Tailoring amide N-substitution to direct liquid crystallinity in benzanilide-based dimers

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Stephen Jay Gould and Karl Popper on Science and Religion

This paper analyzes the thought on science and religion of two thinkers that share essentially the same position: Stephen Jay Gould and Karl Popper. We first make a comparison between those passages of their works where this similarity emerges more explicitly. We then recall some of the critiques that have been extended to Gould on this topic; they can be extended to Popper as well. Moreover, we highlight another critical issue—taken from evolutionary theory—that Gould’s theorization is not able to handle adequately from the theological standpoint. We finally place Gould’s proposal inside Barbour’s fourfold typology for the science-religion relationship, and we conclude by recommending further critical reflection on these interdisciplinary issues

Illness Labels and Social Distance

The authors examine a key proposition in the modified labeling theory—that a psychiatric label increases vulnerability to negative evaluation and social rejection—using an experimental design wherein female participants interact with a female teammate over a computer. The authors also evaluate a hypothesis derived from the disease-avoidance account of disgust by examining this same process for a nonpsychiatric illness: food poisoning. In addition, they introduce a composite measure of social distance behavior that is easy to implement in a laboratory experiment. The authors find, as predicted, that women seek greater social distance from teammates with a history of psychiatric or food poisoning hospitalization than they do from teammates with no hospitalization history. But, contrary to predictions, a teammate’s hospitalization history does not affect participants’ ratings of her likability. The results also do not vary significantly by psychiatric diagnosis (depression vs. schizophrenia), suggesting that the stigma of depression may be just as strong as the stigma of schizophrenia when information about symptoms is not available. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the modified labeling theory of mental illness and for the literature on disgust and stigma. They also outline avenues for future research.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

An update on maternal hydration strategies for amniotic fluid improvement in isolated oligohydramnios and normohydramnios: Evidence from a systematic review of literature and meta-analysis

open8Objective Several trials aimed at evaluating the efficacy of maternal hydration (MH) in increasing amniotic-fluid-volume (AFV) in pregnancies with isolated oligohydramnios or normohydramnos have been conducted. Unfortunately, no evidences support this intervention in routineclinical- practice. The aim of this systematic-literature-review and meta-analysis was to collect all data regarding proposed strategies and their efficacy in relation to each clinical condition for which MH-therapy was performed with the aim of increasing amniotic-fluid (AF) and improving perinatal outcomes. Materials and Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in electronic-database MEDLINE, EMBASE, ScienceDirect and the Cochrane-Library in the time interval between 1991 and 2014. Following the identification of eligible trials, we estimated the methodological quality of each study (using QADAS-2) and clustered patients according to the following outcome measures: route of administration (oral versus intravenous versus combined), total daily dose of fluids administered (2000), duration of hydration therapy: (1 day, >1 day but 1 week), type of fluid administered (isotonic versus hypotonic versus combination). Results In isolated-oligohydramnios (IO), maternal oral hydration is more effective than intravenous hydration and hypotonic solutions superior to isotonic solutions. The improvement in AFV appears to be time-dependent rather than daily-dose dependent. Regarding normohydramnios pregnancies, all strategies seem equivalent though the administration of hypotonicfluid appears to have a slightly greater effect than isotonic-fluid. Regarding perinatal outcomes, data is fragmentary and heterogeneous and does not allow us to define the real clinical utility of MH. Conclusions Available data suggests that MH may be a safe, well-tolerated and useful strategy to improve AFV especially in cases of IO. In view of the numerous obstetric situations in which a reduced AFV may pose a threat, particularly to the fetus, the possibility of increasing AFV with a simple and inexpensive practice like MH-therapy may have potential clinical applications. Considering the various strategies of maternal hydration implemented in the treatment of IO, better results were observed when treatment was based on a combination of intravenous (for a period of 1 day) and oral (for a period of at least 14 days) hypotonic fluids (≥2000ml).openGizzo, Salvatore; Noventa, Marco; Vitagliano, Amerigo; Dall'Asta, Andrea; D'Antona, Donato; Aldrich, Clive J.; Quaranta, Michela; Frusca, Tiziana; Patrelli, Tito SilvioGizzo, Salvatore; Noventa, Marco; Vitagliano, Amerigo; Dall'Asta, Andrea; D'Antona, Donato; Aldrich, Clive J.; Quaranta, Michela; Frusca, Tiziana; Patrelli, Tito Silvi

DFT investigation of 3d transition metal NMR shielding tensors in diamagnetic systems using the gauge-including projector augmented-wave method

We present a density functional theory based method for calculating NMR shielding tensors for 3d transition metal nuclei using periodic boundary conditions. Calculations employ the gauge-including projector augmented-wave pseudopotentials method. The effects of ultrasoft pseudopotential and induced approximations on the second-order magnetic response are intensively examined. The reliability and the strength of the approach for 49Ti and 51V nuclei is shown by comparison with traditional quantum chemical methods, using benchmarks of finite organometallic systems. Application to infinite systems is validated through comparison to experimental data for the 51V nucleus in various vanadium oxide based compounds. The successful agreement obtained for isotropic chemical shifts contrasts with full estimation of the shielding tensor eigenvalues, revealing the limitation of pure exchange-correlation functionals compared to their exact-exchange corrected analogues.Comment: 56 page

Feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a multidisciplinary home-telehealth intervention programme to reduce falls among elderly discharged from hospital: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Fall incidents are the third cause of chronic disablement in elderly according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Recent meta-analyses shows that a multifactorial falls risk assessment and management programmes are effective in all older population studied. However, the application of these programmes may not be the same in all National health care setting and, consequently, needs to be evaluated by cost-effectiveness studies before to plan this intervention in regular care. In Italy structured collaboration between hospital staff and primary care is generally lacking and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in a fall prevention programme at home has never been explored

Perfil de los pacientes que acuden al médico internista para valoración de osteoporosis: registro OSTEOMED

Producción CientíficaAntecedentes y objetivo: La osteoporosis se considera un trastorno generalizado del esqueleto en el que existe una alteración de la resistencia ósea que predispone a la persona a un mayor riesgo de fractura. Este estudio transversal pretende recoger y presentar las principales características clínicas de los pacientes que acuden a la consulta de los médicos internistas en Espa˜na. Conocer estas características podría facilitar la puesta en marcha de planes de actuación para mejorar la atención de estos pacientes de manera más eficaz y eficiente. Material y métodos: A través del análisis del registro OSTEOMED (Osteoporosis en Medicina Interna), este trabajo presenta las principales características clínicas de los pacientes con osteoporosis que acudieron a las consultas de Medicina Interna en 23 centros hospitalarios espa˜noles entre 2012 y 2017. Se han analizado los motivos de consulta, los valores densitométricos, la presencia de comorbilidades, el tratamiento prescrito y otros factores relacionados con el estilo de vida. Resultados: En total se evaluó a 2.024 pacientes con osteoporosis (89,87% mujeres, 10,13% hombres). La edad media de los pacientes fue de 64,1 ± 12,1 a˜nos (mujeres, 64,7 ± 11,5 a˜nos; hombres, 61,2 ± 14,2 a˜nos). No hubo diferencia entre sexos en la historia de caídas recientes (9,1-6,7%), mientras que sí se apreció en la ingesta diaria de calcio de lácteos (553,8 ± 332,6 mg en mujeres vs. 450,2 ± 303,3 mg en hombres; p < 0,001) y en causas secundarias de osteoporosis(13% de hombres vs. 6,5% de mujeres; p < 0,001). En la muestra se observaron un total de 404fracturas (20%), destacando el número de fracturas vertebrales confirmadas (17,2%, 35,6% enhombres vs. 15,2% de las mujeres; p < 0,001). Una gran parte de los pacientes no recibía eltratamiento indicado y presentaba bajos niveles de actividad física y exposición solar. Un por-centaje importante de pacientes presentó comorbilidades asociadas, siendo las más frecuentesla hipertensión (32%) y la dislipidemia (28%).Conclusiones: Estos resultados definen el perfil del paciente con osteoporosis que acude a laconsulta de Medicina Interna en Espa˜na. Además, ponen de manifiesto el carácter multisistémicode esta entidad que junto con su elevada prevalencia determinan que las consultas específicasde Medicina Interna dedicadas a su manejo son el lugar adecuado para la atención de estos pacientes