B-fields do not suppress star formation in low metallicity dwarf galaxies

Many studies have looked at the impact of magnetic fields on star formation in molecular clouds and Milky Way like galaxies, concluding that the field suppresses star formation. However, most of these studies are based on fully developed fields that have reached the saturation level, with little work on investigating how the growth phase of a primordial field affects star formation in low metallicity environments. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the growth phase of a primordial field on low metallicity dwarf galaxies. We perform high-resolution arepo simulations of 5 isolated dwarf galaxies. Two models are hydrodynamical, two start with a primordial B-field of 10−6µG, and one with a saturated B-field of 10−2µG. All models include a non-equilibrium, time-dependent chemical network that includes the effects of gas shielding from the ambient UV field. Sink particles form directly from the gravitational collapse of gas and are treated as star-forming clumps that can accrete gas. We vary the metallicity, UV-field, and cosmic ray ionization rate between 1% and 10% of solar values. We find that the magnetic field has little impact on the star formation rate, which is in tension with previously published results. We show that an increase in the mass fractions of both molecular hydrogen and cold gas, along with changes in the perpendicular gas velocity dispersion’s and the B-field acting in the weak-field model overcomes the expected suppression in star formation.<br/

Transforming Chinese consumers’ environmental concerns and eco-label awareness into willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products

The purpose of this paper is to model the antecedents of consumers’ willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products. The research utilises the Theory of Planned behaviour (TPB) to model the impact of consumers’ awareness of eco-label, environmental concern, belief in the environmental ability of eco-label and presence of children on their willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products. The study uses Structural Equational Modelling (SEM) and PROCESS macros, to test the moderated mediation model on a sample of 333 online responses. Findings suggest the impact of consumers’ environmental concerns and eco-label awareness on their willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products is partially mediated by consumers' belief in the environmental ability of these eco-labels. The relationship is also further moderated by the presence of children living in the household. The study establishes the value of consumers’ belief in the environmental ability of eco-labels and implies that communication strategies need to be carefully refined to provide consumers with more information about eco-labels and to emphasise the environmental ability of eco-labels utilised within the food industry as this can have an impact on their willingness to pay for these products especially for consumers with children living with them

Corneal densitometry to assess the corneal cysteine deposits in patients with cystinosis

Aims: To assess the suitability of corneal densitometry measurements obtained with Scheimpflug imaging in estimating the corneal changes caused by cystine deposits in the cornea in patients with cystinosis.Methods: Scheimpflug imaging (Pentacam) was performed for 14 cystinosis patients and 16 age matched controls. Pentacam data was used for analysis of the corneal densitometry at different zones in the cornea for cystinosis patients and controls. The densitometry measurements were compared to the corneal crystal scores obtained from the slitlamp images for patients with cystinosis.Results: There was no statistically significant difference in keratometry measurements between the two groups (p&gt;0.05). Corneal thickness was found to be significantly higher in the control group when compared to cystinosisgroup (p=0.0004). The Mean corneal densitometry was significantly higher in cystinosis patients when compared to the control group at most of the corneal layers and zones. The corneal densitometry readings for the right and left eyes showed moderate positive correlation with the corneal crystal score with a ceiling effect being reached at the maximum corneal crystal score of 3.Conclusion: Corneal densitometry obtained through Pentacam can be used as an objective estimate of the level of cystine crystals present in patients with cystinosis. The clinical estimate of corneal crystal score, although effective at low levels of crystal deposition, does not allow for accurate estimates of change when the level of crystal deposition is high leading to limited utility when assessing treatment effects. Hence, densitometry measurements can potentially be used to assess treatment efficacy of cystinosis treatments in clinical settings

‘Ways of being’ in the domestic garden for people living with dementia: doing, sensing and playing

Domestic gardens represent a site for enacting embodied identity and social relationships in later life, and negotiating tensions between continuity and change. In the context of dementia, domestic gardens have significant implications for ‘living well’ at home, and for wider discussions around embodiment, relational selfhood and agency. Yet previous studies exploring dementia and gardens have predominantly focused on care home or community contexts. In light of this, the paper explores the role of domestic gardens in the everyday lives of people living with dementia and their households, using qualitative, creative methods. This includes filmed walking interviews and garden tours, diaries and sketch methods, involving repeat visits with six households in England. Findings are organised thematically in relation to different ‘ways of being’ in the garden: working in and doing the garden; being in and sensing; and playing, empowerment and agency. These different ‘ways of being’ are situated within relationships with household members, neighbours, and non-human actors including pets, wildlife and the materiality of the garden. Garden practices illustrate continuity, situated within embodied biographies and habitus. However, identities, practices and gardens are also subject to ongoing readjustment and reconstruction. The conclusion discusses implications for extending literature on gardens and later life, describing how social and material relationships in domestic gardens are renegotiated in the context of dementia, while highlighting opportunities for ‘play’, active sensing and agency. We also explore contributions to understandings of dementia, home and place, and implications for garden design and care practice

Analysing single cell secretions by ‘shadow imaging’

Here, we describe a method, which we term ‘shadow imaging’, to analyse the secretions of individual cells at immune synapses, or other cell contacts. Following immune synapse formation and cellular activation on ligand-rich slides the position of each cell is recorded using a pulsed immunofluorescence stain against the proteins on the ligand-rich slide surface. The pulsed stain does not penetrate the synaptic cleft, resulting in an unlabelled region or ‘shadow’ beneath cells that is retained following cellular detachment. The secreted components, such as perforin, exosomes or other types of extracellular vesicles are retained on the slide and can be analysed on a single-cell basis using immunofluorescence. The ability to identify single cells secreting different combinations of particles, proteins and vesicles, enables us to better understand the heterogeneity in immune cell secretions, and can be used as a novel approach for phenotyping cell populations

The reporting and methodological quality of split-mouth trials in oral implantology: A methodological study

Objectives: To assess the reporting and methodological quality of split-mouth trials (SMTs) in oral implantology published during the past ten years, and to investigate whether there was any improvement over time.Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed for SMTs in oral implantology published during 2011-20. We used CONSORT 2010, its extension for within-person trial (WPT), and an SMT-specific methodological checklist to assess trial reporting quality (TRQ), WPT-specific reporting quality (WRQ), and SMT-specific methodological quality (SMQ), respectively. Binary scores were given to each item, and total scores of TRQ (range 0-32), WRQ (0-15), and SMQ (0-3) were calculated for each study. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to compare the quality of SMTs published before (2011-17) and after (2018-20) the release of CONSORT for WPT.Results: Seventy-nine SMTs were included. The mean TRQ, WRQ, and SMQ were 16.4, 6.7, and 1.3, respectively. Less than one-third (n=25, 31.6%) reported the rationale for using splitmouth designs. Only 4 (5.1%) trials adequately conducted sample size calculation, and 40 (50.6%) used appropriate statistical methods that considered dependency and clustering of data. In multivariable analyses, compared with 2011-17, studies published in 2018-20 had significantly higher TRQ (P = 0.044), while WRQ and SMQ did not show improvement.Conclusions: The reporting and methodological quality of SMTs in oral implantology need to be improved. Joint efforts are needed to improve the reporting and methodology of SMTs in this field

Writing and Reading Together from Colonial Legacy to World-making:The case of Algerian bilingual authors

Kateb Yacine told Geneviève Serreau in 1956 that one does not use a universal language to humiliate a people in its very soul without consequences: sooner or later, the people seize that language and culture for themselves on their way towards freedom. Following this prophecy, Algerian intellectuals have in effect appropriated the French language, which they deploy with a high level of proficiency to address the colonizer in its own language. However, with decolonization, the French language was probed as a legacy of colonialism and an obstacle to Algerian self-realization and cultural authenticity. Algerian governments implemented a top-down Arabization policy, excluding national differences and subscribing wholly to the group of Arab nations. This process alienated those who did not read or speak Arabic in a country that is essentially comprised of a multiplicity of languages, cultures, and identities. This article delves into this bitter polemic as a painstaking search for national identity. It traces the position of the French language in the Algerian intellectual and literary landscape, from an initial gesture of rejection to a later move toward appropriation and nativization

Guideline adherence predicts Survival of Candidemia in Europe: Results from the ECMM Candida III multinational European Cohort Study

BackgroundThe European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) collected data on epidemiology, risk factors, treatment, and outcomes of culture proven candidemia across Europe in order to assess how adherence to guideline recommendations correlate with outcomes.MethodsEach participating hospital (number of eligible hospitals per country determined by population size) included the first ~10 culture proven candidemia cases after 01-July-2018 and entered data into the ECMM Candida III database on the FungiScope® platform. EQUAL Candida Scores reflecting adherence to recommendations of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) Guidelines were assessed.FindingsA total of 632 candidemia cases were included from 60 institutions in 20 European countries. Overall mortality was 46.4% (286/617), and older age, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and rare Candida spp. as causative pathogens were independent predictors of mortality in Cox regression analysis. EQUAL Candida Score was evaluable for 589 cases with candidemia and remained an independent predictor of mortality in the multivariable Cox regression analyses after adjusting for age, ICU admission and rare Candida spp. (adjusted hazard ratios between 1.074 and 1.087 per 1 point decrease; pInterpretationWhile overall mortality of candidemia was 46%, our study indicates that adherence to clinical guideline recommendations, reflected by higher EQUAL Candida Scores, may increase survival. Echinocandin treatment was associated with increased overall survival, but also longer duration of hospitalization (hospitalization was prolonged only for completing treatment in 16%).<br/

Current and Future Perspectives on the Utility of Provocative Tests of Anal Sphincter Function: a state-of-the-art summary

BackgroundThe maintenance of fecal continence depends upon coordinated interactions between the pelvic floor, anorectum, and anal sphincter complex orchestrated by central and peripheral neural activities. The current techniques to objectively measure anorectal function rely on fixed diameter catheters placed inside the anal canal with a rectal balloon to obtain measurements of anal resting and squeeze function, and rectal compliance. Until recently it had not been possible to measure the distensibility of the anal canal, or in other words its ability to resist opening against an increasing pressure, which has been proposed as the main determinant of a biological sphincter’s function. Anal acoustic reflectometry (AAR) and the functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) are two novel, provocative techniques that dynamically assess the anal sphincter complex under volume-controlled distension. In doing so, both provide information on the viscoelastic properties of the anal canal and offer new insights into its function. PurposeThis review details the current and potential future applications of AAR and FLIP and highlights the unanswered questions relevant to these new technologies. <br/