Measuring Multimorbidity

Multimorbidity is common. The gaps in multimorbidity research are in the measurement of the prevalence, the levels of multimorbidity and its associated outcomes. This thesis aimed to provide a uniform definition for multimorbidity, identify instruments for measuring the level of multimorbidity, and describe patient-reported outcomes for different levels of multimorbidity. Three studies were conducted. The first determined the prevalence rates of multimorbidity and explored whether there were differences among the different age, gender and ethnic groups in the primary care population. Common dyads and triads of conditions were described. The systematic review updated the list of instruments for measuring the level of multimorbidity for community-dwelling adults. The third study determined the association of different levels of multimorbidity with depression, anxiety and quality of life. The agreement between patients’ self-reported conditions and conditions recorded in their electronic medical records (EMR) were reported. Increasing age was associated with a higher prevalence of multimorbidity. The commonest dyad was hyperlipidaemia/hypertension, and triad was hyperlipidaemia/hypertension/diabetes. Disease count and weighted indices were the most commonly used instruments for measuring the level of multimorbidity. Self-reported disease count was positively associated with depression and anxiety, and negatively associated with quality of life. Stroke was the only condition that showed substantial agreement between patients’ self-reported medical conditions and the EMR. We identified a practical definition of multimorbidity in the Singapore primary care population, described the commonly used instruments for measuring the level of multimorbidity, and reported the disparity of multimorbidity outcomes between patients’ self-reported chronic conditions and EMR

Controlling electric double-layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance in heteroatom-doped carbons derived from hypercrosslinked microporous polymers

© 2018 Hypercrosslinked polymers (HCPs) are an important class of porous materials that can be synthesized from aromatic precursors using a one-step “knitting” procedure. This scalable process allows wide synthetic diversity and ease of functionalization. However, pristine HCPs lack electrical conductivity, which limits their potential for electrochemical applications. Supercapacitors are energy storage devices with advantages over conventional batteries such as high power densities, rapid charge speeds, and superior cyclability. In this work, carbonization of functionalized HCPs yields highly conductive and porous materials that can be used as supercapacitor electrodes. Both electric double-layer capacitance (EDLC) and pseudocapacitance (PC) mechanisms are observed. The relative EDLC and PC contributions were quantified for a range of 20 HCP-derived materials, thus allowing a controlled approach to tuning the energy storage properties. The HCP-based carbons show ideal supercapacitor behavior and the best performing material, which shows 63% PC, displays exceptionally high capacitances of up to 374 F g −1 , excellent capacitance retention at fast charging speeds, and stability for up to 15,000 charge/discharge cycles

Nastava vizualnog komuniciranja za svjetske inženjere

The first step in introducing the engineering profession to students is to develop good communication skills, especially graphics communication. In this paper authors from different parts of the world compare their current practices in delivering Engineering Graphics units (Descriptive Geometry, Manual Technical Drafting, Freehand Drawing Computer Graphics and CAD programs: AutoCAD.) in an attempt to map a path which the future curriculum in this area may follow. They propose what will stay as principles language and what is going to change.Uvođenje studenata u inženjersku profesiju počinje razvijanjem sposobnosti komunikacije, posebno grafičke. U ovom radu autori iz različitih dijelova svijeta uspoređuju svoju sadašnju praksu predavanja sadržaja inženjerske grafike (nacrtna geometrija, ručno tehničko crtanje, crtanje slobodnom rukom i računalna grafika te CAD-programi: Auto CAD...) i pokušavaju zacrtati put koji bi mogao slijediti nastavni plan u budućnosti. Oni predlažu što treba ostati kao princip vizualne komunikacije, a što treba mijenjati

Linoleic acid participates in the response to ischemic brain injury through oxidized metabolites that regulate neurotransmission.

Linoleic acid (LA; 18:2 n-6), the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid in the US diet, is a precursor to oxidized metabolites that have unknown roles in the brain. Here, we show that oxidized LA-derived metabolites accumulate in several rat brain regions during CO2-induced ischemia and that LA-derived 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid, but not LA, increase somatic paired-pulse facilitation in rat hippocampus by 80%, suggesting bioactivity. This study provides new evidence that LA participates in the response to ischemia-induced brain injury through oxidized metabolites that regulate neurotransmission. Targeting this pathway may be therapeutically relevant for ischemia-related conditions such as stroke

Optical to near-infrared transmission spectrum of the warm sub-Saturn HAT-P-12b

We present the transmission spectrum of HAT-P-12b through a joint analysis of data obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Spitzer, covering the wavelength range 0.3-5.0 $\mu$m. We detect a muted water vapor absorption feature at 1.4 $\mu$m attenuated by clouds, as well as a Rayleigh scattering slope in the optical indicative of small particles. We interpret the transmission spectrum using both the state-of-the-art atmospheric retrieval code SCARLET and the aerosol microphysics model CARMA. These models indicate that the atmosphere of HAT-P-12b is consistent with a broad range of metallicities between several tens to a few hundred times solar, a roughly solar C/O ratio, and moderately efficient vertical mixing. Cloud models that include condensate clouds do not readily generate the sub-micron particles necessary to reproduce the observed Rayleigh scattering slope, while models that incorporate photochemical hazes composed of soot or tholins are able to match the full transmission spectrum. From a complementary analysis of secondary eclipses by Spitzer, we obtain measured depths of $0.042\%\pm0.013\%$ and $0.045\%\pm0.018\%$ at 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m, respectively, which are consistent with a blackbody temperature of $890^{+60}_{-70}$ K and indicate efficient day-night heat recirculation. HAT-P-12b joins the growing number of well-characterized warm planets that underscore the importance of clouds and hazes in our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres.Comment: 25 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in AJ, updated with proof correction

Porosity-engineered carbons for supercapacitive energy storage using conjugated microporous polymer precursors

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are considered an important material, combining aspects of both microporosity and extended π-conjugation. However, pristine CMP electrodes suffer from poor electrical conductivity which limits the material in electrochemical applications. In this work, direct carbonisation of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) yields porosity-engineered carbons, important for the flow of ions through the electrode. These conductive carbonised CMPs show specific capacitance as high as 260 F g−1, excellent rate capability and no loss in performance after 10 000 charge/discharge cycles. This study provides a procedure to enhance the performance of CMP-based materials, opening up a new source of electroactive materials

Protein Encapsulation Using Complex Coacervates: What Nature Has to Teach Us

Protein encapsulation is a growing area of interest, particularly in the fields of food science and medicine. The sequestration of protein cargoes is achieved using a variety of methods, each with benefits and drawbacks. One of the most significant challenges associated with protein encapsulation is achieving high loading while maintaining protein viability. This difficulty is exacerbated because many encapsulant systems require the use of organic solvents. By contrast, nature has optimized strategies to compartmentalize and protect proteins inside the cell—a purely aqueous environment. Although the mechanisms whereby aspects of the cytosol is able to stabilize proteins are unknown, the crowded nature of many newly discovered, liquid phase separated “membraneless organelles” that achieve protein compartmentalization suggests that the material environment surrounding the protein may be critical in determining stability. Here, encapsulation strategies based on liquid–liquid phase separation, and complex coacervation in particular, which has many of the key features of the cytoplasm as a material, are reviewed. The literature on protein encapsulation via coacervation is also reviewed and the parameters relevant to creating protein‐containing coacervate formulations are discussed. Additionally, potential opportunities associated with the creation of tailored materials to better facilitate protein encapsulation and stabilization are highlighted

Cluster Dynamical Mean-field calculations for TiOCl

Based on a combination of cluster dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) and density functional calculations, we calculated the angle-integrated spectral density in the layered $s=1/2$ quantum magnet TiOCl. The agreement with recent photoemission and oxygen K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments is found to be good. Th e improvement achieved with this calculation with respect to previous single-site DMFT calculations is an indication of the correlated nature and low-dimensionality of TiOCl.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, improved version as publishe