The use of online support by people with intellectual disabilities living independently during COVID‐19

Background During the COVID-19 outbreak, service providers in the Netherlands had to switch towards providing remote support for people with intellectual disabilities living independently. This study aims to provide insight into the use of online support during the outbreak. Methods We analysed quantitative data on planned and unplanned contacts between the online support service DigiContact and its service users. Results The results indicate that the COVID-19 outbreak and the related containment measures had a strong impact on online support use, specifically on the unplanned use of online support. Conclusion Offering online support as a standard component of services for independently living people with intellectual disability enables service providers to be flexible and responsive towards fluctuations in both support needs and onsite support availability during a social crisis such as COVID-19

Adverse drug reactions reported to a provincial public health sector pharmacovigilance programme in South Africa

Background. There are limited data in South Africa (SA) on adverse drug reaction (ADR) patterns and common causative medicines, outside of HIV and tuberculosis treatment programmes. In SA, Western Cape Province has a pharmacovigilance programme that collects spontaneous reports of suspected ADRs from public sector healthcare facilities.Objectives. To describe reports received by the pharmacovigilance programme over a 4-year period (excluding those ascribed to medicines used to treat HIV and tuberculosis), as well as challenges faced in the implementation of such a system.Methods. Reports of suspected ADRs and deaths possibly related to ADRs received between January 2015 and December 2018 were reviewed. Causality was assessed by a pharmacist, with multidisciplinary team involvement for all deaths and complicated cases. Causality was categorised according to the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system. Preventability was assessed using Schumock and Thornton criteria. Observations on preventability and challenges faced in the operation of a spontaneous reporting system were also noted.Results. We received 5 346 reports containing 6 023 suspected ADRs. There were 5 486 ADRs confirmed after causality assessment, in 5 103 reports. Cough, angio-oedema, movement disorders and uterine bleeding disorders were the most common ADRs. Enalapril, etonogestrel, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide were the most commonly implicated drugs. Seven deaths were reported; 3 of these reports of deaths had confirmed ADRs, and these ADRs were assessed as contributing to the deaths. Approximately 3.8% of commonly reported ADRs were preventable.Conclusions. Enalapril and etonogestrel were responsible for a significant proportion of ADRs reported to this provincial programme. Future work should include quantification of preventability aspects to better inform gaps in healthcare worker knowledge that can be addressed in order to improve patient care

What do near-term observations tell us about long-term developments in greenhouse gas emissions? A letter

Long-term scenarios developed by integrated assessment models are used in climate research to provide an indication of plausible long-term emissions of greenhouse gases and other radiatively active substances based on developments in the global energy system, land-use and the emissions associated with these systems The phenomena that determine these long-term developments (several decades or even centuries) are very different than those that operate on a shorter time-scales (a few years) Nevertheless, in the literature, we still often find direct comparisons between short-term observations and long-term developments that do not take into account the differing dynamics over these time scales In this letter, we discuss some of the differences between the factors that operate in the short term and those that operate in the long term We use long-term historical emissions trends to show that short-term observations are very poor indicators of long-term future emissions developments Based on this, we conclude that the performance of long-term scenarios should be evaluated against the appropriate, corresponding long-term variables and trends The research community may facilitate this by developing appropriate data sets and protocols that can be used to test the performance of long-term scenarios and the models that produce the

Intra-Annual Variation in the Stable Oxygen and Carbon and Trace Element Composition of Sclerosponges

This paper presents data to support the presence of (1) intra-annual signals in the chemical composition (δ18O and Sr/Ca) of the skeletons ofsclerosponges from the Bahamas and (2) variable rates of skeletal accretion. These conclusions are based on data obtained by using a microsampling method for the stable oxygen and carbon isotopes in which material was extracted at a resolution of one sample every 34 μm and a laser microprobe which obtained trace element data every 20 μm (Sr, Mg, and Pb). An age model was established using a combination of changes in the concentration of Pb, the change in the δ13C of the skeleton of the sclerosponges, and U/Th isotopic measurements. These methods yield a mean growth rate of 220 μm/yr but suggest that the growth rate in this particular sclerosponge was not constant. The calculated growth rate is within error identical to that determined by U/Th methods. The variable growth rate was confirmed through spectral analysis of the δ18O and Sr/Ca data that showed peaks corresponding to the annual cycle in these parameters as well as peaks corresponding to growth rates of approximately 128, 212, 270, and 400 μm/yr. The presence of these additional frequencies suggests a growth rate between approximately 100 and 300 μm/yr. These conclusions were supported by modeling of oxygen isotopic data measured on a scleractinian coral as well as model isotope data generated on synthetic time series. These findings have important implications for the use of sclerosponges as proxies of paleoclimate because they emphasize the need for a precise yearly chronology in order that proxy data can be compared with climatic variables. Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union

Monitoring of the medication distribution and the refrigeration temperature in a pharmacy based on internet of things (IoT) technology

Abstract: For the past 15 years since its appearance, Internet of Things (IoT) technology has been leading the planet towards a smart world where all devices and physical objects, referred to as “things”, will be connected via electronic sensors through the Internet. The distribution of medication to patients at a pharmacy in certain regions is still very traditional and outdated. Patients wait for a long time in queues to receive their medications, this is mostly due to the absence of an efficient distribution system. Also, the refrigeration temperature within several pharmacies is a huge problem, as medications must be kept at a constant temperature for an optimal results..

Soft-core hyperon-nucleon potentials

A new Nijmegen soft-core OBE potential model is presented for the low-energy YN interactions. Besides the results for the fit to the scattering data, which largely defines the model, we also present some applications to hypernuclear systems using the G-matrix method. An important innovation with respect to the original soft-core potential is the assignment of the cut-off masses for the baryon-baryon-meson (BBM) vertices in accordance with broken SU(3)$_F$, which serves to connect the NN and the YN channels. As a novel feature, we allow for medium strong breaking of the coupling constants, using the $^3P_0$ model with a Gell-Mann--Okubo hypercharge breaking for the BBM coupling. We present six hyperon-nucleon potentials which describe the available YN cross section data equally well, but which exhibit some differences on a more detailed level. The differences are constructed such that the models encompass a range of scattering lengths in the $\Sigma N$ and $\Lambda N$ channels. For the scalar-meson mixing angle we obtained values $\theta_S=37$ to 40 degrees, which points to almost ideal mixing angles for the scalar $q\bar{q}$ states. The G-matrix results indicate that the remarkably different spin-spin terms of the six potentials appear specifically in the energy spectra of $\Lambda$ hypernuclei.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figure

Structural insights into Legionella RidL-Vps29 retromer subunit interaction reveal displacement of the regulator TBC1D5

Legionella pneumophila can cause Legionnaires’ disease and replicates intracellularly in a distinct Legionella-containing vacuole (LCV). LCV formation is a complex process that involves a plethora of type IV-secreted effector proteins. The effector RidL binds the Vps29 retromer subunit, blocks retrograde vesicle trafficking, and promotes intracellular bacterial replication. Here, we reveal that the 29-kDa N-terminal domain of RidL (RidL2–281) adopts a “foot-like” fold comprising a protruding β-hairpin at its “heel”. The deletion of the β-hairpin, the exchange to Glu of Ile170 in the β-hairpin, or Leu152 in Vps29 abolishes the interaction in eukaryotic cells and in vitro. RidL2–281 or RidL displace the Rab7 GTPase-activating protein (GAP) TBC1D5 from the retromer and LCVs, respectively, and TBC1D5 promotes the intracellular growth of L. pneumophila. Thus, the hydrophobic β-hairpin of RidL is critical for binding of the L. pneumophila effector to the Vps29 retromer subunit and displacement of the regulator TBC1D5

Regge description of two pseudoscalar meson production in antiproton-proton annihilation

A Regge-inspired model is used to discuss the hard exclusive two-body hadronic reactions (pbar p ----> pi+ pi-, pi0 pi0, K+ K-, Kbar0 K0) for the FAIR facility project at GSI with the Panda detector. The comparison between the differential cross sections predictions and the available data is shown to determine the values of the few parameters of the model.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure

The role of growth atmosphere on the structural and optical quality of defect free ZnO films for strong ultraviolet emission

Highly c-axis oriented wurtzite structured ZnO thin films were deposited on silicon substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) by ablating a ZnO target in different atmospheres, including vacuum, argon and oxygen in the deposition chamber. The stress in the films was shown to vary from −3.83 to −0.03 GPa as a function of the chamber atmosphere. The minimum compressive stress (−0.03 GPa) was observed for the oxygen atmosphere. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicated that the O1s peak consists of three components designated as O1 (due to ZnO), O2 (due to defects) and O3 (due to adsorbed species). A small defect level emission was obtained in the luminescence spectra of the ZnO film deposited in the oxygen atmosphere, while strong ultraviolet (UV) emission was observed for the ZnO films deposited in the vacuum and argon atmosphere. These PLD grown ZnO thin films have the potential to be used as sources of UV radiation in light emitting devices.The authors want to thank to the National Laser Centre, CSIR, Pretoria for providing pulsed laser deposition technique. This work is based on the research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The PL system used in this study is supported both technically and financially by the rental pool programme of the National Laser Centre. The financial support from the Cluster program of the University of the Free State is highly recognized.Highly c-axis oriented wurtzite structured ZnO thin films were deposited on silicon substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) by ablating a ZnO target in different atmospheres, including vacuum, argon and oxygen in the deposition chamber. The stress in the films was shown to vary from −3.83 to −0.03 GPa as a function of the chamber atmosphere. The minimum compressive stress (−0.03 GPa) was observed for the oxygen atmosphere. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicated that the O1s peak consists of three components designated as O1 (due to ZnO), O2 (due to defects) and O3 (due to adsorbed species). A small defect level emission was obtained in the luminescence spectra of the ZnO film deposited in the oxygen atmosphere, while strong ultraviolet (UV) emission was observed for the ZnO films deposited in the vacuum and argon atmosphere. These PLD grown ZnO thin films have the potential to be used as sources of UV radiation in light emitting devices