The lived experience of adults with cystic fibrosis: what they would tell their younger selves about the gut

Background: Little is known about adults’ experience of living with cystic fibrosis (CF) specifically in relation to the gut. However, their unique perspectives may be meaningful to children with CF and inform the understanding and practice of dietitians. The present study aimed to explore adults’ lived experience of the CF gut and how they learnt to manage the gut as they were growing up. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with adult inpatients (n = 10). Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim and accounts analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Three super‐ordinate themes were identified: taking Creon, the learning process and this much I (now) know. Participants accounts of how CF affects the gut predominantly focused on taking Creon (pancreatin, Mylan). Various strategies were employed for coping with peer responses to taking Creon at school. Several participants reached adulthood before they understood and/or accepted that taking Creon consistently needed to be normal for them. Knowledge and understanding developed over time, with ‘CF experience’ and was shaped by family, CF care teams and other children with CF. All had unmet information needs when growing up. Having key explanations earlier, to make connections between eating, taking Creon, gaining weight and growth, did or would have helped most participants. Participants urged children to be assertive, ask questions and not only be involved in managing their diet and gut, but also begin to take control of this aspect of their CF. Conclusions: Supporting development of knowledge, skills and confidence to manage diet and the gut needs to be integral to care throughout childhood

A CASSCF Study of Various Rotamers of the Hexatriene Radical Cation

Results are presented from ab initio calculations on the ground and two low-lying excited states of the hexatriene radical cation in a variety of stable conformations of the electronic ground state of the molecule. We have performed Hartree-Fock geometry optimizations using the STO-3G and 6-31g basis sets and have performed vibrational analyses for all stable conformers in the 6-31G basis. In addition, we have performed geometry optimizations in both basis sets using CASSCF wave functions where the five π electrons are correlated. No new geometrical information is obtained at this level of treatment. Excitation energies to the two lowest-lying doublet π excited states for the six stable ground-state geometries were also calculated using CASSCF wave functions. These excitation energies are compared with previous experimental assignments of observed transitions in photolytically generated hexatriene radical cations

Call Me Caitlyn: Making and making over the 'authentic' transgender body in Anglo-American popular culture

A conception of transgender identity as an ‘authentic’ gendered core ‘trapped’ within a mismatched corporeality, and made tangible through corporeal transformations, has attained unprecedented legibility in contemporary Anglo-American media. Whilst pop-cultural articulations of this discourse have received some scholarly attention, the question of why this 'wrong body' paradigm has solidified as the normative explanation for gender transition within the popular media remains underexplored. This paper argues that this discourse has attained cultural pre-eminence through its convergence with a broader media and commercial zeitgeist, in which corporeal alteration and maintenance are perceived as means of accessing one’s ‘authentic’ self. I analyse the media representations of two transgender celebrities: Caitlyn Jenner and Nadia Almada, alongside the reality TV show TRANSform Me, exploring how these women’s gender transitions have been discursively aligned with a cultural imperative for all women, cisgender or trans, to display their authentic femininity through bodily work. This demonstrates how established tropes of authenticity-via-bodily transformation, have enabled transgender to become culturally legible through the wrong body trope. Problematically, I argue, this process has worked to demarcate ideals of ‘acceptable’ transgender subjectivity: self-sufficient, normatively feminine, and eager to embrace the possibilities for happiness and social integration provided by the commercial domain

Racial discrimination and the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: Does the timing of first exposure matter?

Racial discrimination has been observed to negatively impact on the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, although evidence surrounding periods of greater vulnerability to the stressor of racism have not yet been explored in this population. We compared first exposure to interpersonal racism at either ages 4–5 years or 7 years with no exposure to examine the influence of sensitive periods of racism exposure on mental health and physiological outcomes during middle childhood (7–12 years). The study cohort comprised 1,759 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4–12 years from waves 2–8 (2009–2015) of the Footprints in Time: 1The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) dataset. Multilevel logistic regression was used in all analysis. We observed a larger effect (OR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.4–5.4) for negative mental health with first exposure at 4–5 years compared to 7 years (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.2–3.6), referenced to children with no exposure. Effect sizes were similar in both exposure groups for the significantly increased risk of sleep difficulties, while a stronger adverse effect on behavioural issues was found at 7 years (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.3–4.0) relative to 4–5 years (OR: 1.7; 95% CI: 0.8–3.7). No significant associations were found with general health, obesity or being underweight. This study generates new evidence surrounding sensitive periods of exposure to racism in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. A pattern of consistently greater adverse effects on mental and physiological health was not observed with first exposure at 4–5 compared to 7 years, although initial evidence indicates that first exposure to racism at these ages increases the likelihood of negative mental health relative to children without racism exposure. Longitudinal data extending from earlier to later developmental periods will allow further investigations into the presence of sensitive periods of exposure to racism in these children

Orlicz regularity of the gradient of solutions to quasilinear elliptic equations in the plane

Given a planar domain Omega, we study the Dirichlet problem {-divA(x, del v) = f in Omega, v = 0 on partial derivative Omega, where the higher-order term is a quasilinear elliptic operator, and f belongs to the Zygmund space L(log L)delta(log log log L)(beta/2) (Omega) with beta >= 0 and delta >= 1/2. We prove that the gradient of the variational solution v is an element of W-0(1,2) (Omega) belongs to the space L-2(log L)(2 delta-1)(log log log L)(beta)(Omega)

Resonance Raman Investigation of the Radical Cation of 1,3,5-Hexatriene

The resonance Raman spectrum of the 1,3,5-hexatriene radical cation generated by v-irradiation in a Freon glass is reported. The spectrum is excited at 395 nm in resonance with the second absorption band. Identical spectra are obtained from ionized (E)- and (Z)-1,3,5-hexatriene. The presence of more than one rotamer has to be assumed to account for all the observed resonance Raman bands. The bands are assigned to a mixture of the two rotamers, calculated at lowest energy, the ttt an tct rotamers, on the basis of ab initio ROHF/6-31G calculated harmonic frequencies. The spectrum indicates that the ttt and tct rotamers are formed in a ratio in the range 0.4./0.6-0.6/0.4. Two possible mechanisms are proposed to explain the presence of these two rotamers

A Survey of Ligand Effects Upon the Reaction Entropies of Some Transition Metal Redox Couples

The reaction entropies ∆S°_rc of a number of transition metal redox couples of the form M(III)/(II) in aqueous solution have been determined using nonisothermal electrochemical cells in order to explore the effect of varying the ligand structure upon the nature of the ion-solvent interactions. Examinations of six aquo couples of the form M(OH_2)_n&3+/2+ with varying metal M yielded ∆S°_rc values in the range 36-49 eu. In order to scrutinize the effect of replacing aquo with ammine and simple anionic ligands, Ru(III)/(II) couples were employed since the relative substituion inertness of both oxidation states allowed ∆S°_rc to be determined using cyclic voltammetry. The stepwise replacement of aquo by ammine ligands results in substantial reductions in ∆S°_rc which are attributed to the smaller extent of ligand-solvent hydrogen bonding for ammine compared with aquo ligands. Substitution of both aquo and ammine by anionic ligands also results in substantial reductions in ∆S°_rc. A number of M(III)/(II) couples containing chelating ligands were also examined. Sizable differences in ∆S°_rc were found between Co(III)/(II) couples and the corresponding Ru(III)/(II) and Fe(III)/(II) couples. Suggested explanations are differences in ligand conformation and electron delocalization effects. The possible contribution of outer-sphere solvent structuring effects to the large reorganization energies observed for electron exchange of aquo complexes is noted. The validity of the assumptions required for the estimation of ∆S°_rc from nonisothermal cell measurements is discussed

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene expression and cytokine profiling in patients with intermittent claudication who exhibit exercise induced acute renal injury.

BACKGROUND: Intermittent claudication (IC) is a common manifestation of peripheral arterial disease. Some patients with IC experience a rise in Urinary N-acetyl-β-D-Glucosaminidase (NAG)/ Creatinine (Cr) ratio, a marker of renal injury, following exercise. In this study, we aim to investigate whether peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with IC who exhibit a rise in urinary NAG/ Cr ratio following exercise exhibit differential IL-10/ IL-12 ratio and gene expression compared to those who do not have a rise in NAG/ Cr ratio. METHODS: We conducted a single center observational cohort study of patients diagnosed with IC. Blood and urine samples were collected at rest and following a standardised treadmill exercise protocol. For comparative analysis patients were separated into those with any rise in NAG/Cr ratio (Group 1) and those with no rise in NAG/Cr ratio (Group 2) post exercise. Isolated PBMC from pre- and post-exercise blood samples were analysed using flow cytometry. PBMC were also cultured for 20 hours to perform further analysis of IL-10 and IL-12 cytokine levels. RNA-sequencing analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed genes between the groups. RESULTS: 20 patients were recruited (Group 1, n = 8; Group 2, n = 12). We observed a significantly higher IL-10/IL-12 ratio in cell supernatant from participants in Group 1, as compared to Group 2, on exercise at 20 hours incubation; 47.24 (IQR 9.70-65.83) vs 6.13 (4.88-12.24), p = 0.04. 328 genes were significantly differentially expressed between Group 1 and 2. The modulated genes had signatures encompassing hypoxia, metabolic adaptation to starvation, inflammatory activation, renal protection, and oxidative stress. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that some patients with IC have an altered immune status making them 'vulnerable' to systemic inflammation and renal injury following exercise. We have identified a panel of genes which are differentially expressed in this group of patients

Rapid detection and simultaneous molecular profile characterization of Acanthamoeba infections

Diagnosis of Acanthamoeba by microscopic examination, culture, and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) has several limitations (sensitivity, specificity, lack of detection of several strains, cost of testing for discrimination among strains). We developed a new high-resolution melting real-time PCR (HRM) to detect and characterize Acanthamoeba infections. HRM performances were evaluated with strains from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and with 20 corneal scrapings. The DNA extracted from specimens were amplified, detected, and characterized in 1 run using 2 original primers diluted in a solution containing an intercalating dye. Detection and molecular characterization of Acanthamoeba infections could be achieved in less than 2.5 h with a dramatic reduction in cost of reactants (postamplification procedures and radioactive or fluorescent-labeled molecular probes were unnecessary). HRM detection limits were 0.1 cyst/μL or less (including genotypes T5 and T11), and its sensitivity and specificity were higher than other molecular tests. For the tested strains from the ATCC, the HRM drafted 4 different profiles: Type I (genotypes T2 and T4), Type II (T5 and T7), Type III (T8), and Type IV (T1, T3, T6, T9, T11, T12, and T13)