Localized probing of gas molecule adsorption energies and desorption attempt frequencies

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Gas-mediated electron beam induced etching (EBIE) and deposition (EBID) can be used to measure activation energies that are interpreted as the adsorption energies of surface-adsorbed precursor molecules. However, the measured quantities often disagree with adsorption energies measured by conventional analysis techniques such as thermally programmed desorption and have anomalous dependencies on parameters such as the electron beam current used to perform EBID. Here, we use the theory of EBIE and EBID rate kinetics to explain this behavior and identify conditions under which the activation energies and the associated pre-exponential factors correspond to gas molecule adsorption energies and desorption attempt frequencies, respectively. Under these conditions, EBIE and EBID can be used as robust, nanoscale techniques for the analysis of adsorbates

Vertical slice modelling of nonlinear Eady waves using a compatible finite element method

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordA vertical slice model is developed for the Euler–Boussinesq equations with a constant temperature gradient in the direction normal to the slice (the Eady–Boussinesq model). The model is a solution of the full three-dimensional equations with no variation normal to the slice, which is an idealised problem used to study the formation and subsequent evolution of weather fronts. A compatible finite element method is used to discretise the governing equations. To extend the Charney–Phillips grid staggering in the compatible finite element framework, we use the same node locations for buoyancy as the vertical part of velocity and apply a transport scheme for a partially continuous finite element space. For the time discretisation, we solve the semi-implicit equations together with an explicit strong-stability-preserving Runge–Kutta scheme to all of the advection terms. The model reproduces several quasi-periodic lifecycles of fronts despite the presence of strong discontinuities. An asymptotic limit analysis based on the semi-geostrophic theory shows that the model solutions are converging to a solution in cross-front geostrophic balance. The results are consistent with the previous results using finite difference methods, indicating that the compatible finite element method is performing as well as finite difference methods for this test problem. We observe dissipation of kinetic energy of the cross-front velocity in the model due to the lack of resolution at the fronts, even though the energy loss is not likely to account for the large gap on the strength of the fronts between the model result and the semi-geostrophic limit solution.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC

Chronic illness and multimorbidity among problem drug users: a comparative cross sectional pilot study in primary care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although multimorbidity has important implications for patient care in general practice, limited research has examined chronic illness and health service utilisation among problem drug users. This study aimed to determine chronic illness prevalence and health service utilisation among problem drug users attending primary care for methadone treatment, to compare these rates with matched 'controls' and to develop and pilot test a valid study instrument.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study of patients attending three large urban general practices in Dublin, Ireland for methadone treatment was conducted, and this sample was compared with a control group matched by practice, age, gender and General Medical Services (GMS) status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data were collected on 114 patients. Fifty-seven patients were on methadone treatment, of whom 52(91%) had at least one chronic illness (other then substance use) and 39(68%) were prescribed at least one regular medication. Frequent utilisation of primary care services and secondary care services in the previous six months was observed among patients on methadone treatment and controls, although the former had significantly higher chronic illness prevalence and primary care contact rates. The study instrument facilitated data collection that was feasible and with minimal inter-observer variation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Multimorbidity is common among problem drug users attending general practice for methadone treatment. Primary care may therefore have an important role in primary and secondary prevention of chronic illnesses among this population. This study offers a feasible study instrument for further work on this issue. (238 words)</p

Highly efficient catalysis of the Kemp elimination in the cavity of a cubic coordination cage.

The hollow cavities of coordination cages can provide an environment for enzyme-like catalytic reactions of small-molecule guests. Here, we report a new example (catalysis of the Kemp elimination reaction of benzisoxazole with hydroxide to form 2-cyanophenolate) in the cavity of a water-soluble M8L12 coordination cage, with two features of particular interest. First, the rate enhancement is among the largest observed to date: at pD 8.5, the value of kcat/kuncat is 2 × 10(5), due to the accumulation of a high concentration of partially desolvated hydroxide ions around the bound guest arising from ion-pairing with the 16+ cage. Second, the catalysis is based on two orthogonal interactions: (1) hydrophobic binding of benzisoxazole in the cavity and (2) polar binding of hydroxide ions to sites on the cage surface, both of which were established by competition experiments

MCL-1 inhibition provides a new way to suppress breast cancer metastasis and increase sensitivity to dasatinib.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic disease is largely resistant to therapy and accounts for almost all cancer deaths. Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1) is an important regulator of cell survival and chemo-resistance in a wide range of malignancies, and thus its inhibition may prove to be therapeutically useful. METHODS: To examine whether targeting MCL-1 may provide an effective treatment for breast cancer, we constructed inducible models of BIMs2A expression (a specific MCL-1 inhibitor) in MDA-MB-468 (MDA-MB-468-2A) and MDA-MB-231 (MDA-MB-231-2A) cells. RESULTS: MCL-1 inhibition caused apoptosis of basal-like MDA-MB-468-2A cells grown as monolayers, and sensitized them to the BCL-2/BCL-XL inhibitor ABT-263, demonstrating that MCL-1 regulated cell survival. In MDA-MB-231-2A cells, grown in an organotypic model, induction of BIMs2A produced an almost complete suppression of invasion. Apoptosis was induced in such a small proportion of these cells that it could not account for the large decrease in invasion, suggesting that MCL-1 was operating via a previously undetected mechanism. MCL-1 antagonism also suppressed local invasion and distant metastasis to the lung in mouse mammary intraductal xenografts. Kinomic profiling revealed that MCL-1 antagonism modulated Src family kinases and their targets, which suggested that MCL-1 might act as an upstream modulator of invasion via this pathway. Inhibition of MCL-1 in combination with dasatinib suppressed invasion in 3D models of invasion and inhibited the establishment of tumors in vivo. CONCLUSION: These data provide the first evidence that MCL-1 drives breast cancer cell invasion and suggests that MCL-1 antagonists could be used alone or in combination with drugs targeting Src kinases such as dasatinib to suppress metastasis

Effectiveness of physiotherapy exercise following hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis: a systematic review of clinical trials

Background: Physiotherapy has long been a routine component of patient rehabilitation following hip joint replacement. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy exercise after discharge from hospital on function, walking, range of motion, quality of life and muscle strength, for osteoarthritic patients following elective primary total hip arthroplasty. Methods: Design: Systematic review, using the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Quorom Statement. Database searches: AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, KingsFund, MEDLINE, Cochrane library (Cochrane reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, DARE), PEDro, The Department of Health National Research Register. Handsearches: Physiotherapy, Physical Therapy, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (Britain) Conference Proceedings. No language restrictions were applied. Selection: Trials comparing physiotherapy exercise versus usual/standard care, or comparing two types of relevant exercise physiotherapy, following discharge from hospital after elective primary total hip replacement for osteoarthritis were reviewed. Outcomes: Functional activities of daily living, walking, quality of life, muscle strength and range of hip joint motion. Trial quality was extensively evaluated. Narrative synthesis plus meta-analytic summaries were performed to summarise the data. Results: 8 trials were identified. Trial quality was mixed. Generally poor trial quality, quantity and diversity prevented explanatory meta-analyses. The results were synthesised and meta-analytic summaries were used where possible to provide a formal summary of results. Results indicate that physiotherapy exercise after discharge following total hip replacement has the potential to benefit patients. Conclusion: Insufficient evidence exists to establish the effectiveness of physiotherapy exercise following primary hip replacement for osteoarthritis. Further well designed trials are required to determine the value of post discharge exercise following this increasingly common surgical procedure

MEG resting state functional connectivity in Parkinson's disease related dementia

Parkinson's disease (PD) related dementia (PDD) develops in up to 60% of patients, but the pathophysiology is far from being elucidated. Abnormalities of resting state functional connectivity have been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study was performed to determine whether PDD is likewise characterized by changes in resting state functional connectivity. MEG recordings were obtained in 13 demented and 13 non-demented PD patients. The synchronization likelihood (SL) was calculated within and between cortical areas in six frequency bands. Compared to non-demented PD, PDD was characterized by lower fronto-temporal SL in the alpha range, lower intertemporal SL in delta, theta and alpha1 bands as well as decreased centro-parietal gamma band synchronization. In addition, higher parieto-occipital synchronization in the alpha2 and beta bands was found in PDD. The observed changes in functional connectivity are reminiscent of changes in AD, and may reflect reduced cholinergic activity and/or loss of cortico-cortical anatomical connections in PDD. © 2008 The Author(s)

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

Impact of effective prevention and management of febrile neutropenia

Chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia is costly in both financial and human terms. The associated costs can be reduced substantially through the development and implementation of national policies and locally agreed protocols for the prevention and management of febrile neutropenia. Patients, the NHS, healthcare professionals and the broader community all stand to benefit from a commitment to effective management of this common and predictable side effect of some chemotherapy regimens for early-stage breast cancer