Metagenomic analysis of nitrogen and methane cycling in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) are areas in the global ocean where oxygen concentrations drop to below one percent. Low oxygen concentrations allow alternative respiration with nitrate and nitrite as electron acceptor to become prevalent in these areas, making them main contributors to oceanic nitrogen loss. The contribution of anammox and denitrification to nitrogen loss seems to vary in different OMZs. In the Arabian Sea, both processes were reported. Here, we performed a metagenomics study of the upper and core zone of the Arabian Sea OMZ, to provide a comprehensive overview of the genetic potential for nitrogen and methane cycling. We propose that aerobic ammonium oxidation is carried out by a diverse community of Thaumarchaeota in the upper zone of the OMZ, whereas a low diversity of Scalindua-like anammox bacteria contribute significantly to nitrogen loss in the core zone. Aerobic nitrite oxidation in the OMZ seems to be performed by Nitrospina spp. and a novel lineage of nitrite oxidizing organisms that is present in roughly equal abundance as Nitrospina. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) can be carried out by yet unknown microorganisms harbouring a divergent nrfA gene. The metagenomes do not provide conclusive evidence for active methane cycling; however, a low abundance of novel alkane monooxygenase diversity was detected. Taken together, our approach confirmed the genomic potential for an active nitrogen cycle in the Arabian Sea and allowed detection of hitherto overlooked lineages of carbon and nitrogen cycle bacteria

How Trade and Investment Agreements Affect Bilateral Foreign Direct Investment: Results from a Structural Gravity Model

The paper develops a new stand-alone structural gravity model for explaining bilateral FDI patterns. We employ the model to analyse the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and other policies on bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI). We use the UNCTAD global database on bilateral FDI stocks and flows. To control for the heterogeneous nature of PTAs, we employ two different indicators of PTA depth. We find that on average signing a PTA increases bilateral FDI stocks by around 30%. Nevertheless, we also find that ‘deeper’ or comprehensive PTAs (e.g., including provisions on investment, public procurement and intellectual property rights provisions) do not have a significantly different impact than signing regular PTAs. Belonging to the EU single market, on the other hand, has a strong impact and increases bilateral FDI by around 135%, and signing a BIT has an effect that is comparable to signing a PTA

The effects of physical exercise on plasma levels of relaxin, NTproANP, and NTproBNP in patients with ischemic heart disease

The insulin-like and vasodilatatory polypeptide relaxin (RLX), formerly known as a pregnancy hormone, has gained interest as a potential humoral mediator in human heart failure. Controversy exists about the relation between plasma levels of RLX and the severity of heart failure. The present study was designed to determine the course of RLX, atrial, and brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP and NT-proBNP) during physical exercise in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and to relate hormone levels to peak cardiac power output (CPO) as a measure of cardiopulmonary function with prognostic relevance. 40 patients with IHD were studied during right-heart-catheterization at rest and during supine bicycle ergometry. RLX, NTproBNP, and NTproANP were determined before, during exercise, and after recovery. NT-proANP and NT-proBNP levels increased during maximal charge, and recovery while RLX levels decreased. Cardiac power output at maximal charge correlated inversely with NTproANP and NTproBNP but positively with RLX. Patients with high degree heart failure (CPO < 1.96 W) had higher NTproANP and NTproB-NP and lower RLX levels than patients with low degree heart failure. While confirming the role of NTproANP and NTproBNP as markers for the severity of heart failure, the present data do not support the concept that plasma levels of RLX are related to the severity of myocardial dysfunction and that systemic RLX acts as a compensatory vasodilatatory response hormone in ischemic heart disease

Psychosocial work characteristics associated with distress and intention to leave nursing education; a one-year follow-up study

Background: Dropout in later years of the nursing degree programme involves lost investment and is a particular problem for both students and educators. Reasons for late dropout seem to be related to the work and learning environment of the clinical placement. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between psychosocial work characteristics and distress and intention to leave nursing education among third-year nursing students. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting A Bachelor of Nursing programme of a University of Applied Sciences in [name country]. Participants: 363 third-year nursing students. Methods: Baseline and one-year follow-up measurements were used from a prospective cohort study. Third-year nursing students were invited annually in May between 2016 and 2018. Psychosocial work characteristics were psychological demands, supervisor and co-worker support, and acts of offensive behaviour. Logistic regression analyses were used to build multivariate models. Results: Frequent exposure to violence (OR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.29-4.92) was univariately associated with distress. In the multivariate model for distress, psychological demands (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.05-2.52) and frequent exposure to violence (OR = 3.02, 95% CI: 1.48-6.19) were associated with distress. Supervisor support (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.36-0.80) and co-worker support (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.24-0.72) were negatively associated with intention to leave (i.e. were protective) in the univariate model. In the adjusted multivariate model, only co-worker support (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.25-0.97) was a protective factor for an intention to leave. Conclusion: Psychological demands and frequent exposure to violence are risk factors for distress, and co-worker support is a protective factor reducing the intention to leave nursing education in the last stage of the programme. Improving the psychosocial working climate of nursing students may reduce the intention to leave at a late stage in nursing education, and hence actual late dropout

Biomarkers associated with delirium in critically ill patients and their relation with long-term subjective cognitive dysfunction; indications for different pathways governing delirium in inflamed and noninflamed patients

Introduction: Delirium occurs frequently in critically ill patients and is associated with disease severity and infection. Although several pathways for delirium have been described, biomarkers associated with delirium in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is not well studied. We examined plasma biomarkers in delirious and nondelirious patients and the role of these biomarkers on long-term cognitive function.Methods: In an exploratory observational study, we included 100 ICU patients with or without delirium and with ("inflamed”) and without ("noninflamed”) infection/systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Delirium was diagnosed by using the confusion-assessment method-ICU (CAM-ICU). Within 24 hours after the onset of delirium, blood was obtained for biomarker analysis. No differences in patient characteristics were found between deliriousand nondelirious patients. To determine associations between biomarkers and delirium, univariate and multivariatelogistic regression analyses were performed. Eighteen months after ICU discharge, a cognitive-failure questionnaire was distributed to the ICU survivors.Results: In total, 50 delirious and 50 nondelirious patients were included. We found that IL-8, MCP-1, procalcitonin (PCT), cortisol, and S100-b were significantly associated with delirium in inflamed patients (n = 46). In the noninflamed group of patients (n = 54), IL-8, IL-1ra, IL-10 ratio Ab1-42/40, and ratio AbN-42/40 were significantly associated with delirium. In multivariate regression analysis, IL-8 was independently associated (odds ratio, 9.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8 to 44.0) with delirium in inflamed patients and IL-10 (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.1 to 5.9), and Ab1-42/40 (OR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.002 to 0.50) with delirium in noninflamed patients. Furthermore, levels of several amyloid-b forms, but not human Tau or S100-b, were significantly correlated with self-reported cognitive impairment 18 months after ICU discharge, whereas inflammatory markers were not correlated to impaired longterm cognitive function.Conclusions: In inflamed patients, the proinflammatory cytokine IL-8 was associated with delirium, whereas in noninflamed patients, antiinflammatory cytokine IL-10 and Ab1-42/40 were associated with delirium. This suggests that the underlying mechanism governing the development of delirium in inflamed patients differs from that in noninflamed patients. Finally, elevated levels of amyloid-b correlated with long-term subjective cognitive-impairment delirium may represent the first sign of a (subclinical) dementia process. Future studies must confirm these results

Improving mental health of student and novice nurses to prevent dropout:A systematic review

Aims: To provide: (a) an overview of interventions aimed at improving mental health of student or novice nurses; and (b) an evaluation of their effectiveness on dropout-related outcomes. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Research papers published between January 1971–February 2019 were identified from the following databases: Embase, Medline, PsycInfo, CINAHL, ERIC, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Review methods: We followed the procedures recommended by the Editorial Board of the Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group. We included peer-reviewed articles with a quantitative research design, examining interventions aimed at improving mental health of student and novice nurses and their effect on dropout-related outcomes. The large variation in studies prohibited statistical pooling and a synthesis without meta-analysis of studies was performed. Results: We identified 21 studies with three areas of focus: managing stress or stressors (N = 4); facilitating the transition to nursing practice (N = 14); and a combined approach (N = 3). Five studies showed a statistically significant effect on dropout-related outcomes. The overall risk of bias was high. Conclusion: A wide range of interventions are available, but the evidence for their effectiveness is limited. There is a need for high-quality studies in this field, preferably with a randomized controlled design

Total Reaction Cross Section in an Isospin-Dependent Quantum Molecular Dynamics (IDQMD) Model

The isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics (IDQMD) model is used to study the total reaction cross section $\sigma_R$. The energy-dependent Pauli volumes of neutrons and protons have been discussed and introduced into the IDQMD calculation to replace the widely used energy-independent Pauli volumes. The modified IDQMD calculation can reproduce the experimental $\sigma_R$ well for both stable and exotic nuclei induced reactions. Comparisons of the calculated $\sigma_R$ induced by $^{11}Li$ with different initial density distributions have been performed. It is shown that the calculation by using the experimentally deduced density distribution with a long tail can fit the experimental excitation function better than that by using the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock calculated density without long tails. It is also found that $\sigma_R$ at high energy is sensitive to the long tail of density distribution.Comment: 4 page, 4 fig

Formula for proton-nucleus reaction cross section at intermediate energies and its application

We construct a formula for proton-nucleus total reaction cross section as a function of the mass and neutron excess of the target nucleus and the proton incident energy. We deduce the dependence of the cross section on the mass number and the proton incident energy from a simple argument involving the proton optical depth within the framework of a black sphere approximation of nuclei, while we describe the neutron excess dependence by introducing the density derivative of the symmetry energy, L, on the basis of a radius formula constructed from macroscopic nuclear models. We find that the cross section formula can reproduce the energy dependence of the cross section measured for stable nuclei without introducing any adjustable energy dependent parameter. We finally discuss whether or not the reaction cross section is affected by an extremely low density tail of the neutron distribution for halo nuclei.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, added reference

G0^0 Electronics and Data Acquisition (Forward-Angle Measurements)

The G$^0$ parity-violation experiment at Jefferson Lab (Newport News, VA) is designed to determine the contribution of strange/anti-strange quark pairs to the intrinsic properties of the proton. In the forward-angle part of the experiment, the asymmetry in the cross section was measured for $\vec{e}p$ elastic scattering by counting the recoil protons corresponding to the two beam-helicity states. Due to the high accuracy required on the asymmetry, the G$^0$ experiment was based on a custom experimental setup with its own associated electronics and data acquisition (DAQ) system. Highly specialized time-encoding electronics provided time-of-flight spectra for each detector for each helicity state. More conventional electronics was used for monitoring (mainly FastBus). The time-encoding electronics and the DAQ system have been designed to handle events at a mean rate of 2 MHz per detector with low deadtime and to minimize helicity-correlated systematic errors. In this paper, we outline the general architecture and the main features of the electronics and the DAQ system dedicated to G$^0$ forward-angle measurements.Comment: 35 pages. 17 figures. This article is to be submitted to NIM section A. It has been written with Latex using \documentclass{elsart}. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment In Press (2007