Magnesium Regulation of Calcium in Essential Hypertension

Essential hypertension is a complex disease which is treated by palliative methods, since the causal factors are as yet unknown. A variety of both genetic and environmental factors probably combine to produce chronic high blood pressure. A genetic model of essential hypertension, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and its control strain Wistar Kyoto (WKY) were used to investigate a possible environmental causal factor, cellular magnesium deficit, and its impact on the functional ability of the calcium ATPase. Rats were fed either a magnesium-deficient or a magnesium-sufficient diet for 10 weeks, after which the calcium ATPase activity was measured in intact red blood cells (RBC). Free intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i accumulation in response to a five minute 10 nM ionomycin challenge was estimated in blood mononuclear cells (MNC) loaded with the calcium indicator fura-2 AM. Plasma and RBC total magnesium were measured and found to be considerably lower in magnesium-deficient rats. Magnesium-deficient RBC of both SHR and WKY demonstrated lower Ca ATPase activity when stimulated either with 0.3 μΜ or 35 μΜ Ca2+ than did magnesium-sufficient cells. Magnesium-deficient MNC of SHR accumulated more [Ca2+]i than magnesium sufficient cells when challenged with ionomycin. However there was considerable individual variation. Results in WKY were not statistically different. These experiments showed that dietary magnesium can have a significant effect on the calcium handling of model cells and perhaps on the vascular smooth muscle cells of essential hypertensive patients, leading to increased vascular resistance

A preliminary assessment of age at death determination using the nuclear weapons testing 14C activity of dentine and enamel

Calibration (using CALIBomb) of radiocarbon measurements made on the enamel of human teeth from people born during the nuclear era typically produce 2 possible age ranges that potentially reflect the period of tooth formation. These ranges correspond to periods before and after the 1963 atmospheric 14C maximum. Further measurements made on the collagen component of the combined dentine and cementum from the roots of the same teeth enable the appropriate age range to be selected. Using this range and the formation times for individual teeth, we estimated the year of birth of the individuals and compared these to the known dates of birth. The results were relatively accurate and confirmed those of a previous study by another research group. The present study demonstrates that it is possible to produce a good estimate of the year of birth from a single tooth

“Rare and Curious Covers”: Embroidered Book Bindings in Early Modern England

Protestant devotional books with highly decorative embroidered bindings flourished in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century like no other time in history. Indeed, the number of these objects extant in collections today attest to their importance. Although decorative embroidered book bindings on Protestant devotional works would seem to be a contradiction, it was a natural confluence of religious, economic, and societal factors that enabled women to assert both a private and a public identity. Because the explosion of printers in Europe brought Bibles and other books to a much wider audience at a time when women’s education and literacy were impacted by Protestant theologians advocating for direct engagement with scripture, it created a space for women to make a statement of creativity and assert status while being religious, modest, and feminine in a private sphere using decorative needlework. Treatises from this time emphasize the importance of daily prayer and reading the scripture, even for women. The few extant diaries and letters that women wrote testify to the importance of their relationship to both religious worship and needlework. But the most compelling testament to the importance and overlap of these activities are the extant embroidered book bindings themselves. Material objects are oftentimes the only evidence of the lives of marginalized people; they can supplement scant documentary evidence to illuminate unexamined historical narratives. The needlework on the embroidered devotional books provides a unique insight into English women’s public and private daily lives

The Effect of Teaching Sixth Graders with Learning Difficulties a Strategy for Solving Verbal Math Problems

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.In this study, subjects were taught a seven-step verbal problem-solving strategy. Results indicated an increase in percent correct on eight mathematics word problems for each subject following intervention. Baseline probes never overlapped with treatment probes indicating that generalization is possible to other students in the population studied

Mental health of UK university business students: Relationship with shame, motivation and self-compassion

There is growing awareness of mental health problems among UK business students, which appears to be exacerbated by students’ attitudes of shame toward mental health. This study recruited 138 UK business students and examined the relationship between mental health and shame, and mental health and potential protective factors such as self-compassion and motivation. A significant correlation between each of the constructs was observed and self-compassion was identified as an explanatory variable for mental health. Shame moderated the relationship between self-compassion and mental health. Integrating self-compassion training into business study programs may help to improve the mental health of this student group.N/

Holocene variations in the Scottish marine radiocarbon reservoir effect

We assessed the evidence for variations in the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (MRE) at coastal, archaeological Iron Age sites in north and west Scotland by comparing AMS measurements of paired marine and terrestrial materials (4 pairs per context). DeltaR values were calculated from measurements on material from 3 sites using 6 sets of samples, all of which were deposited around 2000 BP. The weighted mean of the DeltaR determinations was -79 +/- 17 C-14 yr, which indicates a consistent, reduced offset between atmospheric and surface ocean C-14 specific activity for these sites during this period, relative to the present day (DeltaR = similar to0 C-14 yr). We discuss the significance of this revised AR correction by using the example of wheelhouse chronologies at Hornish Point and their development in relation to brochs. In addition, we assess the importance of using the concepts of MRE correction and AR variations when constructing chronologies using C-14 measurements made on materials that contain marine- derived carbon

Identifying perinatal risk factors for infant maltreatment: an ecological approach

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment and its consequences are a persistent problem throughout the world. Public health workers, human services officials, and others are interested in new and efficient ways to determine which geographic areas to target for intervention programs and resources. To improve assessment efforts, selected perinatal factors were examined, both individually and in various combinations, to determine if they are associated with increased risk of infant maltreatment. State of Georgia birth records and abuse and neglect data were analyzed using an area-based, ecological approach with the census tract as a surrogate for the community. Cartographic visualization suggested some correlation exists between risk factors and child maltreatment, so bivariate and multivariate regression were performed. The presence of spatial autocorrelation precluded the use of traditional ordinary least squares regression, therefore a spatial regression model coupled with maximum likelihood estimation was employed. RESULTS: Results indicate that all individual factors or their combinations are significantly associated with increased risk of infant maltreatment. The set of perinatal risk factors that best predicts infant maltreatment rates are: mother smoked during pregnancy, families with three or more siblings, maternal age less than 20 years, births to unmarried mothers, Medicaid beneficiaries, and inadequate prenatal care. CONCLUSION: This model enables public health to take a proactive stance, to reasonably predict areas where poor outcomes are likely to occur, and to therefore more efficiently allocate resources. U.S. states that routinely collect the variables the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) defines for birth certificates can easily identify areas that are at high risk for infant maltreatment. The authors recommend that agencies charged with reducing child maltreatment target communities that demonstrate the perinatal risks identified in this study

Humics - their history in the radiocarbon inter-comparisons studies

Over the past 30 years, the format of the radiocarbon (14C) intercomparison studies has changed, however, the selection of sample types used in these studies has remained constant—namely, natural and routinely dated materials that could subsequently be used as in-house reference materials. One such material is peat which has been used 12 times, starting with the ICS in 1988. Peat from Iceland (TIRI), Ellanmore (TIRI), Letham Moss (ICS, VIRI, and SIRI), and St Bees, UK (FIRI and VIRI) have been used, as well as a near-background peat from Siberia. In the main, these peat samples have been provided as the humic acid fraction, with the main advantage being that the humic acid is extracted in solution and then precipitated (the solution phase providing the homogenisation) which is a key requirement for a reference material. In this paper, we will revisit the peat results and explore their findings. In addition, for the last 8 years, the Letham Moss sample has been used in the SUERC 14C laboratory as an in-house standard or reference material. This has resulted in several thousand measurements. Such a rich data set is explored to illustrate the benefits arising from the intercomparison program

High Sensitivity DNA Detection Using Gold Nanoparticle Functionalised Polyaniline Nanofibres

Polyaniline (PANI) nanofibres (PANI-NF) have been modified with chemically grown gold nanoparticles to give a nanocomposite material (PANI-NF–AuNP) and deposited on gold electrodes. Single stranded capture DNA was then bound to the gold nanoparticles and the underlying gold electrode and allowed to hybridise with a complementary target strand that is uniquely associated with the pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), that causes mastitis. Significantly, cyclic voltammetry demonstrates that deposition of the gold nanoparticles increases the area available for DNA immobilisation by a factor of approximately 4. EPR reveals that the addition of the Au nanoparticles efficiently decreases the interactions between adjacent PANI chains and/or motional broadening. Finally, a second horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labelled DNA strand hybridises with the target allowing the concentration of the target DNA to be detected by monitoring the reduction of a hydroquinone mediator in solution. The sensors have a wide dynamic range, excellent ability to discriminate DNA mismatches and a high sensitivity. Semi-log plots of the pathogen DNA concentration vs. faradaic current were linear from 150 × 10−12 to 1 × 10−6 mol L−1 and pM concentrations could be detected without the need for molecular, e.g., PCR or NASBA, amplification

Flexibility in cash-flow classification under IFRS: determinants and consequences

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) allow managers flexibility in classifying interest paid, interest received, and dividends received within operating, investing, or financing activities within the statement of cash flows. In contrast, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) requires these items to be classified as operating cash flows (OCF). Studying IFRSreporting firms in 13 European countries, we document firms’ cash-flow classification choices vary, with about 76%, 60%, and 57% of our sample classifying interest paid, interest received, and dividends received, respectively, in OCF. Reported OCF under IFRS tends to exceed what would be reported under U.S. GAAP. We find the main determinants of OCF-enhancing classification choices are capital market incentives and other firm characteristics, including greater likelihood of financial distress, higher leverage, and accessing equity markets more frequently. In analyzing the consequences of reporting flexibility, we find some evidence that the market’s assessment of the persistence of operating cash flows and accruals varies with the firm’s classification choices, and the results of certain OCF prediction models are sensitive to classification choices