Plasma deposition of constrained layer damping coatings

Plasma techniques are used to generate constrained layer damping (CLD) coatings on metallic substrates. The process involves the deposition of relatively thick, hard ceramic layers on to soft polymeric damping materials while maintaining the integrity of both layers. Reactive plasma sputter-deposition from an aluminium alloy target is used to deposit alumina layers, with Young's modulus in the range 77-220GPa and thickness up to 335 μ, on top of a silicone film. This methodology is also used to deposit a 40 μ alumina layer on a conventional viscoelastic damping film to produce an integral damping coating. Plasma CLD systems are shown to give at least 50 per cent more damping than equivalent metal-foil-based treatments. Numerical methods for rapid prediction of the performance of such coatings are discussed and validated by comparison with experimental results

Economic burden and comorbidities of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among pediatric patients hospitalized in the United States

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This retrospective database analysis used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to examine common primary diagnoses among children and adolescents hospitalized with a secondary diagnosis of attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and assessed the burden of ADHD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Hospitalized children (aged 6-11 years) and adolescents (aged 12-17 years) with a secondary diagnosis of ADHD were identified. The 10 most common primary diagnoses (using the first 3 digits of the ICD-9-CM code) were reported for each age group. Patients with 1 of these conditions were selected to analyze demographics, length of stay (LOS), and costs. Control patients were selected if they had 1 of the 10 primary diagnoses and no secondary ADHD diagnosis. Patient and hospital characteristics were reported by cohort (i.e., patients with ADHD vs. controls), and LOS and costs were reported by primary diagnosis. Multivariable linear regression analyses were undertaken to adjust LOS and costs based on patient and hospital characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 126,056 children and 204,176 adolescents were identified as having a secondary diagnosis of ADHD. Among children and adolescents with ADHD, the most common diagnoses tended to be mental health related (i.e., affective psychoses, emotional disturbances, conduct disturbances, depressive disorder, or adjustment reaction). Other common diagnoses included general symptoms, asthma (in children only), and acute appendicitis. Among patients with ADHD, a higher percentage were male, white, and covered by Medicaid. LOS and costs were higher among children with ADHD and a primary diagnosis of affective psychoses (by 0.61 days and $51), adjustment reaction (by 1.71 days and$940), or depressive disorder (by 0.41 days and $124) versus controls. LOS and costs were higher among adolescents with ADHD and a primary diagnosis of affective psychoses (by 1.04 days and$352), depressive disorder (by 0.94 days and $517), conduct disturbances (by 0.86 days and$1,330), emotional disturbances (by 1.45 days and $1,626), adjustment reaction (by 1.25 days and$702), and neurotic disorders (by 1.60 days and $541) versus controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Clinicians and health care decision makers should be aware of the potential impact of ADHD on hospitalized children and adolescents.</p

More salt, please:global patterns, responses, and impacts of foliar sodium in grasslands

Sodium is unique among abundant elemental nutrients, because most plant species do not require it for growth or development, whereas animals physiologically require sodium. Foliar sodium influences consumption rates by animals and can structure herbivores across landscapes. We quantified foliar sodium in 201 locally abundant, herbaceous species representing 32 families and, at 26 sites on four continents, experimentally manipulated vertebrate herbivores and elemental nutrients to determine their effect on foliar sodium. Foliar sodium varied taxonomically and geographically, spanning five orders of magnitude. Site‐level foliar sodium increased most strongly with site aridity and soil sodium; nutrient addition weakened the relationship between aridity and mean foliar sodium. Within sites, high sodium plants declined in abundance with fertilisation, whereas low sodium plants increased. Herbivory provided an explanation: herbivores selectively reduced high nutrient, high sodium plants. Thus, interactions among climate, nutrients and the resulting nutritional value for herbivores determine foliar sodium biogeography in herbaceous‐dominated systems

LV reverse remodeling imparted by aortic valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis; is it durable? A cardiovascular MRI study sponsored by the American Heart Association

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), long-term data tracking surgically induced effects of afterload reduction on reverse LV remodeling are not available. Echocardiographic data is available short term, but in limited fashion beyond one year. Cardiovascular MRI (CMR) offers the ability to serially track changes in LV metrics with small numbers due to its inherent high spatial resolution and low variability.</p> <p>Hypothesis</p> <p>We hypothesize that changes in LV structure and function following aortic valve replacement (AVR) are detectable by CMR and once triggered by AVR, continue for an extended period.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Tweny-four patients of which ten (67 ± 12 years, 6 female) with severe, but compensated AS underwent CMR pre-AVR, 6 months, 1 year and up to 4 years post-AVR. 3D LV mass index, volumetrics, LV geometry, and EF were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All patients survived AVR and underwent CMR 4 serial CMR's. LVMI markedly decreased by 6 months (157 ± 42 to 134 ± 32 g/m^<b>2</b>, p < 0.005) and continued trending downwards through 4 years (127 ± 32 g/m^<b>2</b>). Similarly, EF increased pre to post-AVR (55 ± 22 to 65 ± 11%,(p < 0.05)) and continued trending upwards, remaining stable through years 1-4 (66 ± 11 vs. 65 ± 9%). LVEDVI, initially high pre-AVR, decreased post-AVR (83 ± 30 to 68 ± 11 ml/m2, p < 0.05) trending even lower by year 4 (66 ± 10 ml/m^<b>2</b>). LV stroke volume increased rapidly from pre to post-AVR (40 ± 11 to 44 ± 7 ml, p < 0.05) continuing to increase non-significantly through 4 years (49 ± 14 ml) with these LV metrics paralleling improvements in NYHA. However, LVmass/volume, a 3D measure of LV geometry, remained unchanged over 4 years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>After initial beneficial effects imparted by AVR in severe AS patients, there are, as expected, marked improvements in LV reverse remodeling. Via CMR, surgically induced benefits to LV structure and function are durable and, unexpectedly express continued, albeit markedly incomplete improvement through 4 years post-AVR concordant with sustained improved clinical status. This supports down-regulation of both mRNA and MMP activity acutely with robust suppression long term.</p

Priming of plane-rotated objects depends on attention and view familiarity

Three experiments investigated the role of attention in visual priming across rotations in the picture plane. Experiment 1 showed that naming latencies increased with the degree of misorientation for objects commonly seen in an upright view (base objects) but not for objects seen familiarly from many views (no-base objects). In Experiment 2, no-base objects revealed a priming pattern identical to that observed previously for left-right reflections (Stankiewicz, Hummel, & Cooper, 1998): Attended objects primed themselves in the same and rotated views, whereas ignored images primed themselves only in the same view, with additive effects of attention and orientation. In Experiment 3 ignored base objects only primed themselves in a familiar (upright) view, indicating that priming only obtains when that image makes contact with object memory. These data challenge theories of object recognition that rely on any single representation of shape and contribute to evidence suggesting holistic (view-like) representations for ignored and analytic (view-insensitive) representations for attended objects

Does switching from oral extended-release methylphenidate to the methylphenidate transdermal system affect health-related quality-of-life and medication satisfaction for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

Background: To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQL) and medication satisfaction after switching from a stable dose of oral extended-release methylphenidate (ER-MPH) to methylphenidate transdermal system (MTS) via a dose-transition schedule in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: In a 4-week, multisite, open-label study, 171 children (164 in the intent-to-treat [ITT] population) aged 6-12 years diagnosed with ADHD abruptly switched from a stable dose of oral ER-MPH to MTS nominal dosages of 10, 15, 20, and 30 mg using a predefined dose-transition schedule. Subjects remained on the scheduled dose for the first week, after which the dose was then titrated to an optimal effect. The ADHD Impact Module-Children (AIM-C), a disease-specific validated HRQL survey instrument measuring child and family impact, was used to assess the impact of ADHD symptoms on the lives of children and their families at baseline and study endpoint. Satisfaction with MTS use was assessed via a Medication Satisfaction Survey (MSS) at study endpoint. Both the AIM-C and MSS were completed by a caregiver (parent/legally authorized representative). Tolerability was monitored by spontaneous adverse event (AE) reporting. Results: AIM-C child and family HRQL mean scores were above the median possible score at baseline and were further improved at endpoint across all MTS doses. Similar improvements were noted for behavior, missed doses, worry, and economic impact AIM-C item scores. Overall, 93.8% of caregivers indicated a high level of satisfaction with their child's use of the study medication. The majority of treatment-emergent AEs (> 98%) were mild to moderate in intensity, and the most commonly reported AEs included headache, decreased appetite, insomnia, and abdominal pain. Seven subjects discontinued the study due to intolerable AEs (n = 3) and application site reactions (n = 4). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that MTS, when carefully titrated to optimal dose, may further improve child and family HRQL, as well as behavioral, medication worry, and economic impact item scores, as measured by the AIM-C in subjects switching to MTS from a stable dose of routinely prescribed oral ER-MPH after a short treatment period. Furthermore, following the abrupt conversion from oral ER-MPH to MTS, the majority of caregivers reported being highly satisfied with MTS as a treatment option for their children with ADHD. Trial Registration: NCT0015198

Soil nitrogen response to shrub encroachment in a degrading semi-arid grassland

Transitions from grass- to shrub-dominated states in drylands by woody plant encroachment represent significant forms of land cover change with the potential to alter the spatial distribution and cycling of soil resources. Yet an understanding of how this phenomenon impacts the soil nitrogen pool, which is essential to primary production in arid and semi-arid systems, is poorly resolved. In this study, we quantified how the distribution and speciation of soil nitrogen, as well as rates of free-living biological nitrogen fixation, changed along a gradient of increasing mesquite (Prosopis velutina Woot.) cover in a semi-arid grassland of the southwestern US. Our results show that site-level concentrations of total nitrogen remain unchanged with increasing shrub cover as losses from inter-shrub areas (sum of grass and bare-soil cover) are proportional to increases in soils under shrub canopies. However, despite the similar carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and microbial biomass of soil from inter-shrub and shrub areas at each site, site-level concentrations of inorganic nitrogen increase with shrub cover due to the accumulation of ammonium and nitrate in soils beneath shrub canopies. Using the acetylene reduction assay technique, we found increasing ratios of inorganic nitrogen to bioavailable phosphorus inhibit rates of biological nitrogen fixation by free-living soil bacteria. Overall, these results provide a greater insight into how grassland-to-shrubland transitions influence the soil N pool through associated impacts on the soil microbial biomass.</p

High loading of polygenic risk for ADHD in children with comorbid aggression

Objective: Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly heritable, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have not yet identified any common genetic variants that contribute to risk. There is evidence that aggression or conduct disorder in children with ADHD indexes higher genetic loading and clinical severity. The authors examine whether common genetic variants considered en masse as polygenic scores for ADHD are especially enriched in children with comorbid conduct disorder. Method: Polygenic scores derived from an ADHD GWAS meta-analysis were calculated in an independent ADHD sample (452 case subjects, 5,081 comparison subjects). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to compare polygenic scores in the ADHD and comparison groups and test for higher scores in ADHD case subjects with comorbid conduct disorder relative to comparison subjects and relative to those without comorbid conduct disorder. Association with symptom scores was tested using linear regression. Results: Polygenic risk for ADD, derived from the meta-analysis, was higher in the independent ADHD group than in the comparison group. Polygenic score was significantly higher in ADHD case subjects with conduct disorder relative to ADHD case subjects without conduct disorder. ADHD polygenic score showed significant association with comorbid conduct disorder symptoms. This relationship was explained by,the aggression items. Conclusions: Common genetic variation is relevant to ADHD, especially in individuals with comorbid aggression. The findings suggest that the previously published ADHD GWAS meta-analysis contains weak but true associations with common variants, support for which falls below genome-wide significance levels. The findings also highlight the fact that aggression in ADHD indexes genetic as well as clinical severity

A systematic review of the safety of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate

BACKGROUND: Here we review the safety and tolerability profile of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX), the first long-acting prodrug stimulant for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: A PubMed search was conducted for English-language articles published up to 16 September 2013 using the following search terms: (lisdexamfetamine OR lisdexamphetamine OR SPD489 OR Vyvanse OR Venvanse OR NRP104 NOT review [publication type]). RESULTS: In short-term, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase III trials, treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in children, adolescents, and adults receiving LDX were typical for those reported for stimulants in general. Decreased appetite was reported by 25-39 % of patients and insomnia by 11-19 %. The most frequently reported TEAEs in long-term studies were similar to those reported in the short-term trials. Most TEAEs were mild or moderate in severity. Literature relating to four specific safety concerns associated with stimulant medications was evaluated in detail in patients receiving LDX. Gains in weight, height, and body mass index were smaller in children and adolescents receiving LDX than in placebo controls or untreated norms. Insomnia was a frequently reported TEAE in patients with ADHD of all ages receiving LDX, although the available data indicated no overall worsening of sleep quality in adults. Post-marketing survey data suggest that the rate of non-medical use of LDX was lower than that for short-acting stimulants and lower than or equivalent to long-acting stimulant formulations. Small mean increases were seen in blood pressure and pulse rate in patients receiving LDX. CONCLUSIONS: The safety and tolerability profile of LDX in individuals with ADHD is similar to that of other stimulants