Reaction of Acetylenedicarboxylic Acid Made Easy: High-Pressure Route for Polymerization

A breakthrough has been achieved in improving the efficiency of solid-state polymerization of acetylenedicarboxylic acid (ADCA). Traditional solid-state polymerization of ADCA is marked by long exposure times of γ-radiation (>10 days) and very low yields (around 5.5%). We have been able to perform a reaction to an n = 8 oligomer, as confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight, in less than 2 min by employing ∼6 GPa of pressure. We have determined the crystal structure of ADCA on increasing pressure to (5.2 GPa) to provide insight into the process of polymerization with Pixel calculations supporting our evaluation of the polymerization process

Farmer perceptions and responses to soil degradation in Swaziland

Soil degradation is globally concerning due to its adverse effects on the environment and agricultural production. Much of Swaziland is at risk from degradation. This paper assesses farmer perceptions and responses to soil degradation in 2002 and 2014, focusing on two land uses that underpin rural livelihoods: arable land and rangeland areas. It uses repeat household surveys and semi-structured interviews, in two case study chiefdoms in the country’s middleveld (KaBhudla and Engcayini) in the first longitudinal study of its kind. We find that observations of land degradation are perceived mainly through changes in land productivity, with chemical degradation occurring predominantly on arable land and physical degradation and erosion mainly in rangeland areas. Changes in rainfall are particularly important in determining responses. While perceptions of the causes and impacts of degradation largely concur with the scientific literature, responses were constrained by poor land availability, shorter and more unpredictable cropping seasons because of changing rains and low awareness, access to or knowledge of agricultural inputs. We suggest that sustainable arable land management can be enhanced through improved access to alternative sources of water, use of management practices that retain soil and moisture and greater access to agricultural inputs and capacity building to ensure their appropriate use. We suggest collaborative management for settlement planning that integrates soil conservation and livestock management strategies such as controlled stocking levels and rotational grazing could improve land quality in rangeland areas. Together, these approaches can help land users to better manage change

Promoter keyholes enable specific and persistent multi-gene expression programs in primary T cells without genome modification

Non-invasive epigenome editing is a promising strategy for engineering gene expression programs, yet potency, specificity, and persistence remain challenging. Here we show that effective epigenome editing is gated at single-base precision via 'keyhole' sites in endogenous regulatory DNA. Synthetic repressors targeting promoter keyholes can ablate gene expression in up to 99% of primary cells with single-gene specificity and can seamlessly repress multiple genes in combination. Transient exposure of primary T cells to keyhole repressors confers mitotically heritable silencing that persists to the limit of primary cultures in vitro and for at least 4 weeks in vivo, enabling manufacturing of cell products with enhanced therapeutic efficacy. DNA recognition and effector domains can be encoded as separate proteins that reassemble at keyhole sites and function with the same efficiency as single chain effectors, enabling gated control and rapid screening for novel functional domains that modulate endogenous gene expression patterns. Our results provide a powerful and exponentially flexible system for programming gene expression and therapeutic cell products

National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education

Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is a critical element of care for all people with diabetes and is necessary in order to improve patient outcomes. The National Standards for DSME are designed to define quality diabetes self-management education and to assist diabetes educators in a variety of settings to provide evidence-based education. Because of the dynamic nature of health care and diabetes-related research, these Standards are reviewed and revised approximately every 5 years by key organizations and federal agencies within the diabetes education community. A Task Force was jointly convened by the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the American Diabetes Association in the summer of 2006. Additional organizations that were represented included the American Dietetic Association, the Veteran's Health Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Indian Health Service, and the American Pharmaceutical Association. Members of the Task Force included a person with diabetes; several health services researchers/behaviorists, registered nurses, and registered dietitians; and a pharmacist. The Task Force was charged with reviewing the current DSME standards for their appropriateness, relevance, and scientific basis. The Standards were then reviewed and revised based on the available evidence and expert consensus. The committee convened on 31 March 2006 and 9 September 2006, and the Standards were approved 25 March 2007

Lead cadmium and zinc pollutants

No embarg

Occurrence of the Waxy Alleles \u3ci\u3ewxa\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ewxb\u3c/i\u3e in Waxy Sorghum Plant Introductions and Their Effect on Starch Thermal Properties

The existence of two waxy alleles, wxa associated with no detectable granule bound starch synthase (GBSS) and wxb associated with apparently inactive GBSS, was recently reported in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. In this paper, the occurrence of the wxa and wxb alleles in the USDA-ARS photoperiod-insensitive sorghum collection was determined, and the effects of the wxa and wxballeles on thermal properties of sorghum starch (gelatinization temperatures and energy requirements) measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Of the 51 purported waxy accessions examined, 14 tested positive for presence of amylose by iodine staining and were considered to be previously misclassified wild type lines. Nine accessions were mixed for presence or absence of amylose. Twenty-four of the 28 accessions confirmed to be waxy by negative iodine staining for amylose had no detectable GBSS using sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (wxa), and four were show to contain GBSS (wxb). Mean gelatinization onset, peak, and end temperatures were significantly lower for wild-type than either of the two waxy genotypes. Mean gelatinization onset temperature was slightly higher for waxy-GBSS+ genotypes than waxy-GBSS− genotypes. Mean gelatinization end temperature was slightly higher for waxy-GBSS− genotypes than waxy-GBSS+ genotypes. Significant genetic variation was observed within genotypic classes, suggesting influence of additional modifier genes affecting sorghum starch structure or micro-environmental effects

Occurrence of the Waxy Alleles \u3ci\u3ewxa\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ewxb\u3c/i\u3e in Waxy Sorghum Plant Introductions and Their Effect on Starch Thermal Properties

The existence of two waxy alleles, wxa associated with no detectable granule bound starch synthase (GBSS) and wxb associated with apparently inactive GBSS, was recently reported in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. In this paper, the occurrence of the wxa and wxb alleles in the USDA-ARS photoperiod-insensitive sorghum collection was determined, and the effects of the wxa and wxballeles on thermal properties of sorghum starch (gelatinization temperatures and energy requirements) measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Of the 51 purported waxy accessions examined, 14 tested positive for presence of amylose by iodine staining and were considered to be previously misclassified wild type lines. Nine accessions were mixed for presence or absence of amylose. Twenty-four of the 28 accessions confirmed to be waxy by negative iodine staining for amylose had no detectable GBSS using sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (wxa), and four were show to contain GBSS (wxb). Mean gelatinization onset, peak, and end temperatures were significantly lower for wild-type than either of the two waxy genotypes. Mean gelatinization onset temperature was slightly higher for waxy-GBSS+ genotypes than waxy-GBSS− genotypes. Mean gelatinization end temperature was slightly higher for waxy-GBSS− genotypes than waxy-GBSS+ genotypes. Significant genetic variation was observed within genotypic classes, suggesting influence of additional modifier genes affecting sorghum starch structure or micro-environmental effects

Use of bioengineered human commensal gut bacteria-derived microvesicles for mucosal plague vaccine delivery and immunization

Plague caused by the Gram-negative bacterium, Yersinia pestis, is still endemic in parts of the world today. Protection against pneumonic plague is essential to prevent the development and spread of epidemics. Despite this, there are currently no licensed plague vaccines in the western world. Here we describe the means of delivering biologically active plague vaccine antigens directly to mucosal sites of plague infection using highly stable microvesicles (outer membrane vesicles; OMVs) that are naturally produced by the abundant and harmless human commensal gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt). Bt was engineered to express major plague protective antigens in its OMVs, specifically Fraction 1 (F1) in the outer membrane and LcrV (V antigen) in the lumen, for targeted delivery to the gastrointestinal (GI) and respiratory tracts in a non-human primate (NHP) host. Our key findings were that Bt OMVs stably expresses F1 and V plague antigens, particularly the V antigen, in the correct, immunogenic form. When delivered intranasally V-OMVs elicited substantive and specific immune and antibody responses, both in the serum [immunoglobulin (Ig)G] and in the upper and lower respiratory tract (IgA); this included the generation of serum antibodies able to kill plague bacteria. Our results also showed that Bt OMV-based vaccines had many desirable characteristics, including: biosafety and an absence of any adverse effects, pathology or gross alteration of resident microbial communities (microbiotas); high stability and thermo-tolerance; needle-free delivery; intrinsic adjuvanticity; the ability to stimulate both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses; and targeting of primary sites of plague infection

A cross-sectional survey investigating women's information sources, behaviour, expectations, knowledge and level of satisfaction on advice received about diet and supplements before and during pregnancy

Background The reported long-term effects of poor maternal nutrition and uptake of recommended supplements before and during pregnancy was the impetus behind this study. Our objectives were to investigate and understand women’s expectations, knowledge, behaviour and information sources used regarding the use of nutrition and vitamin supplements before and during pregnancy. Methods A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was undertaken. A purposive sampling technique was used. Women attending the antenatal clinic at Croydon University Hospital during 2015 were invited to take part in the study. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, paired sample T-tests and Chi-squared tests, with the level of significance set at 5% (p < 0.05). Results A total of 133 pregnant women completed the survey. Analysis of the results showed that women are currently using electronic resources (33%, n = 42) rather than healthcare professionals (19%, n = 25) as an information source before pregnancy. Women who sourced information through the internet were significantly more likely to take folic acid (p = 0.006) and vitamin D (p = 0.004) before pregnancy. Women preferred to receive information from the antenatal clinic (62%, n = 83), internet (46%, n = 61) and from mobile applications (27%, n = 36). Although women believed they had sufficient knowledge (60%, n = 80) and had received adequate advice (53%, n = 70) concerning the correct supplements to take, this was not demonstrated in their behaviour, with only a small number of women (37%, n = 49) taking a folic acid supplement before pregnancy. Women mistakenly perceived the timing of supplement advice as correct, with only a small number of women (18%, n = 23) considering the advice on supplements as too late. Conclusions Despite the small sample size, this study demonstrated that women did not receive timely and/or accurate advice to enable them to take the recommended supplements at the optimal time. Women had the misconception that they understood the correct use of pregnancy supplements. This misunderstanding may be prevented by providing women intending to become pregnant with a structured, approved electronic source of information that improves their supplements uptake

Supporting self-management after attending a structured education programme: a qualitative longitudinal investigation of type 1 diabetes patients’ experiences and views

Background: Structured education programmes for patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions are being widely adopted. However, follow-up studies suggest that course graduates may struggle to sustain the self-care practices taught on their courses over time. This study explored the support needs of patients with type 1 diabetes after attending a structured education programme promoting an empowerment approach and training in use of flexible intensive insulin therapy, a regimen now widely advocated and used to manage this condition. The objective was to inform future support offered to course graduates. Methods: Repeat, in-depth interviews with 30 type 1 diabetes patients after attending Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) courses in the UK, and six and 12 months later. Data were analysed using an inductive, thematic approach. Results: While the flexible intensive insulin treatment approach taught on DAFNE courses was seen as a logical and effective way of managing one’s diabetes, it was also considered more technically complex than other insulin regimens. To sustain effective disease self-management using flexible intensive insulin treatment over time, patients often expected, and needed, on-going input and support from health care professionals trained in the approach. This included: help determining insulin dose adjustments; reassurance; and, opportunities to trouble-shoot issues of concern. While some benefits were identified to receiving follow-up support in a group setting, most patients stated a preference or need for tailored and individualised support from appropriately-trained clinicians, accessible on an ‘as and when needed’ basis. Conclusions: Our findings highlight potential limitations to group-based forms of follow-up support for sustaining diabetes self-management. To maintain the clinical benefits of structured education for patients with type 1 diabetes over time, course graduates may benefit from and prefer ongoing, one-to-one support from health care professionals trained in the programme’s practices and principles. This support should be tailored and personalised to reflect patients’ specific and unique experiences of applying their education and training in the context of their everyday lives, and could be the subject of future research