Investigation of the role of Mg and Ca in the structure and durability of aluminoborosilicate glass

The structure and dissolution behaviour of Na 2 O·CaO·(15–x)Al 2 O 3 ·xB 2 O 3 ·SiO 2 and Na 2 O·MgO·(15–x)Al 2 O 3 ·xB 2 O 3 ·SiO 2 glasses, relevant to compositions of UK nuclear waste glass, have been investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and static dissolution experiments using the PCT protocol. Structural data from 11 B, 27 Al and 29 Si NMR analyses show that increasing the [B 2 O 3 ]/([Al 2 O 3 ] + [B 2 O 3 ]) ratio of the alkali-alkaline-earth aluminoborosilicate glasses led to an overall decrease in the proportion of non-silicate tetrahedral species ( IV Al + IV B) and a decrease in Si–O–X bonds (X[dbnd]B, Al). The Mg-containing glasses exhibited lower IV B fractions than their Ca-containing counterparts, which is thought to be due to the presence of IV Mg tetrahedra in the network. The measured corrosion rates were similar for both Ca and Mg-containing glasses although unexpectedly some Ca-containing glasses exhibited higher corrosion losses than the Mg-containing ones for time periods up to 112 d. However, there was evidence of a greater tendency to rate resumption in the Mg containing than the Ca containing ones. Alteration products were found to contain Ca, Si and Al with the Ca containing glasses and Ca, Mg, Si and Al with the Mg containing glasses; Na was not detected in the alteration products although its presence cannot be ruled out based on the data obtained

PGRMC1: a new biomarker for the estrogen receptor in breast cancer

Estrogen receptor (ER) status is a critical biomarker in breast cancer, in large part because the ER is the target of tamoxifen and similar drugs. In the previous issue of Breast Cancer Research, Neubauer and colleagues used a proteomic approach to identify proteins that are differentially regulated by ER in breast tumors. The authors showed that ER-negative tumors have elevated levels of PGRMC1 (progesterone receptor membrane component-1), a hormone receptor component and binding partner for P450 proteins. In contrast, PGRMC1 was phosphorylated in ER-positive tumors. The staining patterns of ER and PGRMC1 were mutually exclusive in breast tumor sections, and PGRMC1 staining was sharply increased in hypoxic areas of the tumor. The results suggest that PGRMC1 is a candidate biomarker for ER status and hypoxia in breast cancer

Are white storks addicted to junk food? Impacts of landfill use on the movement and behaviour of resident white storks (Ciconia ciconia) from a partially migratory population

Background: The migratory patterns of animals are changing in response to global environmental change with many species forming resident populations in areas where they were once migratory. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) was wholly migratory in Europe but recently guaranteed, year-round food from landfill sites has facilitated the establishment of resident populations in Iberia. In this study 17 resident white storks were fitted with GPS/GSM data loggers (including accelerometer) and tracked for 9.1 ± 3.7 months to quantify the extent and consistency of landfill attendance by individuals during the non-breeding and breeding seasons and to assess the influence of landfill use on daily distances travelled, percentage of GPS fixes spent foraging and non-landfill foraging ranges. Results: Resident white storks used landfill more during non-breeding (20.1 % ± 2.3 of foraging GPS fixes) than during breeding (14.9 % ± 2.2). Landfill attendance declined with increasing distance between nest and landfill in both seasons. During non-breeding a large percentage of GPS fixes occurred on the nest throughout the day (27 % ± 3.0 of fixes) in the majority of tagged storks. This study provides first confirmation of year-round nest use by resident white storks. The percentage of GPS fixes on the nest was not influenced by the distance between nest and the landfill site. Storks travelled up to 48.2 km to visit landfills during non-breeding and a maximum of 28.1 km during breeding, notably further than previous estimates. Storks nesting close to landfill sites used landfill more and had smaller foraging ranges in non-landfill habitat indicating higher reliance on landfill. The majority of non-landfill foraging occurred around the nest and long distance trips were made specifically to visit landfill. Conclusions: The continuous availability of food resources on landfill has facilitated year-round nest use in white storks and is influencing their home ranges and movement behaviour. White storks rely on landfill sites for foraging especially during the non-breeding season when other food resources are scarcer and this artificial food supplementation probably facilitated the establishment of resident populations. The closure of landfills, as required by EU Landfill Directives, will likely cause dramatic impacts on white stork populations

Detection of the pairwise kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect with BOSS DR11 and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

We present a new measurement of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Using 600 square degrees of overlapping sky area, we evaluate the mean pairwise baryon momentum associated with the positions of 50,000 bright galaxies in the BOSS DR11 Large Scale Structure catalog. A non-zero signal arises from the large-scale motions of halos containing the sample galaxies. The data fits an analytical signal model well, with the optical depth to microwave photon scattering as a free parameter determining the overall signal amplitude. We estimate the covariance matrix of the mean pairwise momentum as a function of galaxy separation, using microwave sky simulations, jackknife evaluation, and bootstrap estimates. The most conservative simulation-based errors give signal-to-noise estimates between 3.6 and 4.1 for varying galaxy luminosity cuts. We discuss how the other error determinations can lead to higher signal-to-noise values, and consider the impact of several possible systematic errors. Estimates of the optical depth from the average thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal at the sample galaxy positions are broadly consistent with those obtained from the mean pairwise momentum signal.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Consumer use of “Dr Google”: a survey on health information-seeking behaviors and navigational needs

BACKGROUND: The Internet provides a platform to access health information and support self-management by consumers with chronic health conditions. Despite recognized barriers to accessing Web-based health information, there is a lack of research quantitatively exploring whether consumers report difficulty finding desired health information on the Internet and whether these consumers would like assistance (ie, navigational needs). Understanding navigational needs can provide a basis for interventions guiding consumers to quality Web-based health resources. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to (1) estimate the proportion of consumers with navigational needs among seekers of Web-based health information with chronic health conditions, (2) describe Web-based health information-seeking behaviors, level of patient activation, and level of eHealth literacy among consumers with navigational needs, and (3) explore variables predicting navigational needs. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed based on findings from a qualitative study on Web-based health information-seeking behaviors and navigational needs. This questionnaire also incorporated the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS; a measure of self-perceived eHealth literacy) and PAM-13 (a measure of patient activation). The target population was consumers of Web-based health information with chronic health conditions. We surveyed a sample of 400 Australian adults, with recruitment coordinated by Qualtrics. This sample size was required to estimate the proportion of consumers identified with navigational needs with a precision of 4.9% either side of the true population value, with 95% confidence. A subsample was invited to retake the survey after 2 weeks to assess the test-retest reliability of the eHEALS and PAM-13.RESULTS: Of 514 individuals who met our eligibility criteria, 400 (77.8%) completed the questionnaire and 43 participants completed the retest. Approximately half (51.3%; 95% CI 46.4-56.2) of the population was identified with navigational needs. Participants with navigational needs appeared to look for more types of health information on the Internet and from a greater variety of information sources compared to participants without navigational needs. However, participants with navigational needs were significantly less likely to have high levels of eHealth literacy (adjusted odds ratio=0.83, 95% CI 0.78-0.89, P<.001). Age was also a significant predictor (P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of the population of consumers of Web-based health information with chronic health conditions would benefit from support in finding health information on the Internet. Despite the popularity of the Internet as a source of health information, further work is recommended to maximize its potential as a tool to assist self-management in consumers with chronic health conditions

Dynamics of picosecond laser ablation for surgical treatment of colorectal cancer

Endoluminal surgery for the treatment of colorectal neoplasia is typically carried out using electrocautery tools which imply limited precision and the risk of harm through collateral thermal damage to the adjacent healthy tissue. As a potential alternative, we present the successful colonic epithelial laser ablation by means of picosecond laser pulses. Laser ablation studies performed in ex-vivo colon tissue result in cavities with comparable thickness to early stage colorectal cancers. The corresponding histology sections exhibit only minimal collateral damage to the surrounding tissue and the depth of the ablation can be controlled precisely by means of the pulse energy. High-speed imaging has been used for the first time to visualize picosecond laser ablation of cancerous tissue in a clinically relevant model. This information was correlated with histopathology and optical surface profilometry revealing the dynamic nature of the laser tissue interaction and the need for temporal or spatial separation of pulses for optimum efficacy with regards to tissue removal. Overall, the application of picosecond laser pulses to ablate endoluminal bowel lesions demonstrates significantly improved precision and reduced thermal damage to the adjacent tissue in comparison to conventional procedures and hence will enable more precise surgical treatment of cancers

Antimalarial Iron Chelator, FBS0701, Shows Asexual and Gametocyte Plasmodium falciparum Activity and Single Oral Dose Cure in a Murine Malaria Model

Iron chelators for the treatment of malaria have proven therapeutic activity in vitro and in vivo in both humans and mice, but their clinical use is limited by the unsuitable absorption and pharmacokinetic properties of the few available iron chelators. FBS0701, (S)3”-(HO)-desazadesferrithiocin-polyether [DADFT-PE], is an oral iron chelator currently in Phase 2 human studies for the treatment of transfusional iron overload. The drug has very favorable absorption and pharmacokinetic properties allowing for once-daily use to deplete circulating free iron with human plasma concentrations in the high µM range. Here we show that FBS0701 has inhibition concentration 50% (IC50) of 6 µM for Plasmodium falciparum in contrast to the IC50 for deferiprone and deferoxamine at 15 and 30 µM respectively. In combination, FBS0701 interfered with artemisinin parasite inhibition and was additive with chloroquine or quinine parasite inhibition. FBS0701 killed early stage P. falciparum gametocytes. In the P. berghei Thompson suppression test, a single dose of 100 mg/kg reduced day three parasitemia and prolonged survival, but did not cure mice. Treatment with a single oral dose of 100 mg/kg one day after infection with 10 million lethal P. yoelii 17XL cured all the mice. Pretreatment of mice with a single oral dose of FBS0701 seven days or one day before resulted in the cure of some mice. Plasma exposures and other pharmacokinetics parameters in mice of the 100 mg/kg dose are similar to a 3 mg/kg dose in humans. In conclusion, FBS0701 demonstrates a single oral dose cure of the lethal P. yoelii model. Significantly, this effect persists after the chelator has cleared from plasma. FBS0701 was demonstrated to remove labile iron from erythrocytes as well as enter erythrocytes to chelate iron. FBS0701 may find clinically utility as monotherapy, a malarial prophylactic or, more likely, in combination with other antimalarials

Cluster Lenses

Clusters of galaxies are the most recently assembled, massive, bound structures in the Universe. As predicted by General Relativity, given their masses, clusters strongly deform space-time in their vicinity. Clusters act as some of the most powerful gravitational lenses in the Universe. Light rays traversing through clusters from distant sources are hence deflected, and the resulting images of these distant objects therefore appear distorted and magnified. Lensing by clusters occurs in two regimes, each with unique observational signatures. The strong lensing regime is characterized by effects readily seen by eye, namely, the production of giant arcs, multiple-images, and arclets. The weak lensing regime is characterized by small deformations in the shapes of background galaxies only detectable statistically. Cluster lenses have been exploited successfully to address several important current questions in cosmology: (i) the study of the lens(es) - understanding cluster mass distributions and issues pertaining to cluster formation and evolution, as well as constraining the nature of dark matter; (ii) the study of the lensed objects - probing the properties of the background lensed galaxy population - which is statistically at higher redshifts and of lower intrinsic luminosity thus enabling the probing of galaxy formation at the earliest times right up to the Dark Ages; and (iii) the study of the geometry of the Universe - as the strength of lensing depends on the ratios of angular diameter distances between the lens, source and observer, lens deflections are sensitive to the value of cosmological parameters and offer a powerful geometric tool to probe Dark Energy. In this review, we present the basics of cluster lensing and provide a current status report of the field.Comment: About 120 pages - Published in Open Access at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/j183018170485723/ . arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:astro-ph/0504478 and arXiv:1003.3674 by other author

An Investigation of Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Disinfection Procedures in Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding disinfection procedures among nurses in Italian hospitals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A face-to-face interview gathered the following information: demographic and practice characteristics; knowledge about the healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the disinfection practices; attitudes towards the utility of guidelines/protocols and perception of the risks of acquiring/transmitting HAIs; compliance with antisepsis/disinfection procedures; and sources of information.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 29% acknowledged that urinary and respiratory tract infections were the two most common HAIs and this knowledge was significantly higher in those with a higher level of education. Attitudes towards the utility of guidelines/protocols for disinfection procedures showed a mean score of 9.1. The results of the linear regression model indicated a more positive attitude in female nurses, in those with a lower number of years of activity, and in those needing additional information about disinfection procedures. Nurses with higher educational level and with a higher perception of risk of transmitting an infectious disease while working were more likely to perform appropriate antisepsis of the surgical wound and handwashing before and after medication.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Plan of successful prevention activities about HAIs and provide pointers to help optimize disinfection procedures and infection prophylaxis and management are needed.</p