Estimate of Coastal Flood Statistics for the Far South San Francisco Bay

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Vacuum-Ultraviolet Absorption Spectra of Icy C2H4 at 13–60 K

The thermal variation of absorption spectra of icy ethene in wavelength range 105–220 nm was measured from 13 to 100 K using a synchrotron as light source. Sublimation of icy ethene began above 62 K, resulting in decreasing absorption. The absorption of icy ethene increased at wavelengths less than about 150 nm with increasing temperature from 13 to 60 K, but decreased beyond above 150 nm. According to detailed examination, the absorption spectra of icy ethene intersected at isosbestic point 147.0 nm from 13 to 17 K, whereas those varied absorption profiles crossed at another point, 150.6 nm, from 23 to 60 K. These results indicate that ethene ices might exhibit three structures within temperature range 13–60 K. This work enhances our understanding of the spectra of icy ethene at low temperatures and our knowledge of its astrochemistry and astrophysics in cold astro-environments

Serum Bone Resorption Markers after Parathyroidectomy for Renal Hyperparathyroidism: Correlation Analyses for the Cross-Linked N-telopeptide of Collagen I and Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase

Patients on long-term dialysis may develop secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) with increased serum concentrations of bone resorption markers such as the cross-linked N-telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) and type-5b tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). When SHPT proves refractory to treatment, parathyroidectomy (PTX) may be needed. Renal patients on maintenance HD who received PTX for refractory SHPT (n=23) or who did not develop refractory SHPT (control subjects; n=25) were followed prospectively for 4 weeks. Serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), NTX, TRAP, and bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) concentrations were measured serially and correlation analyses were performed. iPTH values decreased rapidly and dramatically. BAP values increased progressively with peak increases observed at 2 weeks after surgery. NTX and TRAP values decreased concurrently and progressively through 4 weeks following PTX. A significant correlation between TRAP and NTX values was observed before PTX but not at 4 weeks after PTX. Additionally, the fractional changes in serum TRAP were larger than those in serum NTX at all times examined after PTX. Serum iPTH, TRAP, and NTX values declined rapidly following PTX for SHPT. Serum TRAP values declined to greater degrees than serum NTX values throughout the 4-week period following PTX

Improvements in structural and optical properties of wafer-scale hexagonal boron nitride film by post-growth annealing

Remarkable improvements in both structural and optical properties of wafer-scale hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) enabled by high-temperature post-growth annealing is presented. The enhanced crystallinity and homogeneity of the MOCVD-grown h-BN films grown at 1050 degrees C is attributed to the solid-state atomic rearrangement during the thermal annealing at 1600 degrees C. In addition, the appearance of the photoluminescence by excitonic transitions as well as enlarged optical band gap were observed for the post-annealed h-BN films as direct consequences of the microstructural improvement. The post-growth annealing is a very promising strategy to overcome limited crystallinity of h-BN films grown by typical MOCVD systems while maintaining their advantage of multiple wafer scalability for practical applications towards two-dimensional electronics and optoelectronics.11Ysciescopu

Clinical utility of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scoring systems for predicting postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery

ObjectivesThe presence of postoperative atrial fibrillation predicts a higher short- and long-term mortality rates; however, no scoring system has been used to discriminate patients at high risk for this complication. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores are useful risk assessment tools for new-onset atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery.MethodsA total of 277 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery were prospectively included in this risk stratification study. We calculated the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores from the data collected. The primary end point was the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation within 30 days after cardiac surgery.ResultsEighty-four (30%) of the patients had postoperative atrial fibrillation at a median of 2 days (range, 0-27 days) after cardiac surgery. The CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were significant predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation in separate multivariate regression analyses. The Kaplan-Meier analysis obtained a higher postoperative atrial fibrillation rate when based on the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores of at least 2 than when based on scores less than 2 (both log rank, P < .001). In addition, the CHA2DS2-VASc scores could be used to further stratify the patients with CHADS2 scores of 0 or 1 into 2 groups with different postoperative atrial fibrillation rates at a cutoff value of 2 (12% vs 32%; P = .01).ConclusionsCHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were predictive of postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery and may be helpful for identifying high-risk patients

Association of Female Menopause With Atrioventricular Mechanics and Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Despite known sex differences in cardiac structure and function, little is known about how menopause and estrogen associate with atrioventricular mechanics and outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To study how, sex differences, loss of estrogen in menopause and duration of menopause, relate to atrioventricular mechanics and outcomes. METHODS: Among 4051 asymptomatic adults (49.8 ± 10.8 years, 35%women), left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) mechanics were assessed using speckle-tracking. RESULTS: Post-menopausal (vs. pre-menopausal) women had similar LV ejection fraction but reduced GLS, reduced PALS, increased LA stiffness, higher LV sphericity and LV torsion (all p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed menopause to be associated with greater LV sphericity (0.02, 95%CI 0.01, 0.03), higher indexed LV mass (LVMi), lower mitral e’, lower LV GLS (0.37, 95%CI 0.04–0.70), higher LV torsion, larger LA volume, worse PALS (∼2.4-fold) and greater LA stiffness (0.028, 95%CI 0.01–0.05). Increasing years of menopause was associated with further reduction in GLS, markedly worse LA mechanics despite greater LV sphericity and higher torsion. Lower estradiol levels correlated with more impaired LV diastolic function, impaired LV GLS, greater LA stiffness, and increased LV sphericity and LV torsion (all p < 0.05). Approximately 5.5% (37/669) of post-menopausal women incident HF over 2.9 years of follow-up. Greater LV sphericity [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.04, 95%CI 1.00–1.07], impaired GLS (aHR 0.87, 95%CI 0.78–0.97), reduced peak left atrial longitudinal strain (PALS, aHR 0.94, 95%CI 0.90–0.99) and higher LA stiffness (aHR 10.5, 95%CI 1.69–64.6) were independently associated with the primary outcome of HF hospitalizations in post-menopause. Both PALS < 23% (aHR:1.32, 95%CI 1.01–3.49) and GLS < 16% (aHR:5.80, 95%CI 1.79–18.8) remained prognostic for the incidence of HF in post-menopausal women in dichotomous analyses, even after adjusting for confounders. Results were consistent with composite outcomes of HF hospitalizations and 1-year all-cause mortality as well. CONCLUSION: Menopause was associated with greater LV/LA remodeling and reduced LV longitudinal and LA function in women. The cardiac functional deficit with menopause and lower estradiol levels, along with their independent prognostic value post-menopause, may elucidate sex differences in heart failure further

Proteomics Characterization of Cytoplasmic and Lipid-Associated Membrane Proteins of Human Pathogen Mycoplasma fermentans M64

Mycoplasma fermentans is a potent human pathogen which has been implicated in several diseases. Notably, its lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) play a role in immunomodulation and development of infection-associated inflammatory diseases. However, the systematic protein identification of pathogenic M. fermentans has not been reported. From our recent sequencing results of M. fermentans M64 isolated from human respiratory tract, its genome is around 1.1 Mb and encodes 1050 predicted protein-coding genes. In the present study, soluble proteome of M. fermentans was resolved and analyzed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In addition, Triton X-114 extraction was carried out to enrich amphiphilic proteins including putative lipoproteins and membrane proteins. Subsequent mass spectrometric analyses of these proteins had identified a total of 181 M. fermentans ORFs. Further bioinformatics analysis of these ORFs encoding proteins with known or so far unknown orthologues among bacteria revealed that a total of 131 proteins are homologous to known proteins, 11 proteins are conserved hypothetical proteins, and the remaining 39 proteins are likely M. fermentans-specific proteins. Moreover, Triton X-114-enriched fraction was shown to activate NF-kB activity of raw264.7 macrophage and a total of 21 lipoproteins with predicted signal peptide were identified therefrom. Together, our work provides the first proteome reference map of M. fermentans as well as several putative virulence-associated proteins as diagnostic markers or vaccine candidates for further functional study of this human pathogen