What’s Driving Food Prices in 2011?

Agricultural Finance, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Laser action from a terbium beta-ketoenolate at room temperature

Laser activity is achieved in a solution of terbium tris at room temperature in a liquid solvent of acetonitrile or p-dioxane. After precipitation, the microcrystals of hydrated tris chelate are filtered, washed in distilled water, and dried. They show no signs of deterioration after storage

Barriers to reporting non-motor symptoms to health-care providers in people with Parkinson's

Background: Non-motor symptoms (NMS) are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and cause significant distress. A high rate of non-declaration of NMS by patients to healthcare providers (HCP) means that many NMS remain untreated. Current understanding of the factors preventing disclosure of NMS to HCPs is limited. The present study aimed to i) further assess the prevalence of NMS and associated distress, ii) establish current rates of NMS reporting across a range of sources, and iii) explore overall and any symptom specific barriers to help-seeking for NMS. Methods: 358 PD patients completed a cross-sectional survey of NMS severity, reporting and barriers to help-seeking. A series of Generalised Estimating Equations were used to determine whether barriers were symptom specific. Results: A mean of 10.5 NMS were reported by each patient. Rates of non-reporting of NMS ranged from 15 to 72% of those experiencing distressing symptoms. The most commonly reported barriers to help-seeking were acceptance of symptoms; lack of awareness that a symptom was associated with PD, and belief that no effective treatments were available. Symptom specific barriers were found for sexual dysfunction (embarrassment), unexplained pain and urinary problems (belief about lack of treatment availability). Conclusion: A diverse range of barriers prevent PD patients reporting NMS to HCPs and these barriers differ between NMS. The study provides the foundations for developing interventions to increase reporting by targeting individual NMS. Increasing rates of help-seeking for NMS by patients to their Parkinson's healthcare providers will increase appropriate clinical care which may improve quality of life and well-being

Cytochrome b6 from isolated cytochrome b6f complexes Evidence for two spectral forms with different midpoint potentials

AbstractCytochrome b6 from spinach chloroplasts (either within the purified cytochrome b6f complex, or in its isolated form) exhibits two spectral species, which correspond to two midpoint potentials. This can be demonstrated by low temperature difference spectroscopy at fixed redox potentials. The high potential form of cytochrome b6 has a split α-peak at 557.5 and 561.5 nm, the low potential form has a symmetrical α-peak at 560.5 nm. Similar results were obtained with cytochrome b6 in the isolated cytochrome b6f complex from the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis

Extended Molecular Gas in the Nearby Starburst Galaxy Maffei 2

We present a 9'x9' fully-sampled map of the CO J=1-0 emission in the nearby starburst galaxy Maffei 2 obtained at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory. The map reveals previously known strong CO emission in the central starburst region as well as an extended asymmetric distribution with bright CO lines at the ends of the bar and in a feature at the north-east edge of the molecular disk. This northern feature, proposed previously to be an interacting companion galaxy, could be a dwarf irregular galaxy, although the CO data are also consistent with the feature being simply an extension of one of the spiral arms. We estimate the total molecular gas mass of Maffei 2 to be (1.4-1.7)x10^9 Mo or ~3-4% of its dynamical mass. Adopting the recently determined lower value for the CO-to-H2 conversion factor in the central region, our data lead to the surprising result that the largest concentrations of molecular gas in Maffei 2 lie at the bar ends and in the putative dwarf companion rather than in the central starburst. A gravitational stability analysis reveals that the extended disk of Maffei 2 lies above the critical density for star formation; however, whether the central region is also gravitationally unstable depends both on the details of the rotation curve and the precise value of the CO-to-H2 conversion factor in this region.Comment: accepted to ApJ (Sept 10 2004 issue

Prioritising target non-pharmacological interventions for research in Parkinson’s Disease: Achieving consensus from key stakeholders

Background: In 2014 Parkinson’s UK conducted a research prioritisation exercise with stakeholders highlighting important clinical research questions. The exercise highlighted the need for effective interventions to be developed and tested to tackle a range of non-motor symptoms including: sleep quality, stress and anxiety, mild cognitive impairment, dementia and urinary problems. The present work set out to build on this exercise by prioritising types of non-pharmacological interventions to be tested to treat the identified non-motor symptoms. Methods: A Patient and Public Involvement Exercise was used to reach consensus on intervention priorities for the treatment on non-motor symptoms. Some Delphi techniques were also used to support the feedback collected. A first-round prioritisation survey was conducted followed by a panel discussion. Nineteen panellists completed the first-round survey (9 people with Parkinson’s and 10 professionals working in Parkinson’s) and 16 participated in the panel discussion (8 people with Parkinson’s and 8 professionals working in Parkinson’s). A second-round prioritization survey was conducted after the panel discussion with 13 people with Parkinson’s. Results: Physical activity, third wave cognitive therapies and cognitive training were rated as priority interventions for the treatment of a range of non-motor symptoms. There was broad agreement on intervention priorities between health care professionals and people with Parkinson’s. A consensus was reached that research should focus on therapies which could be used to treat several different non-motor symptoms. In the context of increasing digitisation, the need for human interaction as an intervention component was highlighted.3 Conclusion: Bringing together Parkinson’s professionals and people with Parkinson’sresulted in a final treatment priority list which should be both feasible to carry out in routine clinical practice and acceptable to both professionals and people with Parkinson’s. The workshop further specified research priorities in Parkinson’s disease based on the current evidence base, stakeholder preferences, and feasibility. Research should focus on developing and testing non-pharmacological treatments which could be effective across a range of symptoms but specifically focusing on tailored physical activity interventions, cognitive therapies and cognitive training

Spatial Effects of the Social Marketing of Insecticide-Treated Nets on Malaria Morbidity.

Randomized controlled trials have shown that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) have an impact on both malaria morbidity and mortality. Uniformly high coverage of ITNs characterized these trials and this resulted in some protection of nearby non-users of ITNs. We have now assessed the coverage, distribution pattern and resultant spatial effects in one village in Tanzania where ITNs were distributed in a social marketing programme. The prevalence of parasitaemia, mild anaemia (Hb <11 g/dl) and moderate/severe anaemia (Hb <8 g/dl) in children under five was assessed cross-sectionally. Data on ownership of ITNs were collected and inhabitants' houses were mapped. One year after the start of the social marketing programme, 52% of the children were using a net which had been treated at least once. The ITNs were rather homogeneously distributed throughout the village at an average density of about 118 ITNs per thousand population. There was no evidence of a pattern in the distribution of parasitaemia and anaemia cases, but children living in areas of moderately high ITN coverage were about half as likely to have moderate/severe anaemia (OR 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.9) and had lower prevalence of splenomegaly, irrespective of their net use. No protective effects of coverage were found for prevalence of mild anaemia nor for parasitaemia. The use of untreated nets had neither coverage nor short distance effects. More efforts should be made to ensure high coverage in ITNs programmes to achieve maximum benefit

Wilson ratio in Yb-substituted CeCoIn5

We have investigated the effect of Yb substitution on the Pauli limited, heavy fermion superconductor, CeCoIn$_5$. Yb acts as a non-magnetic divalent substituent for Ce throughout the entire doping range, equivalent to hole doping on the rare earth site. We found that the upper critical field in (Ce,Yb)CoIn$_5$ is Pauli limited, yet the reduced (H,T) phase diagram is insensitive to disorder, as expected in the purely orbitally limited case. We use the Pauli limiting field, the superconducting condensation energy and the electronic specific heat coefficient to determine the Wilson ratio ($R_{W}$), the ratio of the specific heat coefficient to the Pauli susceptibility in CeCoIn$_5$. The method is applicable to any Pauli limited superconductor in the clean limit.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 4 figure

Developing Effective Diabetes Programming for Black Men.

The purpose of this study is to obtain feedback from 20 men on developing effective programming to reduce the impact of diabetes (t2dm) among Black men. Three focus groups were convened in Des Moines, Iowa. Men were recruited, all either diagnosed with t2dm (n = 10), pre-diabetic (n = 1), or experienced t2dm through family and friends (n = 9). The results highlighted themes related to t2dm knowledge, masculinity, and behavioral health; gender-centered diabetes management education; and family support and functioning. Men provided recommendations for program format and content, desirable facilitator characteristics, and whether to include spouses/partners, relatives, and friends. These results provide guidance and ideas to nurses wishing to enhance t2dm education and patient outcomes for Black men

An exploration of worry content and catastrophic thinking in middle-aged and older-aged adults with and without Parkinson's disease

Objective: Worry is a common and distressing problem in Parkinson’s disease(PD). However, little is known about the nature and content of worry in PD and how it might differ to non-PD populations. The study aimed to explore the content and nature of worry in middle and older aged adults with and without PD. Method: 4 groups of participants: 20 PD patients(10 high worry, 10 low worry) 19 middle and older aged adults(10 high worry, 9 low worry) completed the Catastrophising Interview(CI) for three worry topics. Worriers were classified(high/low) based on Penn State Worry Questionnaire scores. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis. Results: High worriers showed a greater diversity of worry topics than low worriers. Health worries differentiated high and low worriers in the non-PD sample but were common across all PD participants. The CI revealed that the root concern of worry was often different to that initially described. In particular, PD high worriers were more likely to express underlying concerns about negative self-perception and death/severe incapacity. Conclusion: The CI was able to identify the root cause of worry, demonstrating the value of this technique in the exploration and treatment of worry and psychological distress. Exploring worry content may help to distinguish patients with problematic worry, with worries about self-perception and death/severe incapacity characteristic of high worriers. Therapeutic interventions designed to alleviate problematic worry and distress in PD need to take account of the realities of living with PD and the potentially realistic nature of worries which may appear catastrophic in a healthy population