same punctual defect model, that allows one to predict the defect concentration at which graphene starts to become amorphous, also works for TMDs. Hence, this work opens the door to the macroscopic quantification of defects in TMDs, which is essential for technological applications.This report explores the influence of temperature on resistive switching characteristics in the AlN/Ni-Mn-In magnetoelectric (ME) heterostructure-based resistive random access memory (ReRAM) device. The fabricated Cu/AlN/Ni-Mn-In/Si device exhibits a sharp transition from a high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) at a SET voltage. The rupture of the filament from its weakest point at a RESET voltage turn the device back to its HRS. The stable bipolar resistive switching behavior is described by the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic. The HRS and LRS are explained by the trap-controlled space charge limited conduction mechanism and a well-known Ohmic conduction mechanism, respectively. The temperature-dependent resistance has been observed to further confirm the conduction mechanism in HRS and LRS. The current conduction in LRS is explained by an analytical model based on copper metallic filament formation via Cu+migration from the top to the bottom electrode. A significant change in the SET voltage has been observed with the decrease in temperature. This variation in the SET voltage is explained via strain-mediated coupling in interfacially connected AlN/Ni-Mn-In ME heterostructure. The fabricated device displays an appreciable OFF/ON ratio of the order ∼3 × 103with good endurance and retention of ∼1000 cycles and ∼900 s, respectively. A slight variation ( less then 40%) in SET and RESET voltages has been observed for total endurance cycles. This study demonstrates the importance of ME heterostructure for futuristic tuneable ReRAM applications.Using stacked samples of Al foil and H-containing resin film, we have carried out elastic recoil detection analysis with transmission layout (T-ERDA) to investigate the depth resolution in the measurements of H distribution in Al. For narrow and wide acceptance conditions of the detector, the depth resolutions of 1.5-4.9μm at several depths in Al of 50 and 80μm thicknesses have been determined for incidence of 8 MeV4He. While the main factor to degrade the depth resolution is the energy straggling of recoil H for narrow acceptance conditions, it is the extended low-energy side of the H spectrum for wide acceptance conditions. The knowledge obtained in this work is useful for analysis of 3D images of H distribution measured by T-ERDA, for example, future analysis of minerals or natural glass samples to determine abundances and distributions of water or OH in the samples.Implant dentures become the first choice for denture restoration in patients with tooth loss. However, oral implants often fail in osteoporosis (OP) patients. Melatonin (MT) induces osteogenic differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), suggesting its therapeutic potential in OP treatment. Long non-coding RNA H19 induces osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, while its regulatory mechanism in MT-involved osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs remains elusive. Ovariectomized (OVX) rat was used to construct an OP model, and bone quality was assessed. Meanwhile, the expression of H19, miR-541-3p, MT and adiponectin (APN) was examined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) or ELISA. The adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs were determined by oil red O staining and alizarin red S staining, respectively. The targeting relationships between H19, miR-541-3p and APN mRNA were predicted by bioinformatics and confirmed by RNA immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The results showed that MT, H19 and APN were down-regulated, while miR-541-3p was up-regulated in the OVX rat model. At the cellular level, MT reduced adipogenic differentiation, heightened osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and activated Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which were reversed by the MT2 selective inhibitor 4-P-PDOT. Overexpressing H19 facilitated the osteogenic differentiation and inhibited the adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs mediated by MT, while H19 knockdown or overexpressing miR-541-3p had the opposite effect. Moreover, H19 functioned as a competitive endogenous RNA and sponged miR-541-3p, and miR-541-3p targeted APN. Overall, MT modulates the osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs by mediating H19/miR-541-3p/APN axis, providing a new reference for the targeted therapy of OP.
Prognostic parameters in sentinel node (SN)-positive melanoma are important indicators to identify patients at high risk of recurrence who should be candidates for adjuvant therapy. We aimed to evaluate the presence of melanoma cells beyond the SN capsule-extranodal extension (ENE)-as a prognostic factor in patients with positive SNs.

Data from 1,047 patients with melanoma and positive SNs treated from 2001 to 2020 at the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milano, Italy, were retrospectively investigated. Kaplan-Meier survival and crude cumulative incidence of recurrence curves were estimated. A multivariable logistic model was used to investigate the association between ENE and selected predictive factors. Cox models estimated the effect of the selected predictors on survival endpoints.

Median follow-up was 69 months. The 5-year overall survival rate was 62.5% and 71.7% for patients with positive SNs with and without ENE, respectively. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 54.0% and 64.0% for patienteatment in patients with stage IIIA disease with a tumor burden less then 1 mm in the SN. We recommend its inclusion as an independent prognostic determinant in future updates of melanoma guidelines.
The study analyzed the influence of exercise on hypoglycemia episodes postexercise and in the subsequent 24hours in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Thirty young people performed the same protocol of physical exercises for 1 hour (Ex1h) and 2 hours (Ex2h) after the administration of insulin. They performed 30minutes of exercise on a cycle ergometer with a load of 60% of maximal oxygen uptake, interspersed with maximum intensity sprints lasting 10seconds every 5minutes.

Regarding the occurrence of hypoglycemia, in the 8hours following the exercises, there was no occurrence in Ex1h (χ2 = 0.001; P = .0001) and a greater proportion for Ex2h (n = 71 episodes, 53.8%), while Ex1h had a higher number of nocturnal hypoglycemic episodes (n = 60, 71.4%) compared with Ex2h (n = 31, 23.1%, χ2 = 49.521, P = .0001), Ex1h triggered a lower number of hypoglycemia (n = 84) than Ex2h (n = 134, χ2 = 11.504, P = .001). There was a greater reduction in the average amount of fast-acting insulin administered the day after Ex1h compared with Ex2h (P = .031).

Intermittent exercise performed 1 hour after insulin administration shows a lower risk of hypoglycemia within 8 hours after exercise, as well as a reduction in insulin the following day.
Intermittent exercise performed 1 hour after insulin administration shows a lower risk of hypoglycemia within 8 hours after exercise, as well as a reduction in insulin the following day.
In a sample of healthy adolescents, the authors aimed to investigate the effects of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) training and detraining on baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and it's vascular and autonomic components at rest.

Nineteen volunteers were randomly allocated to (1)4 weeks HIIE training performed 3 times per week or (2)a control condition with no intervention for the same duration as HIIE training. PRE, POST, and following 2 weeks of detraining resting supine heart rate and blood pressure were measured, and a cross-spectral method (integrated gain [gain in low frequency]) was used to determine BRS gain. Arterial compliance (AC) was assessed as the BRS vascular component. LFgain divided by AC (LFgain/AC) was used as the autonomic determinant of BRS.

The HIIE training was completed with 100% compliance. HIIE did not change resting gain in low frequency (LFgain) (P = .66; effect size = 0.21), AC (P = .44; effect size = 0.36), or LFgain/AC (P = .68; effect size = 0.19) compared to control.

Four weeks of HIIE training does not change BRS and its autonomic and vascular determinant in a sample of healthy adolescents at rest.
Four weeks of HIIE training does not change BRS and its autonomic and vascular determinant in a sample of healthy adolescents at rest.This study investigated the effects of caffeine mouth rinse on cycling time to exhaustion (TTE) and physiological responses in trained cyclists. In a double-blinded randomized counterbalanced cross-over design, 10 recreationally trained male cyclists (mean ± SD 32 ± 3 years, 72.8 ± 5.3 kg, 1.78 ± 0.06 m, 13.9% ± 3.3% body fat, peak power output = 289.4 ± 24.7 W) completed two TTE tests cycling at 75% of peak aerobic power following 24 hr of dietary and exercise standardization. Cyclists were administered 25-ml mouth rinses for 5 s containing either 85 mg of caffeine or control (water) every 5 min throughout the exercise tests. No significant improvement in TTE was shown with caffeine mouth rinse compared with control (3324 ± 1247 vs. 2808 ± 1018 min; Cohen's dz effect size 0.51, p = .14). Caffeine mouth rinse had no significant effect on ratings of perceived exertion (p = .31) or heart rate (p = .35) throughout the cycling TTE protocol. These data indicate that a repeated dose of caffeinated mouth rinse for 5 s does not improve cycling TTE in recreationally trained male cyclists. However, these findings should be taken with caution due to the small sample size and blinding ineffectiveness, while further well-design studies with larger samples are warranted.
Although wearing a wetsuit while swimming, when permitted, is primarily for safety reasons (ie,to protect against hypothermia), changes in buoyancy, biomechanics, and exercise performance have been reported. This narrative review covers the benefits of different wetsuit models on performance in swimming and triathlon.

A computer search of online databases was conducted to locate relevant published research until March 2021. After the screening process, 17 studies were selected for analysis.

Most of the selected studies involved pool swimmers or triathletes completing short or middle distances in a pool while using a full or a long sleeveless wetsuit. Swimming with wetsuit elicited significant improvements in performance (maximum 11%), mainly by decreasing drag and energy cost, by increasing buoyancy, and by affecting technique. Different rates of change in each factor were found according to swimming ability and wetsuit model. In addition, wearing a wetsuit was often rated as uncomfortable by athletes.
provement. More studies simulating competition and comparing elite versus nonelite athletes are needed.Natural killer (NK) cells were isolated from human umbilical cord blood from a healthy newborn and reprogrammed by episomal vectors carrying reprograming factors L-MYC, LIN28, OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, EBNA-1, and shRNA against p53 delivered using nucleofection. The obtained MUSIi013-A human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line highly expressed pluripotency markers, had the capacity to differentiate into derivatives of the three germ layers, while retained a normal karyotype. This cell line may be a useful tool to study epigenic memory that may predispose hiPSCs to enhanced NK differentiation.One predominant and bioactive folate vitamer circulating in the blood is 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-Me-THF). In this study, a method for the accurate determination of 5-Me-THF in human plasma samples of various volumes was established using isotope dilution ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (ID-UPLC-MS). For this purpose, 500 μL of homogeneous human plasma was initially employed, and the 5-Me-THF and the 13C5-5-Me-THF standard solutions prepared using 1% ascorbic acid in water gave the calibration solution and spiking sample. The desired amount of 13C5-5-Me-THF standard solution was spiked into the sample followed by sample pretreatment. The method was validated for its repeatability, reproducibility, recovery, and limits of detection and quantification. Subsequently, it was applied to smaller volumes of human plasma samples (i.e., 50 and 10 μL), the results of which corresponded well with those obtained using 500 μL. The feasibility of the method was further confirmed using 10 μL of a standard reference material, SRM 3949, which is a human serum sample containing three different levels of 5-Me-THF. The established ID-UPLC-MS method was successfully applied to various volumes of human plasma or serum ranging from 500 to 10 μL, which exhibited particularly good sensitivity in addition to reliable results for the quantification of 5-Me-THF. Our method therefore expands on the ability to obtain accurate quantitative results for 5-Me-THF using small volumes of blood.
It is common practice to align transfemoral prosthetic sockets in adduction, due to the physiologic, adducted femoral alignment in unimpaired legs. An adducted femoral and socket alignment helps tightening hip abductors to stabilize the pelvis and reduce pelvic and trunk related compensatory movements.

How do different socket adduction conditions (SAC) of transfemoral sockets affect pelvic and trunk stabilization during level ground walking in the frontal plane?

Seven persons with transfemoral amputation with medium residual limb length participated in this study. The prosthetic alignment in the sagittal plane was performed according to established recommendations. SAC varied (0°, 3°, 6°, 9°). Kinematic and kinetic parameters were recorded in a gait laboratory with a 12-camera optoelectronic system and two piezoelectric force plates embedded in a 12-m walkway. The measurements were performed during level ground walking with self-selected comfortable gait speed.

In the frontal plane, nearly all investitient may differ slightly.Older compared to younger adults show greater amygdala activity to positive emotions, and are more likely to interpret emotionally ambiguous stimuli (e.g., surprised faces) as positive. While some evidence suggests this positivity effect results from a top-down, effortful mechanism, others suggest it may emerge as the default or initial response. The amygdala is a key node in rapid, bottom-up processing and patterns of amygdala activity over time (e.g., habituation) can shed light on the mechanisms underlying the positivity effect. Younger and older adults passively viewed neutral and surprised faces in an MRI. Only in older adults, amygdala habituation was associated with the tendency to interpret surprised faces as positive or negative (valence bias), where a more positive bias was associated with greater habituation. Interestingly, although a positive bias in younger adults was associated with slower responses, consistent with an initial negativity hypothesis in younger adults, older adults showed faster categorizations of positivity. Together, we propose that there may be a switch to a primacy of positivity in aging.Serum uric acid, a natural antioxidant, may have a protective effect on the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate the effect of serum uric acid on longitudinal cognitive and brain metabolic changes, we utilized data on baseline serum uric acid levels, APOE genotyping, and longitudinal cognitive scores from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative for 1,343 participants with normal cognition (NC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia. In 979 participants, brain metabolism was measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) images. Higher serum uric acid levels exhibited a detrimental effect on NC, whereas a protective trend was observed in individuals with cognitive impairment. Interestingly, higher uric acid levels were associated with a slower decline in cognitive scores and brain metabolism in females with MCI, and this effect was found in APOE4 carriers, but not in non-carriers. Longitudinal AD-like patterns of brain metabolism on FDG-PET images also appeared to mediate the effects of baseline uric acid levels on longitudinal cognitive decline. In summary, higher serum uric acid may interact with APOE4 to alleviate longitudinal metabolic changes and cognitive decline in female MCI patients.
Out-of-pocket (OOP) payment is a major health financing mechanisms across developing nations such as Pakistan. Private health expenditures are estimated to be 64.4%, of which 89% are OOP made by the households (National Health Accounts, 2015-16). These high health care expenditures cause households to face financial burden resulting in poverty. This study aims to estimate the incidence and determinants of catastrophic health expenditures and impoverishment for Pakistan.

Household-based cross-section study.

We used the data from the Household Integrated Economic Survey (2015-16 and 2018-19), carried out by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The well known methodology developed by Wagstaff and Doorslaer was used in this study for estimating the incidence and impoverishment effect of catastrophic health spending.

It is found that at 10% threshold (out of total consumption expenditures), catastrophic health payments are incurred by 4.51% and 13.15% of households for 2015-16 and 2018-19, respectively. Morerms in terms of financial protection) with political support.Penflufen fungicide is widely used as a racemate, which has potential ecological risks to aquatic organisms, while its enantioselective toxicity data is limited. This study aimed to differentiate the enantioselective toxicity difference of penflufen enantiomers, and illuminate the enantioselective mechanism from the insight of enantiomer-protein specific binding. The semipreparative separation and absolute configuration of penflufen enantiomers were conducted. The acute toxicity of S-(+)-penflufen was 54 times higher than R-(-)-penflufen to Danio rerio, and the coexistence of R-(-)-penflufen could increase the exposure risk of S-(+)-penflufen. For chronic toxicity, after low-dose long-term exposure, rac-penflufen and S-(+)-penflufen inducted more serious oxidative stress than R-(-)-penflufen in D. rerio, and inhibited the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity significantly. For target phytopathogen, the toxicity difference of S-(+)-penflufen and R-(-)-penflufen was up to 148 times for Rhizoctonia solani. Based on the toxic unit analysis, the toxic interactions of antagonistic effect and concentration addition were found between penflufen enantiomers, indicating the coexistence of R-(-)-penflufen could increase overuse and environmental risks. Computational chemistry was used to illuminate the enantioselectivity mechanism, and the lower binding energy between the active site of SDH and S-(+)-penflufen contributed to the higher toxicity. The higher target toxicity might be due to the hydrophobic pocket of CybL in R. solani was more benefited to S-(+)-penflufen binding SDH than Botrytis cinerea. These results could be helpful for further understanding the potential risk of chiral penflufen in the environment, demonstrating the importance of understanding the enantioselective difference of chiral pesticides, and providing a new insight for analyzing the enantioselective mechanism.Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous heavy metal and some of its negative effects include inhibition of rice growth, while also accumulates in the rice grains. Boron (B) has been implicated in mitigating Cd toxicity. Nevertheless, a few studies have been performed up to now to evaluate whether B could encourage Cd tolerance in rice by regulating Cd adsorption on cell walls (CW) in leaves of rice. The current experiment used different concentrations of B (0, 20, and 30 µM) along with 50 µM Cd to rice seedlings. The results indicate that single treatment of Cd significantly inhibited root and shoot growth and caused leaf chlorosis. However, B application at 20, and 30 µM reduced Cd concentrations in the roots by 66% and 77%, and in shoots by 72% and 83%, respectively, and increased plant development. Boron supply at 30 µM increased Cd in leaf CW fraction by 79% and decreased Cd by 64% in the organelle fraction. Moreover, B addition regulated the antioxidant system and decreased malonaldehyde contents (45%) in rice leaves. The present study demonstrates that B reduces Cd translocation and facilitates Cd adsorption on CW and regulates an efficient antioxidant system in rice leaves.Ammonia nitrogen has been one of the key pollution indicators along the Chinese coastline for quite a few years. Our previous studies have proved that ammonia nitrogen is harmful for Ruditapes philippinarum clam in several aspects. Environmental concentrations of ammonia nitrogen were found to significantly decrease ATP contents and disturb ATP metabolism, in addition to reducing the potential across the mitochondrial membrane in clam gill tissues. Accordingly, mitochondrion is considered as one of the target organelles of ammonia nitrogen toxicity in clams. However, there is a lack of direct evidence to prove it. In order to reveal detail information of ammonia nitrogen toxicity on clam mitochondria and screen the related biomarker to indicate ammonia nitrogen pollution, mitochondrial parameters in gill tissues including swelling, mtDNA copy number and marker enzyme (succinic dehydrogenase, SDH) activity were measured after the clams were exposed to 0.1 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L ammonia nitrogen for 3 days and 21 days, respectively. Moreover, adverse effects of ammonia nitrogen exposure on clam mitochondrial ultra-structures, mitochondrial swelling and division were also discriminated under transmission electron microscope (TEM). Final results showed that ammonia nitrogen exposure to both concentrations significantly induced mitochondrial swelling, reduced the number of mitochondria and messed their normal structure, decreased the number of mtDNA copies and down-regulated SDH activity, all in a concentration and duration dependent manner. So, the present study helps us to better understand the structural damage of ammonia nitrogen on mitochondria in clam gill cells and provides fundamental data for ammonia nitrogen control in aquaculture.Arsenic is concerned with cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and endothelial dysfunction. However, what effects the arsenic exposure and the arsenic metabolism have on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and blood pressure changes during pregnancy remain largely unknown. Our goal was to assess the associations of arsenic exposure and arsenic metabolism with HDP and blood pressure changes in pregnant women through a prospective birth cohort study. A total of 1038 women who were pregnant (52 HDP, 986 non-HDP participants) were included. Arsenic species of spot urine samples collected at three trimesters were measured, which included inorganic arsenic (iAs), monomethylated arsenic (MMA), and dimethylated arsenic (DMA). Arsenic metabolism was evaluated as the percentages of iAs, MMA, and DMA respectively (i.e., iAs%, MMA%, and DMA%). Outcomes were HDP and systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure changes during pregnancy. We employed mixed linear models to investigate the association was found between each arsenic specie and arsenic metabolism marker in the first trimester and risk of HDP. Arsenic exposure and arsenic metabolism during pregnancy potentially change blood pressure of pregnant women. These findings may be significance as even modest elevation of blood pressure can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.Denitrifying biofilm promises to be very useful for remediation of nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) and nitrates in wastewater. Little is known about the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in nitrobenzene (NB, a typical NAC) remediation, despite the indispensability of EPS for biofilm formation. Herein, the significance of the mechanistic role of EPS in the response of denitrifying biofilms to various levels of NB was investigated. The removal of NB was predominantly controlled via absorption, with little biodegradation during the short-term exposure. Specifically, NB was adsorbed by EPS, as shown by a total adsorption of 40.06% at the initial step, which declined to around 10.52% in the equilibrium stage, while sorption via cells gradually increased from 59.93% to 89.47% over the same period. The results suggested that EPS might act as an important reservoir for NB, which endows inner cells with increased adsorption ability. The presence of EPS might also alleviate the negative impacts of NB toxicity on inner cells, thus protecting microorganisms. This was indicated by the difference in denitrification performance and cell integrity between intact and EPS-free biofilms. High-throughput sequencing data demonstrated that EPS could maintain the stability of microbial communities under NB stress. The fluorescence quenching analysis further indicated that EPS formed stable complexes with NB mainly through hydrophobic interactions with protein-like fractions (tryptophan and tyrosine). Moreover, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy identified that the hydroxyl, amino, carboxyl, and phosphate groups of EPS were the candidate functional groups binding with NB. Protein secondary structures were also significantly affected, resulting in a loose structure and enhanced hydrophobic performance for EPS. These results provide insights into the role of EPS in alleviating NB-caused cellular stress and the underlying binding mechanisms between NB and EPS.Various cosmetic hair manipulations are known to interfere with the drug of abuse concentrations in hair. It is important to know the effects of cosmetic hair treatments as they may cause false-positive or false-negative results. The article aimed to investigate the effect of bleaching, perming, and dyeing treatment on the hair of methamphetamine（MA）abusers. The research results show that during the bleaching treatment, the content of MA in the hair is positively correlated with the degree of the treatment. Bleaching caused strong chemical degradation on MA, while perming exerted more a leaching out effect. Temporary dyes in single applications had only little effects on MA, Semi-permanent dyes can penetrate into the hair and exert a stronger matrix effect. The effect of permanent hair dye on the content of MA in hair mainly depends on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide.The measurement of dipolar and J- couplings between 29Si and 17O isotopes is challenging owing to (i) the low abundance of both isotopes and (ii) their close Larmor frequencies, which only differ by 19%. These issues are circumvented here by the use of isotopic enrichment and dedicated triple-resonance magic-angle spinning NMR probe. The surface of 29Si-enriched silica was labelled with 17O isotope and heated at 80 and 200 °C. 29Si-17O connectivities and proximities were probed using two-dimensional (2D) through-bond and through-space heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherences (J- and D-HMQC) experiments between 17O and 29Si nuclei. The simulation of the build-up of the J- and D-HMQC signals allowed the first experimental measurement of J- and dipolar coupling constants between 17O and 29Si nuclei. These HMQC experiments allow distinguishing two distinct siloxane (SiOSi) oxygen sites (i) those covalently bonded to Q3 and Q4 groups, having a hydroxyl group as a second neighbour and (ii) those covalently bonded to two Q4 groups. The measured J- and dipolar coupling constants of siloxane 17O nucleus with Q4 29Si nuclei differ from those with Q3 29Si nuclei. These results indicate that the 29Si-17O one-bond J-coupling and Si-O bond length depend on the second neighbours of the Si atoms.The application of NMR spectroscopy for studying molecular and reaction dynamics relies crucially on the measurement of the magnitude of radiofrequency (RF) fields that are used to nutate or lock the nuclear magnetization. Here, we report a method for measuring RF field amplitudes that leverages the intrinsic modulations observed in offset-dependent NMR nutation profiles of small molecules. Such nutation profiles are exquisitely sensitive to the magnitude of the RF field, and B1 values ranging from 1 to 2000 Hz, as well the inhomogeneity in B1 distributions, can be determined with high accuracy and precision using this approach. In order to measure B1 fields associated with NMR experiments carried out on protein or nucleic acids, where these modulations are obscured by the large transverse relaxation rate constants of the analyte, our approach can be used in conjunction with a suitable external small molecule standard, expanding the scope of the method for large biomolecules.How will my face look when I get older? Or, for a more challenging question How will my brain look when I get older? To answer this question one must devise (and learn from data) a multivariate auto-regressive function which given an image and a desired target age generates an output image. While collecting data for faces may be easier, collecting longitudinal brain data is not trivial. We propose a deep learning-based method that learns to simulate subject-specific brain ageing trajectories without relying on longitudinal data. Our method synthesises images conditioned on two factors age (a continuous variable), and status of Alzheimer's Disease (AD, an ordinal variable). With an adversarial formulation we learn the joint distribution of brain appearance, age and AD status, and define reconstruction losses to address the challenging problem of preserving subject identity. We compare with several benchmarks using two widely used datasets. We evaluate the quality and realism of synthesised images using ground-truth longitudinal data and a pre-trained age predictor. We show that, despite the use of cross-sectional data, our model learns patterns of gray matter atrophy in the middle temporal gyrus in patients with AD. To demonstrate generalisation ability, we train on one dataset and evaluate predictions on the other. In conclusion, our model shows an ability to separate age, disease influence and anatomy using only 2D cross-sectional data that should be useful in large studies into neurodegenerative disease, that aim to combine several data sources. To facilitate such future studies by the community at large our code is made available at https//github.com/xiat0616/BrainAgeing.
Asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACS) has a low risk of stroke. To achieve an advantage over noninterventional best medical treatment (BMT), carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid artery stenting (CAS) must be performed with the lowest possible risk of stroke. Therefore, an analysis of risk-elevating factors is essential. Grade of ipsilateral and contralateral stenosis as well as plaque morphology are known risk factors in ACS.

The randomized, controlled, multicenter SPACE-2 trial had to be stopped prematurely after recruiting 513 patients. 203 patients were randomized to CEA, 197 to CAS, and 113 to BMT. Within one year, risk factors such as grade of stenosis and plaque morphology were analyzed.

Grade of contralateral stenosis (GCS) was higher in patients with any stroke (50%
vs. 20%
; p=0.012). Echolucent plaque morphology was associated with any stroke on the day of intervention (OR 5.23; p=0.041). In the periprocedural period, any stroke was correlated with GCS in the CEA group (70%
vs. 20%
; p=0.026) and with echolucent plaque morphology in the CAS group (6% vs. 1%; p=0.048). In multivariate analysis, occlusion of the contralateral carotid artery (CCO) was associated with risk of any stroke (OR 7.00; p=0.006), without heterogeneity between CEA and CAS.

In patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, GCS, CCO, as well as echolucent plaque morphology were associated with a higher risk of cerebrovascular events. The risk of stroke in the periprocedural period was increased by GCS in CEA and by echolucent plaque in CAS. Due to small sample size, results must be interpreted carefully.
In patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, GCS, CCO, as well as echolucent plaque morphology were associated with a higher risk of cerebrovascular events. The risk of stroke in the periprocedural period was increased by GCS in CEA and by echolucent plaque in CAS. Due to small sample size, results must be interpreted carefully.
Arm reaching training in standing for several weeks affects the postural control of individuals recovering from cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Whether these effects differ with the side of the brain lesion are unknown.

To examine the immediate effects of a training session of arm reaching movements on the balance and trunk motion of individuals who suffered a right or left CVA.

Thirty-six adults divided into four groups (i.e., right CVA, left CVA, right control, and left control) performed 120 reaches in a standing position toward one of three target heights. Before and after the reaching trials, participants stood as quiet as possible on two force plates and had their postural sway, trunk motion, and body weight distribution assessed.

CVA groups showed greater postural sway regardless of the brain lesion's side compared to the control groups. After the session of reaching movements, the left stroke group reduced the postural sway and trunk displacements. Larger ranges of weight-bearing asymmetry were more frequent after the training session, mainly for the right stroke group.

A single session training of reaching movements affects mostly the postural control of left stroke survivors. More training sessions may be needed for individuals after right stroke to show balance improvements. The current findings support the hemispheric specialization for postural control and suggest that the training involving arm movements in standing can benefit the motor rehabilitation of stroke individuals.
A single session training of reaching movements affects mostly the postural control of left stroke survivors. More training sessions may be needed for individuals after right stroke to show balance improvements. The current findings support the hemispheric specialization for postural control and suggest that the training involving arm movements in standing can benefit the motor rehabilitation of stroke individuals.Legionnaires Disease incidence has risen in the Netherlands in recent years. For the majority of the cases, the source of infection is never identified. Two Dutch wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have previously been identified as source of outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease (LD) among local residents. The objective of this study is to examine if LD patients in the Netherlands are more exposed to aerosols originating from WWTPs than controls.
An atmospheric dispersion model was used to generate nationwide exposure maps of aerosols from 776 WWTPs in the Netherlands. Municipal sewage treatment plants and industrial WWTPs were both included. Exposure of LD cases and controls at the residential address was compared, in a matched case-control design using a conditional logistic regression. Cases were notified LD cases with onset of disease in the period 2013-2018 in the Netherlands (n=1604).

Aerosols dispersed over a large part of the Netherlands, but modelled concentrations are estimated to be elevated in clhan controls. This indicates that exposure to aerosols dispersed from WWTPs caused Legionnaires Disease in residents living near WWTPs in the period 2013-2018. In order to investigate which characteristics of WWTPs are associated with an increased LD risk, the WWTP database should be updated and more data is needed on the presence and survival of aerosolized Legionella bacteria to improve the Legionella dispersion modelling. Furthermore, it is recommended to further investigate how aerosol dispersion of WWTPs can effectively be reduced in order to reduce the potential health risk.Handwashing with soap (HWWS) is critical for preventing diarrheal and respiratory infections and is an important policy priority to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We analyzed hygiene data from 36,860 household surveys from rural areas in India, Honduras, and twelve countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We report descriptive statistics and compare and critique three indicators (1) access to basic hygiene services, defined as a reported designated handwashing area with observed water and soap at the time of the survey; (2) use of both soap and water during demonstrated handwashing; and (3) reported handwashing both after defecation and before preparing food. Overall, 10% of surveyed households (4% in SSA) had access to basic hygiene services and 48% of respondents (45% in SSA) used both soap and water during demonstrated handwashing. Inconsistencies between these indicators suggest no single indicator can provide a holistic picture of household hygiene; reporting on handwashing infrastructure alone may underestimate household access to soap and water and HWWS behaviors.
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