Relationship between secondary health conditions and life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury:study across twenty-one countries

Purpose: To determine the relationships between impact of secondary health conditions (SHCs), treatment of SHCs, and life satisfaction (LS) following spinal cord injury (SCI) across 21 countries. Hypotheses were as follows: (1) Persons with SCI and fewer SHCs report higher LS and (2) Persons who receive treatment for SHCs report higher LS than those who do not receive treatment.Methods: Cross-sectional survey, including 10,499 persons with traumatic or non-traumatic SCI aged 18 years or older and living in the community. To assess SHCs, 14 items adapted from the SCI-Secondary Conditions Scale were used (range 1–5). SHCs index was calculated as the mean of all 14 items. LS was assessed using a selection of 5 items from the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment. LS index was calculated as the mean of these 5 items. Results: South Korea, Germany, and Poland exhibited the highest (2.40–2.93) and Brazil, China, and Thailand the lowest (1.79–1.90) impact of SHCs. Indexes for LS and SHCs were inversely correlated (– 0.418; p &lt; 0.001). Mixed Model Analysis showed that the fixed effect (key predictors of the study) of SHCs index (p &lt; 0.001) and the positive interaction between SHCs index and treatment (p = 0.002) were significant determinants of LS.Conclusion: Persons with SCI across the world are more likely to perceive better LS if they experience fewer SHCs and receive treatment for SHCs, in comparison to those who do not. Prevention and treatment of SHCs following SCI should be a high priority in order to improve the lived experience and enhance LS.</p

Localization Properties of the Chalker-Coddington Model

The Chalker Coddington quantum network percolation model is numerically pertinent to the understanding of the delocalization transition of the quantum Hall effect. We study the model restricted to a cylinder of perimeter 2M. We prove firstly that the Lyapunov exponents are simple and in particular that the localization length is finite; secondly that this implies spectral localization. Thirdly we prove a Thouless formula and compute the mean Lyapunov exponent which is independent of M.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figure. New section added in which simplicity of the Lyapunov spectrum and finiteness of the localization length are proven. To appear in Annales Henri Poincar

Vulnerability to bullying in children with a history of specific speech and language difficulties

This is an electronic version of an article published in Lindsay, Geoff and Dockrell, Julie and Mackie, Clare (2008) Vulnerability to bullying in children with a history of specific speech and language difficulties. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23 (1). pp. 1-16. European Journal of Special Needs Education is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/0885625070179120

Strawberry fruit resistance to simulated handling

Harvest operations are currently the main source of mechanical injury of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.). Experiments were designed to simulate conditions encountered during commercial handling. Individual fruits were subjected to impact or compression forces with similar energy to determine the sensitivity to mechanical injury. Bruise volume was used as the measurement of injury. Bruise severity increased as a function of impact energy for both impact types. However, dropped fruits had larger bruise volume than fruits submitted to pendulum impactor at the same energy level. Doubling the impact energy (0.040 to 0.083 J) increased bruise volume by 7 times (13 to 91 mm³). Fruits dropped from 380 mm (0.075 J) showed 71% greater bruise volume than those dropped from either 130 mm (0.025 J) or 200 mm (0.040 J). Compressed fruits showed higher bruise volume than other tests. Some cultivars are more susceptible to compression forces than others. 'Sweet Charlie' berries showed bruise volume 40% higher than the others cultivars when subjected to compression. Fruits subjected to impact showed bruise volume lower than the compressed fruits, indicating the possibility to be handled and graded in a packing line.A etapa de colheita é a principal fonte de danos físicos ao morango (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.). Experimentos foram realizados para simular condições encontradas durante manuseio. Frutos foram submetidos individualmente às forças de impacto e compressão em energias similares para determinar sensibilidade dos frutos a danos físicos. Volume da injúria física foi utilizado para mensurar a incidência do dano físico ocorrido. Severidade da lesão aumenta, com incremento da energia, tanto para força de impacto como para compressão. Todavia, frutos submetidos à queda livre demonstraram maiores volumes de danos físicos do que frutos submetidos a danos ocasionados por pendulo no mesmo nível de energia. Dobrando a energia de impacto (0,040 para 0,083 J) ocorreu aumento no volume da injúria em sete vezes (13 para 91 mm³). Frutos submetidos à queda de 380 mm (0,075 J) demonstraram volumes de danos físicos 71% superiores do que aqueles ocasionados em queda de 130 mm (0,025 J) ou 200 mm (0,040 J). Frutos em teste de compressão mostraram maiores volumes de injúrias físicas do que outros testes. Alguns cultivares são mais sensíveis à força de compressão do que outros. Frutos cultivar 'Sweet Charlie' apresentaram volume de injúria 40% superiores do que outros quando submetidos à força de compressão. Morangos submetidos à força de impacto demonstraram volume de injúria inferior do que aqueles comprimidos, indicando a possibilidade dos morangos serem classificados e manuseados em uma linha de beneficiamento

Transitions of cardio-metabolic risk factors in the Americas between 1980 and 2014

Describing the prevalence and trends of cardiometabolic risk factors that are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is crucial for monitoring progress, planning prevention, and providing evidence to support policy efforts. We aimed to analyse the transition in body-mass index (BMI), obesity, blood pressure, raised blood pressure, and diabetes in the Americas, between 1980 and 2014

Angiopoietin-1 is required for Schlemm’s canal development in mice and humans

Made available in accordance with publisher's policyPrimary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is a leading cause of blindness in children worldwide and is caused by developmental defects in 2 aqueous humor outflow structures, Schlemm’s canal (SC) and the trabecular meshwork. We previously identified loss-of-function mutations in the angiopoietin (ANGPT) receptor TEK in families with PCG and showed that ANGPT/TEK signaling is essential for SC development. Here, we describe roles for the major ANGPT ligands in the development of the aqueous outflow pathway. We determined that ANGPT1 is essential for SC development, and that Angpt1-knockout mice form a severely hypomorphic canal with elevated intraocular pressure. By contrast, ANGPT2 was dispensable, although mice deficient in both Angpt1 and Angpt2 completely lacked SC, indicating that ANGPT2 compensates for the loss of ANGPT1. In addition, we identified 3 human subjects with rare ANGPT1 variants within an international cohort of 284 PCG patients. Loss of function in 2 of the 3 patient alleles was observed by functional analysis of ANGPT1 variants in a combined in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approach, supporting a causative role for ANGPT1 in disease. By linking ANGPT1 with PCG, these results highlight the importance of ANGPT/TEK signaling in glaucoma pathogenesis and identify a candidate target for therapeutic development

Integrating sequence and array data to create an improved 1000 Genomes Project haplotype reference panel

A major use of the 1000 Genomes Project (1000GP) data is genotype imputation in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here we develop a method to estimate haplotypes from low-coverage sequencing data that can take advantage of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray genotypes on the same samples. First the SNP array data are phased to build a backbone (or 'scaffold') of haplotypes across each chromosome. We then phase the sequence data 'onto' this haplotype scaffold. This approach can take advantage of relatedness between sequenced and non-sequenced samples to improve accuracy. We use this method to create a new 1000GP haplotype reference set for use by the human genetic community. Using a set of validation genotypes at SNP and bi-allelic indels we show that these haplotypes have lower genotype discordance and improved imputation performance into downstream GWAS samples, especially at low-frequency variants. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved