Education and older adults at the University of the Third Age

This article reports a critical analysis of older adult education in Malta. In educational gerontology, a critical perspective demands the exposure of how relations of power and inequality, in their myriad forms, combinations, and complexities, are manifest in late-life learning initiatives. Fieldwork conducted at the University of the Third Age (UTA) in Malta uncovered the political nature of elder-learning, especially with respect to three intersecting lines of inequality - namely, positive aging, elitism, and gender. A cautionary note is, therefore, warranted at the dominant positive interpretations of UTAs since late-life learning, as any other education activity, is not politically neutral.peer-reviewe

Canine sterile steroid-responsive lymphadenitis in 49 dogs

OBJECTIVES:To report clinical and laboratory features, treatment responses and outcome in dogs diagnosed with sterile steroid-responsive lymphadenitis in the United Kingdom. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Medical records of dogs diagnosed with sterile steroid-responsive lymphadenitis from 2009 to 2016 at six specialist referral centres were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS:The study included 49 dogs. Springer spaniels appeared to be over-represented (16 of 49 dogs). Young dogs (median age: 3 years and 9 months) and females (31 of 49) were frequently affected. Clinical presentation was variable, with pyrexia (39 of 49), lethargy (35 of 49) and anorexia (21 of 49) the most commonly reported clinical signs. Lymph node cytology or histopathology demonstrated neutrophilic, pyogranulomatous, granulomatous or necrotising lymphadenitis without a detectable underlying cause in all cases. Because a sterile immune-mediated aetiology was suspected, all dogs received prednisolone, which was followed by rapid resolution of clinical signs and lymphadenopathy in most cases. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE:Sterile steroid-responsive lymphadenitis should be considered in dogs with pyrexia of unknown origin with inflammatory lymphadenopathy if no underlying cause can be found and often responds well to immunosuppressive corticosteroid therapy

Determining specific biomass activity in anaerobic wastewater treatment processes

«Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)»An experimental method for the measurement of specific gas production rate was developed and tested with biomass samples taken from anaerobic fluidized bed reactors, operating with a variety of carriers with molasses, condensate from cellulose production and brewery wastewater as feeds. The method is based on reactor sampling and offline gas volume measurement during a known time interval. Important factors are biomass and liquid sampling under oxygen-free conditions, using the liquid from the reactor as substrate, providing sufficient mixing and maintaining the physical integrity of the biomass. The method was developed in such a way that small samples (20 ml) were taken under anaerobic conditions (poising agent) for short-term (2-3 min.) gas rate measurements in a small fluidized bed (25 ml) batch reactor with U-tube. Biomass content was measured by an instrumental nitrogen method (Dumas), followed by weight determination of the carrier. The gas rates measured with the test system, and their dependence on substrate concentration, were in good agreement with those directly measured from the continuous fluidized bed reactor. Additions of molasses and acetate to the sample proved that the influence of concentration on the biomass activity can be obtained only by operating the continuous reactor at the concentration levels of interest. Comparison between the reactors showed large differences in the specific activity and the total reactor activity. It was found when comparing two reactors, that the values of the specific and the total activities permitted the calculation of the relative biomass quantities. In this way the influence of the carrier-type could be evaluated

Herschel Observations of the W43 "mini-starburst"

Aims: To explore the infrared and radio properties of one of the closest Galactic starburst regions. Methods: Images obtained with the Herschel Space Observatory at wavelengths of 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 microns using the PACS and SPIRE arrays are analyzed and compared with radio continuum VLA data and 8 micron images from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The morphology of the far-infrared emission is combined with radial velocity measurements of millimeter and centimeter wavelength transitions to identify features likely to be associated with the W43 complex. Results: The W43 star-forming complex is resolved into a dense cluster of protostars, infrared dark clouds, and ridges of warm dust heated by massive stars. The 4 brightest compact sources with L > 1.5 x 10^4 Lsun embedded within the Z-shaped ridge of bright dust emission in W43 remain single at 4" (0.1 pc) resolution. These objects, likely to be massive protostars or compact clusters in early stages of evolution are embedded in clumps with masses of 10^3 to 10^4 Msun, but contribute only 2% to the 3.6 x 10^6 Lsun far-IR luminosity of W43 measured in a 16 by 16 pc box. The total mass of gas derived from the far-IR dust emission inside this region is ~10^6 Msun. Cometary dust clouds, compact 6 cm radio sources, and warm dust mark the locations of older populations of massive stars. Energy release has created a cavity blowing-out below the Galactic plane. Compression of molecular gas in the plane by the older HII region near G30.684-0.260 and the bipolar structure of the resulting younger W43 HII region may have triggered the current mini-star burst.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for A&A Special Issu

Using liminality to understand mothers’ experiences of long-term breastfeeding: ‘Betwixt and between’, and ‘matter out of place’

© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015. Breastmilk is widely considered as the optimum nutrition source for babies and an important factor in both improving public health and reducing health inequalities. Current international/national policy supports long-term breastfeeding. UK breastfeeding initiation rates are high but rapidly decline, and the numbers breastfeeding in the second year and beyond are unknown. This study used the concept of liminality to explore the experiences of a group of women breastfeeding long-term in the United Kingdom, building on Mahon-Daly and Andrews. Over 80 breastfeeding women were included within the study, which used micro-ethnographic methods (participant observation in breastfeeding support groups, face-to-face interviews and online asynchronous interviews via email). Findings about women’s experiences are congruent with the existing literature, although it is mostly dated and from outside the United Kingdom. Liminality was found to be useful in providing insight into women’s experiences of long-term breastfeeding in relation to both time and place. Understanding women’s experience of breastfeeding beyond current usual norms can be used to inform work with breastfeeding mothers and to encourage more women to breastfeed for longer

New insights into risk factors for transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy in pediatric HSCT

This study aimed to identify a risk profile for development of transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Between 2013 and 2016, 439 children underwent 474 HSCTs at 2 supraregional United Kingdom centers. At a median of 153 days post-HSCT, TA-TMA occurred among 25 of 441 evaluable cases (5.6%) with no evidence of center variation. Sex, underlying disease, intensity of the conditioning, total body irradiation–based conditioning, the use of calcineurin inhibitors, venoocclusive disease, and viral reactivation did not influence the development of TA-TMA. Donor type: matched sibling donor/matched family donor vs matched unrelated donor vs mismatched unrelated donor/haplo-HSCT, showed a trend toward the development of TA-TMA in 1.8% vs 6.1% vs 8.3%, respectively. Presence of active comorbidity was associated with an increased risk for TA-TMA; 13% vs 3.7% in the absence of comorbidity. The risk of TA-TMA was threefold higher among patients who received >1 transplant. TA-TMA rates were significantly higher among patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) grades III to IV vs aGVHD grade 0 to II. On multivariate analysis, the presence of active comorbidity, >1 transplant, aGVHD grade III to IV were risk factors for TA-TMA (odds ratio [OR]: 5.1, 5.2, and 26.9; respectively), whereas the use of cyclosporine A/tacrolimus-based GVHD prophylaxis was not a risk factor for TA-TMA (OR: 0.3). Active comorbidity, subsequent transplant, and aGVHD grades III to IV were significant risk factors for TA-TMA. TA-TMA might represent a form of a vascular GVHD, and therefore, continuing control of aGVHD is important to prevent worsening of TA-TMA associated with GVHD

Ectopic Pregnancy as a Model to Identify Endometrial Genes and Signaling Pathways Important in Decidualization and Regulated by Local Trophoblast

The endometrium in early pregnancy undergoes decidualization and functional changes induced by local trophoblast, which are not fully understood. We hypothesized that endometrium from tubal ectopic pregnancy (EP) could be interrogated to identify novel genes and pathways involved in these processes. Gestation-matched endometrium was collected from women with EP (n = 11) and intrauterine pregnancies (IUP) (n = 13). RNA was extracted from the tissue. In addition, tissues were prepared for histological analysis for degree of decidualization. We compared a) the samples from EP that were decidualized (n = 6) with non-decidualized samples (n = 5), and b) the decidualized EP (n = 6) with decidualization-matched IUP (n = 6) samples using an Affymetrix gene array platform, with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, combined with quantitative RT-PCR. Expression of PRL and IGFBP1 was used to confirm the degree of decidualization in each group. There were no differences in PRL or IGFBP1 expression in the decidualization-matched samples but a marked reduction (P<0.001) in the non-decidualized samples. Decidualization was associated with increased expression of 428 genes including SCARA5 (181-fold), DKK1 (71-fold) and PROK1 (32-fold), and decreased expression of 230 genes including MMP-7 (35-fold) and SFRP4 (21-fold). The top canonical pathways associated with these differentially expressed genes were Natural Killer Cell and Wnt/b-Catenin signaling. Local trophoblast was associated with much less alteration of endometrial gene expression with an increase in 56 genes, including CSH1 (8-fold), and a reduction in 29 genes including CRISP3 (8-fold). The top associated canonical pathway was Antigen Presentation. The study of endometrium from tubal EP may promote novel insights into genes involved in decidualization and those influenced by factors from neighboring trophoblast. This has afforded unique information not highlighted by previous studies and adds to our understanding of the endometrium in early pregnancy

Effect of growth temperature on the structural, optical and luminescence properties of cadmium telluride nanoparticles

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) has been successfully prepared by a simple wet chemical process at different reaction temperatures. Temperature is one parameter that thermodynamically plays an important role in controlling the growth rate, morphology, size and size distribution of the as-prepared nanoparticles (NPs). Effect of this parameter was investigated on the growth, structural and optical properties of CdTe NPs. It was observed that the Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern for samples prepared at 50 °C had many impurities from unreacted precursors while those prepared at > 100 °C displayed polycrystalline NPs. The XRD results revealed that the structure of the CdTe NPs was cubic with the planes (111), (220), (311) being the main observed peaks. The crystallite sizes obtained from Scherrer formula increased with the increase in growth temperature (2.86–3.62 nm grown at 50–200 °C respectively). The scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the morphology of the nanoparticles possessed spherical-shaped particles over the entire surface. This was further confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy micrographs which also displayed increase in the particle size with an increase in the growth temperature. In the optic study, the photoluminescence (PL) spectra displayed a red shift (540–560 nm) in emission as growth temperature increased from 50 to 200 °C. The highest PL peak intensity was realized at a growth temperature of 150 °C. Absorption band maxima were observed to shift towards longer wavelength for higher growth temperatures. The optical band gap decreased with increase in the growth temperature from 2.67 to 2.08 eV for 50–200 °C respectively

Diversity of thiosulfate-oxidizing bacteria from marine sediments and hydrothermal vents

Author Posting. © American Society for Microbiology, 2000. This article is posted here by permission of American Society for Microbiology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology 66 (2000): 3125-3133, doi:10.1128/AEM.66.8.3125-3133.2000.Species diversity, phylogenetic affiliations, and environmental occurrence patterns of thiosulfate-oxidizing marine bacteria were investigated by using new isolates from serially diluted continental slope and deep-sea abyssal plain sediments collected off the coast of New England and strains cultured previously from Galapagos hydrothermal vent samples. The most frequently obtained new isolates, mostly from 103- and 104-fold dilutions of the continental slope sediment, oxidized thiosulfate to sulfate and fell into a distinct phylogenetic cluster of marine alpha-Proteobacteria. Phylogenetically and physiologically, these sediment strains resembled the sulfate-producing thiosulfate oxidizers from the Galapagos hydrothermal vents while showing habitat-related differences in growth temperature, rate and extent of thiosulfate utilization, and carbon substrate patterns. The abyssal deep-sea sediments yielded predominantly base-producing thiosulfate-oxidizing isolates related to Antarctic marine Psychroflexus species and other cold-water marine strains of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides phylum, in addition to gamma-proteobacterial isolates of the genera Pseudoalteromonas and Halomonas-Deleya. Bacterial thiosulfate oxidation is found in a wide phylogenetic spectrum of Flavobacteria and Proteobacteria.Andreas Teske was supported by DFG postdoctoral fellowship 262-1/1 and a subsequent WHOI postdoctoral fellowship