Sensitivity of bottom stress and bottom roughness estimates to density stratification, Eckernforde Bay, southern Baltic Sea

Thermohaline density stratification may significantly alter the classic near-bottom logarithmic velocity profile in many weak to moderately energetic, partially mixed estuaries. Results from Eckernforde Bay suggest fits to log profiles which neglect thermohaline stratification may lead to overestimates of bottom stress and roughness of the order of 130 % and 600 %, respectively. Measurements of velocity obtained at four heights within 1 m of the seabed are input to theoretical models for velocity shear derived via dimensional arguments for the \u27\u27overlap\u27\u27 layer. Previous investigators applying dimensional arguments to thermohaline stratification in estuaries have assumed buoyancy flux to be independent of height within the overlap layer. This may be a poor assumption since there is no significant source or sink of thermohaline buoyancy at the sediment-water interface. In this paper, dimensional arguments which do not assume constant buoyancy flux are used to reduce estimates of the drag coefficient and bottom roughness to below the unreasonably high values predicted by simple log profiles. Formulations assuming very weak and relatively strong stratification are applied, and estimates of buoyancy frequency derived from fits to velocity profiles are compared with independent estimates of stratification. Estimates of bottom stress and roughness derived from velocity profiles are also found to be sensitive to fluid acceleration, uncertainties in instrument settling, and limitations in current meter accuracy, but these latter effects appear secondary in Eckernforde Bay to the impacts of thermohaline stratification

Adipocyte-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B deletion increases lipogenesis, adipocyte cell size and is a minor regulator of glucose homeostasis

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fifteen new risk loci for coronary artery disease highlight arterial-wall-specific mechanisms

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although 58 genomic regions have been associated with CAD thus far, most of the heritability is unexplained, indicating that additional susceptibility loci await identification. An efficient discovery strategy may be larger-scale evaluation of promising associations suggested by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Hence, we genotyped 56,309 participants using a targeted gene array derived from earlier GWAS results and performed meta-analysis of results with 194,427 participants previously genotyped, totaling 88,192 CAD cases and 162,544 controls. We identified 25 new SNP-CAD associations (P < 5 × 10(-8), in fixed-effects meta-analysis) from 15 genomic regions, including SNPs in or near genes involved in cellular adhesion, leukocyte migration and atherosclerosis (PECAM1, rs1867624), coagulation and inflammation (PROCR, rs867186 (p.Ser219Gly)) and vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation (LMOD1, rs2820315). Correlation of these regions with cell-type-specific gene expression and plasma protein levels sheds light on potential disease mechanisms

Electronic and paper versions of a faces pain intensity scale: concordance and preference in hospitalized children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Assessment of pain in children is an important aspect of pain management and can be performed by observational methods or by self-assessment. The Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) is a self-report tool which has strong positive correlations with other well established self-report pain intensity measures. It has been recommended for measuring pain intensity in school-aged children (4 years and older). The objective of this study is to compare the concordance and the preference for two versions, electronic and paper, of the FPS-R, and to determine whether an electronic version of the FPS-R can be used by children aged 4 and older.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study is an observational, multicenter, randomized, cross-over, controlled, open trial. Medical and surgical patients in two pediatric hospitals (N = 202, age 4-12 years, mean age 8.3 years, 58% male) provided self-reports of their present pain using the FPS-R on a personal digital assistant (PDA) and on a paper version. Paper and electronic versions of the FPS-R were administered by a nurse in a randomized order: half the patients were given the PDA version first and the other half the paper version first. The time between the administrations was planned to be less than 30 minutes but not simultaneous. Two hundred and thirty-seven patients were enrolled; 35 were excluded from analysis because of misunderstanding of instructions or abnormal time between the two assessments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Final population for analysis comprised 202 children. The overall weighted Kappa was 0.846 (95%CI: 0.795; 0.896) and the Spearman correlation between scores on the two versions was r_s= 0.911 (p < 0.0001). The mean difference of pain scores was less than 0.1 out of 10, which was neither statistically nor clinically significant; 83.2% of children chose the same face on both versions of the FPS-R. Preference was not modified by order, sex, age, hospitalization unit (medical or surgical units), or previous analgesics. The PDA was preferred by 87.4% of the children who expressed a preference.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The electronic version of the FPS-R can be recommended for use with children aged 4 to 12, either in clinical trials or in hospitals to monitor pain intensity.</p

Fundamental Limits on Wavelength, Efficiency and Yield of the Charge Separation Triad

In an attempt to optimize a high yield, high efficiency artificial photosynthetic protein we have discovered unique energy and spatial architecture limits which apply to all light-activated photosynthetic systems. We have generated an analytical solution for the time behavior of the core three cofactor charge separation element in photosynthesis, the photosynthetic cofactor triad, and explored the functional consequences of its makeup including its architecture, the reduction potentials of its components, and the absorption energy of the light absorbing primary-donor cofactor. Our primary findings are two: First, that a high efficiency, high yield triad will have an absorption frequency more than twice the reorganization energy of the first electron transfer, and second, that the relative distance of the acceptor and the donor from the primary-donor plays an important role in determining the yields, with the highest efficiency, highest yield architecture having the light absorbing cofactor closest to the acceptor. Surprisingly, despite the increased complexity found in natural solar energy conversion proteins, we find that the construction of this central triad in natural systems matches these predictions. Our analysis thus not only suggests explanations for some aspects of the makeup of natural photosynthetic systems, it also provides specific design criteria necessary to create high efficiency, high yield artificial protein-based triads

Statistical practices of educational researchers: An analysis of their ANOVA, MANOVA, and ANCOVA analyses

Articles published in several prominent educational journals were examined to investigate the use of data-analysis tools by researchers in four research paradigms: between-subjects univariate designs, between-subjects multivariate designs, repeated measures designs, and covariance designs. In addition to examining specific details pertaining to the research design (e.g., sample size, group size equality/inequality) and methods employed for data analysis, we also catalogued whether: (a) validity assumptions were examined, (b) effect size indices were reported, (c) sample sizes were selected based on power considerations, and (d) appropriate textbooks and/or articles were cited to communicate the nature of the analyses that were performed. Our analyses imply that researchers rarely verify that validity assumptions are satisfied and accordingly typically use analyses that are nonrobust to assumption violations. In addition, researchers rarely report effect size statistics, nor do they routinely perform power analyses to determine sample size requirements. We offer many recommendations to rectify these shortcomings.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Counci

What do antenatal care providers understand and do about oral health care during pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey in New South Wales, Australia

BACKGROUND: There is mounting evidence to support the lack of awareness among pregnant women about health consequences and long term risks associated with poor oral hygiene during pregnancy. A recognised and important point of influence is their interaction with health professionals, particularly when receiving Antenatal Care. However, there is limited evidence about the perceptions of ANC providers in Australia toward the provision of perinatal oral healthcare. This study was undertaken to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Antenatal Care (ANC) providers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia providing perinatal oral healthcare and to identify barriers to and predictors of their practices in this area. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was undertaken of ANC providers (general practitioners, obstetricians/gynaecologists and midwives) practising in NSW, Australia. Participants were recruited through their professional organisations via email, postal mail, and networking at conferences. The survey addressed the domains of knowledge, attitude, barriers and practices towards oral healthcare, along with demographics. Data was entered into SPSS software and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: A total of 393 surveys (17.6% response rate) were completed comprising 124 general practitioners, 74 obstetricians/gynaecologists and 195 midwives. The results showed limited knowledge among ANC providers regarding the impact of poor maternal oral health on pregnancy/infant outcomes. Most (99%) participants agreed that maternal oral health was important yet few were discussing the importance of oral health or advising women to visit a dentist (16.4–21.5%). Further, less than a third felt they had the skills to provide oral health advice during pregnancy. ANC providers who were more knowledgeable about maternal oral health, had training and information in this area and greater experience, were more likely to engage in practices addressing the oral health of pregnant women. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that ANC providers in NSW are not focussing on oral health with pregnant women. ANC providers seem willing to discuss oral health if they have appropriate education/training and information in this area. Further research at a national level is required to confirm whether these findings are similar in all Australian states

The Dyad Symmetry Element of Epstein-Barr Virus Is a Dominant but Dispensable Replication Origin

OriP, the latent origin of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), consists of two essential elements: the dyad symmetry (DS) and the family of repeats (FR). The function of these elements has been predominantly analyzed in plasmids transfected into transformed cells. Here, we examined the molecular functions of DS in its native genomic context and at an ectopic position in the mini-EBV episome. Mini-EBV plasmids contain 41% of the EBV genome including all information required for the proliferation of human B cells. Both FR and DS function independently of their genomic context. We show that DS is the most active origin of replication present in the mini-EBV genome regardless of its location, and it is characterized by the binding of the origin recognition complex (ORC) allowing subsequent replication initiation. Surprisingly, the integrity of oriP is not required for the formation of the pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) at or near DS. In addition we show that initiation events occurring at sites other than the DS are also limited to once per cell cycle and that they are ORC-dependent. The deletion of DS increases initiation from alternative origins, which are normally used very infrequently in the mini-EBV genome. The sequence-independent distribution of ORC-binding, pre-RC-assembly, and initiation patterns indicates that a large number of silent origins are present in the mini-EBV genome. We conclude that, in mini-EBV genomes lacking the DS element, the absence of a strong ORC binding site results in an increase of ORC binding at dispersed sites

Distinct Effects of IL-18 on the Engraftment and Function of Human Effector CD8+ T Cells and Regulatory T Cells

IL-18 has pleotropic effects on the activation of T cells during antigen presentation. We investigated the effects of human IL-18 on the engraftment and function of human T cell subsets in xenograft mouse models. IL-18 enhanced the engraftment of human CD8+ effector T cells and promoted the development of xenogeneic graft versus host disease (GVHD). In marked contrast, IL-18 had reciprocal effects on the engraftment of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the xenografted mice. Adoptive transfer experiments indicated that IL-18 prevented the suppressive effects of Tregs on the development of xenogeneic GVHD. The IL-18 results were robust as they were observed in two different mouse strains. In addition, the effects of IL-18 were systemic as IL-18 promoted engraftment and persistence of human effector T cells and decreased Tregs in peripheral blood, peritoneal cavity, spleen and liver. In vitro experiments indicated that the expression of the IL-18Rα was induced on both CD4 and CD8 effector T cells and Tregs, and that the duration of expression was less sustained on Tregs. These preclinical data suggest that human IL-18 may have use as an adjuvant for immune reconstitution after cytotoxic therapies, and to augment adoptive immunotherapy, donor leukocyte infusions, and vaccine strategies