85 research outputs found
Male pattern hair loss: Can developmental origins explain the pattern?
Male pattern hair loss (MPHL), also referred to as male androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of non-scarring progressive hair loss, with 80% of men suffering from this condition in their lifetime. In MPHL, the hair line recedes to a specific part of the scalp which cannot be accurately predicted. Hair is lost from the front, vertex, and the crown, yet temporal and occipital follicles remain. The visual effect of hair loss is due to hair follicle miniaturisation, where terminal hair follicles become dimensionally smaller. Miniaturisation is also characterised by a shortening of the growth phase of the hair cycle (anagen), and a prolongation of the dormant phase (kenogen). Together, these changes result in the production of thinner and shorter hair fibres, referred to as miniaturised or vellus hairs. It remains unclear why miniaturisation occurs in this specific pattern, with frontal follicles being susceptible while occipital follicles remain in a terminal state. One main factor we believe to be at play, which will be discussed in this viewpoint, is the developmental origin of the skin and hair follicle dermis on different regions of the scalp
Dynamic Scaling and Two-Dimensional High-Tc Superconductors
There has been ongoing debate over the critical behavior of two-dimensional
superconductors; in particular for high Tc superconductors. The conventional
view is that a Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition occurs as long as
finite size effects do not obscure the transition. However, there have been
recent suggestions that a different transition actually occurs which
incorporates aspects of both the dynamic scaling theory of Fisher, Fisher, and
Huse and the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition. Of general interest is
that this modified transition apparently has a universal dynamic critical
exponent. Some have countered that this apparent universal behavior is rooted
in a newly proposed finite-size scaling theory; one that also incorporates
scaling and conventional two-dimensional theory. To investigate these issues we
study DC voltage versus current data of a 12 angstrom thick YBCO film. We find
that the newly proposed scaling theories have intrinsic flexibility that is
relevant to the analysis of the experiments. In particular, the data scale
according to the modified transition for arbitrarily defined critical
temperatures between 0 K and 19.5 K, and the temperature range of a successful
scaling collapse is related directly to the sensitivity of the measurement.
This implies that the apparent universal exponent is due to the intrinsic
flexibility rather than some real physical property. To address this intrinsic
flexibility, we propose a criterion which would give conclusive evidence for
phase transitions in two-dimensional superconductors. We conclude by reviewing
results to see if our criterion is satisfied.Comment: 14 page
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and lowâmiddle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of âsingle-useâ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for lowâmiddle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both highâ and lowâmiddleâincome countries
Continuous Feeding of Low Concentrations of Sulfaquinoxaline for the Control of Coccidiosis in Poultry
Immunity Studies on Eimeria Tenella Infection in Chickens in Relation to Sulfaquinoxaline Therapy
Cognitive abilities in preterm and term-born adolescents
Objective To investigate the influence of a range of prenatal and postnatal factors on cognitive development in preterm and term-born adolescents. Study design Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities were used to assess general intellectual ability and 6 broad cognitive abilities in 145 young adolescents aged approximately 12.5 years and born 25-41 weeks gestational age (GA). To study potential links between neurophysiologic and cognitive outcomes, corticomotor excitability was measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation and surface electromyography. The influence of various prenatal and postnatal factors on cognitive development was investigated using relative importance regression modeling. Results Adolescents with greater GA tended to have better cognitive abilities (particularly general intellectual abil- ity, working memory, and cognitive efficiency) and higher corticomotor excitability. Corticomotor excitability ex- plained a higher proportion of the variance in cognitive outcome than GA. But the strongest predictors of cognitive outcome were combinations of prenatal and postnatal factors, particularly degree of social disadvantage at the time of birth, birthweight percentile, and height at assessment.Conclusions In otherwise neurologically healthy adolescents, GA accounts for little interindividual variability in cognitive abilities. The association between corticomotor excitability and cognitive performance suggests that reduced connectivity, potentially associated with brain microstructural abnormalities, may contribute to cognitive deficits in preterm children. It remains to be determined if the effects of low GA on cognitive outcomes attenuate over childhood in favor of a concomitant increase in the relative importance of heritability, or alternatively, if cognitive development is more heavily influenced by the quality of the postnatal environment. (J Pediatr 2014;165:170-7) .Luke A. Schneider, Nicholas R. Burns, Lynne C. Giles, Ryan D. Higgins, Theodore J. Nettelbeck, Michael C. Ridding, and Julia B. Pitche
Entrepreneurial education: reflexive approaches to entrepreneurial learning in practice
Even though entrepreneurial education is quite a new phenomenon in higher education, as a field of inquiry it is one of the most rapidly growing areas of research However there is a wide spread consensus that traditional pedagogical methods of learning alone are insufficient to adequately develop entrepreneurs to deal with the complexities of running and creating innovating business opportunities. There is a wide spread consensus that traditional pedagogical âinstructional methodsâ alone are insufficient to adequately develop entrepreneurs to deal with the complexities of running and creating business opportunities. As a consequence there is a growing need to cultivate innovative ways of thinking and new modes of pedagogy to fully enhance and develop entrepreneurial approaches to education and learning. It is argued that traditional approaches to entrepreneurial education tend to ignore, and not address, the ambiguities and uncertainties which surround the entrepreneurial process. The historical pre-occupation with an individualistic approach to entrepreneurial learning has continued to marginalise and de-value the broader social context in which the entrepreneur functions, (Goss, 2005). Current writing on entrepreneurial learning has shifted attention towards âlearning forâ as opposed to âlearning aboutâ entrepreneurship. The authors adopt a social constructionist perspective which draws recognition to the importance of inter-subjective knowledge exchange as a means of developing entrepreneurial learning. While there are numerous approaches to a social constructionist paradigm, the critical features of the perspective provide the manner by which âweâ come to experience the social world. The approach suggests towards developing a pedagogical approach which explores the social processes that constitute entrepreneurial undertakings and thus shifts the focus away from the traditional positivist approaches to entrepreneurial learning. The paper seeks to contribute to a growing need to cultivate innovating ways of thinking, diverse skills and new modes of behaviour to fully enhance and develop entrepreneurial approaches to education. The paper sets out to address this problem by examining the role reflexivity can play in entrepreneurial education, as a method of critiquing what it means to practice as an entrepreneur
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