Collision Dynamics and Solvation of Water Molecules in a Liquid Methanol Film

Environmental molecular beam experiments are used to examine water interactions with liquid methanol films at temperatures from 170 K to 190 K. We find that water molecules with 0.32 eV incident kinetic energy are efficiently trapped by the liquid methanol. The scattering process is characterized by an efficient loss of energy to surface modes with a minor component of the incident beam that is inelastically scattered. Thermal desorption of water molecules has a well characterized Arrhenius form with an activation energy of 0.47{\pm}0.11 eV and pre-exponential factor of 4.6 {\times} 10^(15{\pm}3) s^(-1). We also observe a temperature dependent incorporation of incident water into the methanol layer. The implication for fundamental studies and environmental applications is that even an alcohol as simple as methanol can exhibit complex and temperature dependent surfactant behavior.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Intra-sexual competition alters the relationship between testosterone and ornament expression in a wild territorial bird

Open Access funded by Natural Environment Research Council Under a Creative Commons licensePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Spectrally-resolved UV photodesorption of CH4 in pure and layered ices

Context. Methane is among the main components of the ice mantles of insterstellar dust grains, where it is at the start of a rich solid-phase chemical network. Quantification of the photon-induced desorption yield of these frozen molecules and understanding of the underlying processes is necessary to accurately model the observations and the chemical evolution of various regions of the interstellar medium. Aims. This study aims at experimentally determining absolute photodesorption yields for the CH4 molecule as a function of photon energy. The influence of the ice composition is also investigated. By studying the methane desorption from layered CH4:CO ice, indirect desorption processes triggered by the excitation of the CO molecules is monitored and quantified. Methods. Tunable monochromatic VUV light from the DESIRS beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron is used in the 7 - 13.6 eV (177 - 91 nm) range to irradiate pure CH4 or layers of CH4 deposited on top of CO ice samples. The release of species in the gas phase is monitored by quadrupole mass spectrometry and absolute photodesorption yields of intact CH4 are deduced. Results. CH4 photodesorbs for photon energies higher than ~9.1 eV (~136 nm). The photodesorption spectrum follows the absorption spectrum of CH4, which confirms a desorption mechanism mediated by electronic transitions in the ice. When it is deposited on top of CO, CH4 desorbs between 8 and 9 eV with a pattern characteristic of CO absorption, indicating desorption induced by energy transfer from CO molecules. Conclusions. The photodesorption of CH4 from the pure ice in various interstellar environments is around 2.0 x 10^-3 molecules per incident photon. Results on CO-induced indirect desorption of CH4 provide useful insights for the generalization of this process to other molecules co-existing with CO in ice mantles

Exploring the financial impact of caring for family members receiving palliative and end-of-life care: A systematic review of the literature

Background: Research regarding the economic dimensions of palliative care is relatively limited. The economic implications of providing informal care are well recognised; however, within the context of palliative care, little is known about the costs and implications of providing care for a loved one at the end of life. Aim: To explore the financial costs and the financial impact of caring for family members receiving palliative/end-of-life care. Design: A systematic literature review of empirical research following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Data Sources: Seven electronic databases were searched from inception to April 2012. Inclusion criteria were as follows: articles relating to the financial costs or implications of family caregiving at the end-of-life care, English language articles, empirical research or systematic reviews and articles relating to adults. Results: The review identified 21 relevant articles; however, evidence relating to the costs and implications of caregiving was relatively limited. The results indicate that the financial costs of caring for someone at the end of life are substantial. Financial costs can result in significant and multidimensional caregiver burden. Various factors were found to mediate the extent of financial burden. Conclusions: This review identified a significant gap in the evidence base regarding the economic implications of providing care to a family member within a palliative care context. Economic costs and implications are likely to be significant, and research to address this gap is urgently needed, particularly given policy initiatives in a number of developed countries to move the provision of palliative and end-of-life care from hospital to community settings

Methanol ice co-desorption as a mechanism to explain cold methanol in the gas-phase

Context. Methanol is formed via surface reactions on icy dust grains. Methanol is also detected in the gas-phase at temperatures below its thermal desorption temperature and at levels higher than can be explained by pure gas-phase chemistry. The process that controls the transition from solid state to gas-phase methanol in cold environments is not understood. Aims. The goal of this work is to investigate whether thermal CO desorption provides an indirect pathway for methanol to co-desorb at low temperatures. Methods. Mixed CH₃OH:CO/CH₄ ices were heated under ultra-high vacuum conditions and ice contents are traced using RAIRS (reflection absorption IR spectroscopy), while desorbing species were detected mass spectrometrically. An updated gas-grain chemical network was used to test the impact of the results of these experiments. The physical model used is applicable for TW Hya, a protoplanetary disk in which cold gas-phase methanol has recently been detected. Results. Methanol release together with thermal CO desorption is found to be an ineffective process in the experiments, resulting in an upper limit of ≤ 7.3 × 10−7 CH₃OH molecules per CO molecule over all ice mixtures considered. Chemical modelling based on the upper limits shows that co-desorption rates as low as 10−6 CH₃OH molecules per CO molecule are high enough to release substantial amounts of methanol to the gas-phase at and around the location of the CO thermal desorption front in a protoplanetary disk. The impact of thermal co-desorption of CH₃OH with CO as a grain-gas bridge mechanism is compared with that of UV induced photodesorption and chemisorption

Readability following cultural and linguistic adaptations of an Internet-based Intervention for Tinnitus for use in the United States

Purpose: An Internet-based tinnitus intervention for use in the United States could improve the provision of tinnitus-related services. Although such interventions have undergone clinical trials in Europe, the UK, and Australia, their suitability for adults with tinnitus in the US has not been established. The aim of this study was to improve the cultural and linguistic suitability, and lower the readability level, of an existing program for tinnitus to ensure its suitability for US English-and Spanish-speaking populations. Method: Guidelines for cultural adaptation were followed and involved four phases: (i) cultural adaptations, as interventions targeted at specific cultures have been shown to improve outcomes; (ii) creating Spanish materials to improve access of the materials to the large Spanish-speaking population in the US; (iii) professional review of the materials for acceptability as an intervention tool for a US population; and (iv) literacy level adjustments to make the content accessible to those with lower levels of health literacy skills. Results: Cultural adaptations were made by using word substitutions, changing examples and modifying the spelling of certain words. The materials were then translated into Spanish and cross-checked. Professional review ensured suitability of the chapters. Literacy level adjustments ensured all chapters were within the guidelines for readability grade levels below the 6th-grade level. Conclusions: The previously developed tinnitus materials were revised to adhere to best practice guidelines and ensure cultural suitability for adults with tinnitus in the US. As it is also available in Spanish, members of the large Hispanic community also have access to the intervention in their first language. Further studies should determine whether these changes improve patients’ self-efficacy, engagement, and motivation to complete the intervention

Variation in beliefs about 'fracking' between the UK and US

In decision-making on the politically-contentious issue of unconventional gas development, the UK Government and European Commission are attempting to learn from the US experience. Although economic, environmental, and health impacts and regulatory contexts have been compared cross-nationally, public perceptions and their antecedents have not. We conducted similar online panel surveys of national samples of UK and US residents simultaneously in September 2014 to compare public perceptions and beliefs affecting such perceptions. The US sample was more likely to associate positive impacts with development (i.e., production of clean energy, cheap energy, and advancing national energy security). The UK sample was more likely to associate negative impacts (i.e., water contamination, higher carbon emissions, and earthquakes). Multivariate analyses reveal divergence cross-nationally in the relationship between beliefs about impacts and support/opposition – especially for beliefs about energy security. People who associated shale gas development with increased energy security in the UK were over three times more likely to support development than people in the US with this same belief. We conclude with implications for policy and communication, discussing communication approaches that could be successful cross-nationally and policy foci to which the UK might need to afford more attention in its continually evolving regulatory environment

Multimodal population brain imaging in the UK Biobank prospective epidemiological study

Medical imaging has enormous potential for early disease prediction, but is impeded by the difficulty and expense of acquiring data sets before symptom onset. UK Biobank aims to address this problem directly by acquiring high-quality, consistently acquired imaging data from 100,000 predominantly healthy participants, with health outcomes being tracked over the coming decades. The brain imaging includes structural, diffusion and functional modalities. Along with body and cardiac imaging, genetics, lifestyle measures, biological phenotyping and health records, this imaging is expected to enable discovery of imaging markers of a broad range of diseases at their earliest stages, as well as provide unique insight into disease mechanisms. We describe UK Biobank brain imaging and present results derived from the first 5,000 participants' data release. Although this covers just 5% of the ultimate cohort, it has already yielded a rich range of associations between brain imaging and other measures collected by UK Biobank

Environmental occurrence, analysis, and toxicology of toxaphene compounds.

Toxaphene production, in quantities similar to those of polychlorinated biphenyls, has resulted in high toxaphene levels in fish from the Great Lakes and in Arctic marine mammals (up to 10 and 16 microg g-1 lipid). Because of the large variabiliity in total toxaphene data, few reliable conclusions can be drawn about trends or geographic differences in toxaphene concentrations. New developments in mass spectrometric detection using either negative chemical ionization or electron impact modes as well as in multidimensional gas chromatography recently have led researchers to suggest congener-specific approaches. Recently, several nomenclature systems have been developed for toxaphene compounds. Although all systems have specific advantages and limitations, it is suggested that an international body such as the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry make an attempt to obtain uniformity in the literature. Toxicologic information on individual chlorobornanes is scarce, but some reports have recently appeared. Neurotoxic effects of toxaphene exposure such as those on behavior and learning have been reported. Technical toxaphene and some individual congeners were found to be weakly estrogenic in in vitro test systems; no evidence for endocrine effects in vivo has been reported. In vitro studies show technical toxaphene and toxaphene congeners to be mutagenic. However, in vivo studies have not shown genotoxicity; therefore, a nongenotoxic mechanism is proposed. Nevertheless, toxaphene is believed to present a potential carcinogenic risk to humans. Until now, only Germany has established a legal tolerance level for toxaphene--0.1 mg kg-1 wet weight for fish

The effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for those with bulimic symptoms:a systematic review : A review of iCBT treatment for bulimic symptoms

Abstract Objective This review looked at internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) as a possible treatment for patients with bulimic symptoms. CBT has been established as an effective treatment; however, waiting lists lead to delayed initiation of treatment. iCBT is a possible delivery method to combat this. Medline, EMBASE and PsycInfo were searched for controlled trials using iCBT as a treatment for patients with bulimia nervosa (BN), subthreshold BN or ‘eating disorders not otherwise specified’ with bulimic characteristics (EDNOS-BN). The literature search returned 482 papers. 5 met the review criteria and were compared in characteristics, methodological quality and outcomes. Outcomes were analysed by calculation of effect sizes; iCBT was evaluated on reduction in binge eating and purging post treatment and at follow-up. Results Participants were mostly female with an average age range of 23.7–31 years. 4 studies demonstrated good methodological quality. 1 did not report all of the outcome data, increasing the likelihood of bias. Only 1 study showed widespread benefit over waiting list controls. iCBT was shown to reduce behaviours but was not found to be superior to bibliotherapy or waiting list. Further large-scale studies are required to make conclusive recommendations