White Lines and 3d-Occupancy for the 3d Transition-Metal Oxides

Electron energy-loss spectrometry was employed to measure the white lines at the L23 absorption edges of the 3d transition-metal oxides and lithium transition-metal oxides. The white-line ratio (L3/L2) was found to increase between d^0 and d^5 and decrease between d^5 and d^10, consistent with previous results for the transition metals and their oxides. The intensities of the white lines, normalized to the post-edge background, are linear for the 3d transition-metal oxides and lithium transition-metal oxides. An empirical correlation between normalized white-line intensity and 3d occupancy is established. It provides a method for measuring changes in the 3d-state occupancy. As an example, this empirical relationship is used to measure changes in the transition-metal valences of Li_{1-x}Ni_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_2 in the range of 0 < x < 0.64. In these experiments the 3d occupancy of the nickel ion decreased upon lithium deintercalation, while the cobalt valence remained constant.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Work done in the margins:A comparative study of mental health literacy in pre-service teacher education in Australia and in Scotland

Ensuring pre-service teachers have strong mental health literacy is vital for progress towards an inclusive, effective education system; yet little is known about how pre-service teachers are prepared for practice with school students who present with poor mental health. The original, internationally comparative small-scale (N = 24) qualitative study reported here compared current mental health literacy provision to pre-service teacher education students in Scotland and Australia. Semi-structured telephone interviews with teacher educators who delivered mental health content divulged highly variable, often ad-hoc mental health literacy provision; a concern, given the prevalence of poor mental health affecting children and young people in schools. Thematic data analysis revealed striking commonalities among issues raised by participants from both countries, highlighting the need for urgent improvement in the provision of mental health literacy to pre-service teachers. Results suggest the possibility of strategically developing a joint Australian-Scottish mental health component suitable for delivery in both countries

Novel multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci implicated in epigenetic regulation

We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility in German cohorts with 4888 cases and 10,395 controls. In addition to associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, 15 non-MHC loci reached genome-wide significance. Four of these loci are novel MS susceptibility loci. They map to the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, ERG, and SHMT1. The lead variant at SHMT1 was replicated in an independent Sardinian cohort. Products of the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, and ERG play important roles in immune cell regulation. SHMT1 encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalyzing the transfer of a carbon unit to the folate cycle. This reaction is required for regulation of methylation homeostasis, which is important for establishment and maintenance of epigenetic signatures. Our GWAS approach in a defined population with limited genetic substructure detected associations not found in larger, more heterogeneous cohorts, thus providing new clues regarding MS pathogenesis

Kidney Transplantation From Deceased Donors With Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis: An Updated Analysis of the UK Experience

Background: The emergence and attendant mortality of vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) as a consequence of vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have resulted in some patients with VITT being considered as deceased organ donors. Outcomes after kidney transplantation in this context are poorly described. Because the disease seems to be mediated by antiplatelet factor 4 antibodies, there is a theoretical risk of transmission via passenger leukocytes within the allograft. Methods: We analyzed the experience of kidney transplantation from donors with VITT in the United Kingdom between January and June 2021. We followed-up all recipients of kidney-only transplants from donors with VITT to detect major postoperative complications or features of disease transmission and assess graft survival and function. Results: There were 16 kidney donors and 30 single kidney transplant recipients in our study period. Of 11 preimplantation biopsies, 4 showed widespread glomerular microthrombi. After a median of 5 mo, patient and graft survival were 97% and 90%, respectively. The median 3-mo estimated glomerular filtration rate was 51 mL/min/1.73 m2. Two recipients had detectable antiplatelet factor 4 antibodies but no evidence of clinical disease after transplantation. Major hemorrhagic complications occurred in 3 recipients, all of whom had independent risk factors for bleeding, resulting in the loss of 2 grafts. The involvement of VITT could not be completely excluded in one of these cases. Conclusions: The UK experience to date shows that favorable outcomes are possible after kidney transplantation from donors with VITT but highlights the need for ongoing vigilance for donor-related complications in these patients

Investigation of sex-specific effects of apolipoprotein E on severity of EAE and MS

Background Despite pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects of apolipoprotein E (apoE) in vitro, its effects on the clinical course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are still controversial. As sex hormones modify immunomodulatory apoE functions, they may explain contentious findings. This study aimed to investigate sex-specific effects of apoE on disease course of EAE and MS. Methods MOG35-55 induced EAE in female and male apoE-deficient mice was assessed clinically and histopathologically. apoE expression was investigated by qPCR. The association of the MS severity score (MSSS) and APOE rs429358 and rs7412 was assessed across 3237 MS patients using linear regression analyses. Results EAE disease course was slightly attenuated in male apoE-deficient (apoE −/− ) mice compared to wildtype mice (cumulative median score: apoE −/−  = 2 [IQR 0.0–4.5]; wildtype = 4 [IQR 1.0–5.0]; n = 10 each group, p = 0.0002). In contrast, EAE was more severe in female apoE −/− mice compared to wildtype mice (cumulative median score: apoE −/−  = 3 [IQR 2.0–4.5]; wildtype = 3 [IQR 0.0–4.0]; n = 10, p = 0.003). In wildtype animals, apoE expression during the chronic EAE phase was increased in both females and males (in comparison to naïve animals; p < 0.001). However, in MS, we did not observe a significant association between MSSS and rs429358 or rs7412, neither in the overall analyses nor upon stratification for sex. Conclusions apoE exerts moderate sex-specific effects on EAE severity. However, the results in the apoE knock-out model are not comparable to effects of polymorphic variants in the human APOE gene, thus pinpointing the challenge of translating findings from the EAE model to the human disease

The Forgotten Side of Partisanship: Negative Party Identification in Four Anglo-American Democracies

Early studies of electoral behavior proposed that party identification could be negative as well as positive. Over time, though, the concept became mostly understood as a positive construct. The few studies that took negative identification into account tended to portray it as a marginal factor that went “hand-in-hand” with positive preferences. Recent scholarship in psychology reaffirms, however, that negative evaluations are not simply the bipolar opposite of positive ones. This article considers negative party identification from this standpoint, and evaluates its impact in recent national elections in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Our findings highlight the autonomous power of negative partisanship. They indicate as well that ideology has an influence on both positive and negative partisan identification

What explains the North–South divide in Italian tax compliance? An experimental analysis

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this recordI undertake a comparative study assessing the North–South divide in Italian tax compliance, employing the largest behavioral tax compliance experiment to date. Contrary to a large body of literature, I argue that willingness to pay taxes is constructed within a specific institutional environment and reflects the country’s quality of institutions. To test this hypothesis, I use controlled tax compliance experiments from four laboratories in Capua, Rome, Bologna, and Milan. By employing the experimental method, I am able to hold institutions constant allowing me to isolate cultural variation. Contrary to cultural explanations for tax compliance, when controlling the institutional environment, there is no difference in tax compliance. Furthermore, using social value orientation to compare prosociality, I also find no differences between the two regions. I therefore conclude that individuals’ relationship to their states shapes these behavioral differences in tax compliance.Funds for this research were provided by the European Research Council (Grant Agreement No. 295675 )

The role of coping strategies in quality of life of adolescents with asthma

This study aimed to determine which coping strategies are associated with better quality of life (QOL) in adolescents with asthma. Furthermore, because coping can mediate the effects of health stressors on QOL, this study also examined the indirect effect of asthma severity on QOL via coping. Between January and May 2003, 553 Dutch adolescents with asthma (aged 12–6 years) completed questionnaires assessing coping strategies, symptom severity, overall QOL and positive QOL domain (positive effects of asthma domain). The relations between symptom severity, coping strategies and QOL were tested with structural equation modelling (SEM). Symptom severity affected overall and positive QOL, both directly and indirectly via coping. The coping strategies restricted lifestyle and worrying about asthma were associated with poorer overall QOL. The use of the coping strategies restricted lifestyle, positive reappraisal, and information seeking was related to increased scores on the positive QOL domain, whereas hiding asthma was related to lower scores on the positive QOL domain

Multiple sclerosis genomic map implicates peripheral immune cells and microglia in susceptibility

We analyzed genetic data of 47,429 multiple sclerosis (MS) and 68,374 control subjects and established a reference map of the genetic architecture of MS that includes 200 autosomal susceptibility variants outside the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), one chromosome X variant, and 32 variants within the extended MHC. We used an ensemble of methods to prioritize 551 putative susceptibility genes that implicate multiple innate and adaptive pathways distributed across the cellular components of the immune system. Using expression profiles from purified human microglia, we observed enrichment for MS genes in these brain-resident immune cells, suggesting that these may have a role in targeting an autoimmune process to the central nervous system, although MS is most likely initially triggered by perturbation of peripheral immune responses