How installers select and explain domestic heating controls

Though central heating controls have the potential to reduce the energy consumed through domestic space heating, their installation does not guarantee savings. End users do not always understand their controls, or operate them in an energy-efficient way, but there is little appreciation of why this is. Drawing on an ethnographic study, this paper investigates how installers select and explain central heating controls. With reference to the concept of technology scripting, which suggests that the assumptions made about users during the design of devices can influence their eventual use, it shows how heating installers also draw on certain user scripts. Through these means the paper illuminates the significant role that heating installers play in influencing the control products fitted into homes, and how they might be used. Though their use of these scripts is understandable, it is not always conducive to ensuring that central heating systems are operated in the most energy-efficient way. It is suggested that industry and policy-makers might engage with how installers understand users and revise current guidelines to foster better communication between them

Expert consensus document: Clinical and molecular diagnosis, screening and management of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome: an international consensus statement.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), a human genomic imprinting disorder, is characterized by phenotypic variability that might include overgrowth, macroglossia, abdominal wall defects, neonatal hypoglycaemia, lateralized overgrowth and predisposition to embryonal tumours. Delineation of the molecular defects within the imprinted 11p15.5 region can predict familial recurrence risks and the risk (and type) of embryonal tumour. Despite recent advances in knowledge, there is marked heterogeneity in clinical diagnostic criteria and care. As detailed in this Consensus Statement, an international consensus group agreed upon 72 recommendations for the clinical and molecular diagnosis and management of BWS, including comprehensive protocols for the molecular investigation, care and treatment of patients from the prenatal period to adulthood. The consensus recommendations apply to patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann spectrum (BWSp), covering classical BWS without a molecular diagnosis and BWS-related phenotypes with an 11p15.5 molecular anomaly. Although the consensus group recommends a tumour surveillance programme targeted by molecular subgroups, surveillance might differ according to the local health-care system (for example, in the United States), and the results of targeted and universal surveillance should be evaluated prospectively. International collaboration, including a prospective audit of the results of implementing these consensus recommendations, is required to expand the evidence base for the design of optimum care pathways

Lead and its isotopes in the sediment of three sites on the Lebanese coast: Identification of contamination sources and mobility

Lead concentrations and isotopic composition of sediment samples collected from three sites within the Lebanese coastal zones were measured: at Akkar, Dora and Selaata. Akkar is located far from any direct source of contamination, while Dora and Selaata receive urban and industrial wastes, respectively. Low Pb concentrations (6-16 mu g g(-1)) were detected in the Akkar sediments, and high concentrations of Pb (70-101 mu g g(-1)) were detected in the Dora sediments. Measuring stable isotope ratios of Pb makes it possible to identify the principal sources of Pb in the Akkar sediments as Pb emitted from gasoline combustion and Pb originating from natural sources. On the other hand, Pb stable isotopic ratios in Dora sediments indicate that they are more highly influenced by anthropogenic sources. Isotopic Pb ratios in the Selaata deposits, where Pb concentrations range between 5 and 35 mu g g(-1), have an exceptional radiogenic signature for marine sediments 1.25 60%) after 24 h of extraction, and that the extracted Pb is less radiogenic than the residual Pb

Sex Differences in Metabolic and Hypothalamic Disturbances in the 3xTg-AD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease Across the Lifespan

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is often associated with cognitive decline and impaired function of hippocampal and cortical areas; however, several other domains and corresponding brain regions are affected. One such brain region is the hypothalamus, shown to atrophy and develop amyloid and tau pathology in AD patients. The hypothalamus controls several functions necessary for survival, including energy and glucose homeostasis. Changes in appetite and body weight are common in AD, often seen prior to the onset of cognitive symptoms. Therefore, altered metabolic processes may serve as a biomarker for AD and/or a target for treatment, considering they are likely both a result of and contributor to disease progression. Previously, we reported sex differences in metabolic disturbances in ~7-month-old 3xTg-AD mice, accompanied by systemic and hypothalamic inflammation. In the current study, we investigated metabolic outcomes and hypothalamic inflammation in 3xTg-AD males and females at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age to determine when these sex-specific metabolic phenotypes emerge. In agreement with our previous study, AD males displayed reduced weight gain and adiposity, as well as reduced blood glucose levels following a glucose challenge, compared to females by 6 months of age. Additionally, we note increased expression of inflammatory markers (Iba1, GFAP, TNF-a, and IL-1B) in the hypothalamus of AD males at 6-9 months. These findings provide additional evidence for sex-dependent effects of AD pathology on altered metabolism, which may be linked to hypothalamic inflammation

Sex Differences in Metabolic and Hypothalamic Disturbances in the 3xTg-AD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease Across the Lifespan

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is often associated with cognitive decline and impaired function of hippocampal and cortical areas; however, several other domains and corresponding brain regions are affected. One such brain region is the hypothalamus, shown to atrophy and develop amyloid and tau pathology in AD patients. The hypothalamus controls several functions necessary for survival, including energy and glucose homeostasis. Changes in appetite and body weight are common in AD, often seen prior to the onset of cognitive symptoms. Therefore, altered metabolic processes may serve as a biomarker for AD and/or a target for treatment, considering they are likely both a result of and contributor to disease progression. Previously, we reported sex differences in metabolic disturbances in ~7-month-old 3xTg-AD mice, accompanied by systemic and hypothalamic inflammation. In the current study, we investigated metabolic outcomes and hypothalamic inflammation in 3xTg-AD males and females at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age to determine when these sex-specific metabolic phenotypes emerge. In agreement with our previous study, AD males displayed reduced weight gain and adiposity, as well as reduced blood glucose levels following a glucose challenge, compared to females by 6 months of age. Additionally, we note increased expression of inflammatory markers (Iba1, GFAP, TNF-a, and IL-1B) in the hypothalamus of AD males at 6-9 months. These findings provide additional evidence for sex-dependent effects of AD pathology on altered metabolism, which may be linked to hypothalamic inflammation

Compaction of RNA Hairpins and Their Kissing Complexes in Native Electrospray Mass Spectrometry

International audienceWhen electrosprayed from native solution conditions, RNA hairpins and kissing complexes acquire charge states at which they get significantly more compact in the gas phase than their initial structure in solution. Here we show the limits of using force field molecular dynamics to interpret the gas-phase structures of nucleic acid complexes in the gas phase, and we suggest that higher-level calculation levels should be used in the future