Influence of medical journal press releases on the quality of associated newspaper coverage: retrospective cohort study

Objective To determine whether the quality of press releases issued by medical journals can influence the quality of associated newspaper stories

Disability in Long-Term Care Residents Explained by Prevalent Geriatric Syndromes, Not Long-Term Care Home Characteristics: A Cross-Sectional Study

Self-care disability is dependence on others to conduct activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating and dressing. Among long-term care residents, self-care disability lowers quality of life and increases health care costs. Understanding the correlates of self-care disability in this population is critical to guide clinical care and ongoing research in Geriatrics. This study examines which resident geriatric syndromes and chronic conditions are associated with residents’ self-care disability and whether these relationships vary across strata of age, sex and cognitive status. It also describes the proportion of variance in residents’ self-care disability that is explained by residents’ geriatric syndromes versus long-term care home characteristics

Associations among Hospital Capacity, Utilization, and Mortality of US Medicare Beneficiaries, Controlling for Sociodemographic Factors.

To explore whether geographic variations in Medicare hospital utilization rates are due to differences in local hospital capacity, after controlling for socioeconomic status and disease burden, and to determine whether greater hospital capacity is associated with lower Medicare mortality rates

Top-down, bottom-up and physical controls on diatom-diazotroph assemblage growth in the Amazon River plume

The nutrient-rich waters of the Amazon River plume (ARP) support dense blooms of diatom-diazotroph assemblages (DDAs) that introduce large quantities of new nitrogen to the planktonic ecosystem and, unlike other nitrogen-fixers, are likely to directly fuel vertical carbon flux. To investigate the factors controlling DDA blooms, we develop a five phytoplankton (cyanobacteria, diatoms, unicellular microbial diazotrophs, DDAs, and Trichodesmium), two zooplankton model and embed it within a 1/6° resolution physical model of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic. The model generates realistic DDA blooms in the ARP and also exhibits basin-wide primary production, nitrogen fixation, and grazing rates consistent with observed values. By following ARP water parcels with synthetic Lagrangian drifters released at the river mouth we are able to assess the relative impacts of grazing, nutrient supply, and physical forcing on DDA bloom formation. DDA bloom formation is stimulated in the nitrogen-poor and silica-rich water of the ARP by decreases in grazing pressure when mesozooplankton (which co-occur in high densities with coastal diatom blooms) concentrations decrease. Bloom termination is driven primarily by silica limitation of the DDAs. In agreement with in situ data, this net growth niche for DDAs exists in a salinity range from ∼20–34 PSU, although this co-occurrence is coincidental rather than causative. Because net growth rates are relatively modest, bloom formation in ARP water parcels depends critically on the time spent in this ideal habitat, with high DDA biomass only occurring when water parcels spent >23 days in the optimal habitat niche

Livelihood diversification and the expansion of artisanal mining in rural Tanzania: drivers and policy implications

This paper provides an extended analysis of livelihood diversification in rural Tanzania, with special emphasis on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Over the past decade, this sector of industry, which is labour-intensive and comprises an array of rudimentary and semi-mechanized operations, has become an indispensable economic activity throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, providing employment to a host of redundant public sector workers, retrenched large-scale mine labourers and poor farmers. In many of the region’s rural areas, it is overtaking subsistence agriculture as the primary industry. Such a pattern appears to be unfolding within the Morogoro and Mbeya regions of southern Tanzania, where findings from recent research suggest that a growing number of smallholder farmers are turning to ASM for employment and financial support. It is imperative that national rural development programmes take this trend into account and provide support to these people

Precision measurement of 65^{65}Zn electron-capture decays with the KDK coincidence setup

$^{65}$Zn is a common calibration source, moreover used as a radioactive tracer in medical and biological studies. In many cases, $\gamma$-spectroscopy is a preferred method of $^{65}$Zn standardization, which relies directly on the branching ratio of $J \pi (^{65}\text{Zn} ) = 5/2^- \rightarrow J \pi (^{65}\text{Cu}) = 5/2^-$ via electron capture (EC*). We measure the relative intensity of this branch to that proceeding directly to the ground state (EC$^0$) using a novel coincidence technique, finding $I_{\text{EC}^0}/I_{\text{EC*}} = 0.9684 \pm 0.0018$. Re-evaluating the decay scheme of $^{65}$Zn by adopting the commonly evaluated branching ratio of $I_{\beta^+}= 1.4271(7)\%$ we obtain $I_{\text{EC*}} = (50.08 \pm 0.06)\%$, and I_\text{EC^0} = (48.50 \pm 0.06) \%. The associated 1115 keV gamma intensity agrees with the previously reported NNDC value, and is now accessible with a factor of ~2 increase in precision. Our re-evaluation removes reliance on the deduction of this gamma intensity from numerous measurements, some of which disagree and depend directly on total activity determination. The KDK experimental technique provides a new avenue for verification or updates to the decay scheme of $^{65}$Zn, and is applicable to other isotopes.Comment: Uses similar methodology to the 40K measurement by the KDK Collaboration (Stukel et al PRL 2023, arXiv:2211.10319; Hariasz et al PRC 2023, arXiv:2211.10343), as such there may be some similarity in figures and tex

The band structure of BeTe - a combined experimental and theoretical study

Using angle-resolved synchrotron-radiation photoemission spectroscopy we have determined the dispersion of the valence bands of BeTe(100) along $\Gamma X$, i.e. the [100] direction. The measurements are analyzed with the aid of a first-principles calculation of the BeTe bulk band structure as well as of the photoemission peaks as given by the momentum conserving bulk transitions. Taking the calculated unoccupied bands as final states of the photoemission process, we obtain an excellent agreement between experimental and calculated spectra and a clear interpretation of almost all measured bands. In contrast, the free electron approximation for the final states fails to describe the BeTe bulk band structure along $\Gamma X$ properly.Comment: 21 pages plus 4 figure

Trade-offs between risk of predation and starvation in larvae make the shelf break an optimal spawning location for Atlantic Bluefin tuna

Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) (Thunnus thynnus) travel long distances to spawn in oligotrophic regions of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) which suggests these regions offer some unique benefit to offspring survival. To better understand how larval survival varies within the GoM a spatially explicit, Lagrangian, individual-based model was developed that simulates dispersal and mortality of ABT early life stages within realistic predator and prey fields during the spawning periods from 1993 to 2012. The model estimates that starvation is the largest cumulative source of mortality associated with an early critical period. However, elevated predation on older larvae is identified as the main factor limiting survival to late postflexion. As a result, first-feeding larvae have higher survival on the shelf where food is abundant, whereas older larvae have higher survival in the open ocean with fewer predators, making the shelf break an optimal spawning area. The modeling framework developed in this study explicitly simulates both physical and biological factors that impact larval survival and hence could be used to support ecosystem based management efforts for ABT under current and future climate conditions.Postprin

Trade-Offs Between Risks of Predation and Starvation In Larvae Make the Shelf Break an Optimal Spawning Location For Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) (Thunnus thynnus) travel long distances to spawn in oligotrophic regions of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) which suggests these regions offer some unique benefit to offspring survival. To better understand how larval survival varies within the GoM a spatially explicit, Lagrangian, individual-based model was developed that simulates dispersal and mortality of ABT early life stages within realistic predator and prey fields during the spawning periods from 1993 to 2012. The model estimates that starvation is the largest cumulative source of mortality associated with an early critical period. However, elevated predation on older larvae is identified as the main factor limiting survival to late postflexion. As a result, first-feeding larvae have higher survival on the shelf where food is abundant, whereas older larvae have higher survival in the open ocean with fewer predators, making the shelf break an optimal spawning area. The modeling framework developed in this study explicitly simulates both physical and biological factors that impact larval survival and hence could be used to support ecosystem based management efforts for ABT under current and future climate conditions