Superconducting and structural properties of plasma sprayed YBaCuO layers deposited on metallic substrates

The properties of plasma sprayed Y-Ba-Cu-O coatings deposited on metallic substrates are studied. Stainless steel, nickel steels and pure nickel are used as substrate. Y-Ba-Cu-O deposited on stainless steel and nickel steel reacts with the substrate. This interaction can be suppressed by using an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YsZ) diffusion barrier. However, after heat treatment the Y-Ba-Cu-O layers on YsZ show cracks perpendicular to the surface. As a result the critical current density is very low. The best results are obtained for Y-Ba-Cu-O deposited on pure nickel; here no cracks perpendicular to the surface are observed. The critical current increases with the anneal temperature but annealing for longer than 10 h does not seem to improve the superconducting properties any further

Radiologic Characteristics of Spinal Hemangioblastomas in von Hippel Lindau Disease as Guidance in Clinical Interventions

Objective: Hemangioblastomas in the central nervous system are the most common manifestation of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. Because the growth rate of hemangioblastomas is unpredictable, regular follow-up is mandatory, focusing on clinical symptoms and imaging of the central nervous system. However, clinical symptoms may be subtle and nonspecific, and data about the relationship between the radiologic findings and clinical symptoms are sparse. This study aims to evaluate if and how findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) regarding spinal hemangioblastomas are associated with symptoms of VHL disease, with special attention to peritumoral edema and spinal cysts. Methods: Serial spinal MRI scans of 43 genetically or clinically established VHL patients with at least 2 years of follow-up were reevaluated to examine the volume, growth rate, and location of spinal hemangioblastomas and the presence, size, and growth rate of peritumoral edema and cysts. Findings were compared with clinical symptoms using the Fisher exact test. Results: We observed a total of 77 spinal hemangioblastomas in 28 patients. Eight of the 28 patients showed peritumoral edema and spinal cysts, and 1 patient showed peritumoral edema without cyst formation; 6 of these 9 patients showed clinical symptoms. Both peritumoral edema and spinal cysts were associated with clinical symptoms (P = 0.023 and P = 0.011, respectively). Conclusions: The presence of peritumoral edema and/or spinal cysts shown on MRI in VHL patients with spinal hemangioblastomas is associated with symptoms in more than half of the patients and may alert the clinician to intensify clinical and radiologic surveillance.</p

The outcome of non-residential youth care compared to residential youth care: A multilevel meta-analysis

Objective: This multilevel meta-analysis compared the outcomes of Treatment Foster Care Oregon for Adolescents (TFCO-A) and home-based treatment programs (HBT) with residential youth care for children and youth aged 0 to 23 years. Methods: A total of 145 effect sizes for different types of behavioral problems were derived from 24 controlled studies (n = 16,943 participants). A three-level random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. Results: We found a small statistically significant overall effect (d = 0.21), 95% CI [0.090-0.338], which indicated that non-residential youth care was slightly more effective than residential youth care. However, moderator analysis revealed that TFCO-A yielded a larger effect size (d = 0.36) than HBT (d = 0.08). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that youth treated in treatment foster care have better outcomes than youth in residential care, which is not true for children who are treated at home. Therefore, in case of out-of-home placement treatment foster care should be the first option. Given that residential care has no additional value for youth who are treated a

Building, Reality, Caring: What Nurses in Three Australian Psychogeriatric Assessment Units Say about the Built Environment

Many people believe that ‘purpose-built’ facilities will diminish some of the challenging behaviours exhibited by older people with dementia or psychiatric conditions. This study aimed to explore and understand what hands-on nurses in psychogeriatric assessment units experience and think of the built environment as a part of their day to day work. Twenty-one unstructured interviews were conducted with nurses at three psychogeriatric assessment units. The units ranged in style from an ancient adapted building to a contemporary 'purpose-built' facility. A critical hermeneutics derived from Gadamer was used to explore the interviews. It found that nurses think of the built environment in relation to the care needs of their patients, and feel bureaucratic restrictions in using the built environment more keenly than the shortcomings of the built environment itself. Nurses saw themselves and their patients as 'outcasts' or victims of those with money and power. The study concludes with suggestions for challenging the status quo, but also considers that being regarded as 'outcasts' allows opportunities to avoid being overly impressed by technological marvels

Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns associated with sleep and mental health in children: a population-based study

Background: DNA methylation (DNAm) has been implicated in the biology of sleep. Yet, how DNAm patterns across the genome relate to different sleep outcomes, and whether these associations overlap with mental health is currently unknown. Here, we investigated associations of DNAm with sleep and mental health in a pediatric population. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 465 10-year-old children (51.3% female) from the Generation R Study. Genome-wide DNAm levels were measured using the Illumina 450K array (peripheral blood). Sleep problems were assessed from self-report and mental health outcomes from maternal questionnaires. Wrist actigraphy was used in 188 11-year-old children to calculate sleep duration and midpoint sleep. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was used to identify highly comethylated DNAm ‘modules’, which were tested for associations with sleep and mental health outcomes. Results: We identified 64 DNAm modules, one of which associated with sleep duration after covariate and multiple testing adjustment. This module included CpG sites spanning 9 genes on chromosome 17, including MAPT – a key regulator of Tau proteins in the brain involved in neuronal function – as well as genes previously implicated in sleep duration. Follow-up analyses suggested that DNAm variation in this region is under considerable genetic control and shows strong blood–brain concordance. DNAm modules associated with sleep did not overlap with those associated with mental health. Conclusions: We identified one DNAm region associated with sleep duration, including genes previously reported by recent GWAS studies. Further research is warranted to examine the functional role of this region and its longitudinal association with sleep