Division of Giardia isolates from humans into two genetically distinct assemblages by electrophoretic analysis of enzyme encoded at 27 loci in comparison with Giardia muris

Giardia that infect humans are known to be heterogeneous but they are assigned currently to a single species, Giardia intestinalis (syn. G. lamblia). The genetic differences that exist within G. intestinalis have not yet been assessed quantitatively and neither have they been compared in magnitude with those that exist between G. intestinalis and species that are morphologically similar (G. duodenalis) or morphologically distinct (e.g. G. muris). In this study, 60 Australian isolates of G. intestinalis were analysed electrophoretically at 27 enzyme loci and compared with G. muris and a feline isolate of G. duodenalis. Isolates of G. intestinalis were distinct genetically from both G. muris (approximately 80% fixed allelic differences) and the feline G. duodenalis isolate (approximately 75% fixed allelic differences). The G. intestinalis isolates were extremely heterogeneous but they fell into 2 major genetic assemblages, separated by fixed allelic differences at approximately 60% of loci examined. The magnitude of the genetic differences between the G. intestinalis assemblages approached the level that distinguished the G. duodenalis isolate from the morphologically distinct G. muris. This raises important questions about the evolutionary relationships of the assemblages with Homo sapiens, the possibility of ancient or contemporary transmission from animal hosts to humans and the biogeographical origins of the two clusters.G. Mayrhofer, R. H. Andrews, P. L. Ey and N. B. Chilto

An ellipsoidal mirror for focusing neutral atomic and molecular beams

Manipulation of atomic and molecular beams is essential to atom optics applications including atom lasers, atom lithography, atom interferometry and neutral atom microscopy. The manipulation of charge-neutral beams of limited polarizability, spin or excitation states remains problematic, but may be overcome by the development of novel diffractive or reflective optical elements. In this paper, we present the first experimental demonstration of atom focusing using an ellipsoidal mirror. The ellipsoidal mirror enables stigmatic off-axis focusing for the first time and we demonstrate focusing of a beam of neutral, ground-state helium atoms down to an approximately circular spot, (26.8±0.5) μm×(31.4±0.8) μm in size. The spot area is two orders of magnitude smaller than previous reflective focusing of atomic beams and is a critical milestone towards the construction of a high-intensity scanning helium microscope

Modelo de autocuidado para pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade, necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem

Tese de doutoramento, Enfermagem, Universidade de Lisboa, com a participação da Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa, 2014Constatamos que a população com 65 e mais anos de idade tende a, exponencialmente, ter uma maior representatividade demográfica a nível mundial, sendo que tal se observa especialmente nos países do sul da Europa, sobretudo em Portugal. Várias organizações e diversas teorias sugerem o estudo do comportamento de autocuidado como um indicador de previsão das necessidades de cuidados daquele grupo etário em distintos contextos, para a reorganização dos cuidados de saúde em geral e de enfermagem em particular. Objetivos: Avaliar a funcionalidade das pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade da região do Alentejo; Padronizar a funcionalidade em função da idade; Definir as necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem em função dos diferentes níveis de funcionalidade, com base num modelo de autocuidado. Metodologia: Estudo I: estudo transversal, descritivo; amostra aleatória, estratificada, com 931 pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade; nível de confiança de 95%; margem de erro de 3,2%; levado a cabo na região do Alentejo. Estudo II: estudo transversal, descritivo; amostra de conveniência, com 427 pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade; levado a cabo nas ECCI’s de Odivelas e da região do Alentejo Litoral, na UCC do Redondo e no Lar de Idosos dos SAMS. No decurso dos estudos, utilizámos diversas técnicas que permitiram construir e analisar a sensibilidade, fidelidade e validade do Core set dos Idosos (CSI) e do Elderly Nursing Core Set (ENCS). Resultados: Na região do Alentejo, do ponto vista médio, em relação ao comportamento de autocuidado, as pessoas no grupo etário dos 65 aos 84 anos de idade situam-se em autocuidado na atividade e as pessoas com 85 e mais anos de idade situam-se em défice de autocuidado terapêutico moderado. No cômputo geral, as pessoas do sexo feminino, com o estado civil de viuvez, que não sabem ler/ não frequentaram a escola, com 85 e mais anos de idade, baixo peso (IMC), com défices emocionais e auditivos e com situação económica não conducente à satisfação das necessidades de alimentação, habitação e saúde, apresentam maior nível de problema. No segundo estudo, verificámos diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre as necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem, ao nível dos sistemas de apoio educativo e de compensação parcial ou total, e o contexto onde a pessoa está inserida. Observámos necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem mais evidentes ao nível da ECCI da região do Alentejo Litoral e de Odivelas, seguidas do Lar de Idosos dos SAMS e, por fim, da UCC do Redondo. Conclusão: Propomos a avaliação das necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem das pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade com base na apreciação do comportamento de autocuidado, descrito no M65+Autocuidado por uma estrutura conceitual em que se integra a avaliação do autocuidado, a capacidade funcional e capacidade de conhecimento.We assumed that the population over 65 years old tend have an exponentially superior demographic representation worldwide, particularly in the southern countries of Europe and mainly in Portugal. A number of organizations and different theories propose that the study of the behavior of self-care can result in a predictive indicator of care needs for that age group in different contexts, as a mean for the reorganization of health care in general, above all as far as nursing is concerned. Objectives: To assess the functionality of people over 65 years old in the region of Alentejo (Portugal); To standardize the concept of functionality depending on age; To describe the needs for nursing care according to the different levels of functionality, established on a model of self-care. Methodology: Study I: cross-sectional, descriptive, stratified random sample, with 931 people over 65 years of age; confidence level of 95 %, a margin of error of 3.2 %; carried out in the Alentejo (Portugal). Study II : cross-sectional, descriptive, convenience sample, with 427 people over 65 years of age, carried out in the Continuing Care Units (CCU) of Odivelas (Portugal) and Alentejo Litoral (Portugal), in the CCU of Redondo (Portugal) and in a Home for the Elderly of SAMS (Medical and Social Assistance Services). Throughout our studies, we applied several techniques which allowed building and analyzing sensitivity, reliability and validity of Core Set of Indicators for the Elderly (CSI) and the Elderly Nursing Core Set (ENCS). Results: In Alentejo and regarding self-care behavior, people in the age group 65 to 84 years old show self-care activity and those who have 85 years old and more present moderate therapeutic self-care deficit. Overall, females, widows, who cannot read/ did not attend school, with 85 and more years old, underweight (BMI), with deficits and impaired emotional and economic situation that cannot satisfy needs of food, housing and health, show higher levels of problems. In the second study, we found statistically significant differences between the needs for nursing care, the level of educational support systems and partial or total compensation as well as the insertion context. The needs for nursing care are more evident at the level of the CCU region of Alentejo Litoral and Odivelas, followed by the Nursing Home of SAMS and, finally, by the CCU of Redondo. Conclusion: We recommend the evaluation of nursing care needs of people over 65 years of age based on the assessment of self-care behavior, described in M65+SelfCare for a conceptual framework which would incorporate the assessment of self-care, functional capacity and knowledge capacit

Formation of lithiated gold and its use for the preparation of reference electrodes — an EQCM study

Lithiated gold wires can be used to build reference electrodes with outstanding potential stabilities over several days and even over the course of one year. These electrodes are well suited for investigations in the context of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, a detailed procedure for the preparation of such electrodes with tailored mechanical properties, which can be fitted gastight into electrochemical cells using commercially available fittings, is given. The electrochemical lithiation process is studied using the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) technique, and the differences in lithiation of wire type and thin film type gold electrodes are discussed. All experiments were carried out with two different electrolytes, namely, a LiPF6 and a lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI)-based electrolyte, and we conclude that for a higher lithiation rate and long-term stability, the use of LiTFSI-based electrolyte in the preparation phase is beneficial. The EQCM data provides a better insight in the analysis of film formation processes, like the buildup of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) during the lithiation, the rate of deposition of metallic lithium, or additional information on the kinetics of Li-Au alloy formation

An ellipsoidal mirror for focusing neutral atomic and molecular beams

Manipulation of atomic and molecular beams is essential to atom optics applications including atom lasers, atom lithography, atom interferometry and neutral atom microscopy. The manipulation of charge-neutral beams of limited polarizability, spin or excitation states remains problematic, but may be overcome by the development of novel diffractive or reflective optical elements. In this paper, we present the first experimental demonstration of atom focusing using an ellipsoidal mirror. The ellipsoidal mirror enables stigmatic off-axis focusing for the first time and we demonstrate focusing of a beam of neutral, ground-state helium atoms down to an approximately circular spot, (26.8±0.5) μm×(31.4±0.8) μm in size. The spot area is two orders of magnitude smaller than previous reflective focusing of atomic beams and is a critical milestone towards the construction of a high-intensity scanning helium microscope

Crossover of texture and morphology in (Ti1 − xAlx)1 − yYyN alloy films and the pathway of structure evolution

In our earlier published work, we have shown that there is a composition range of the (Ti 1 − x Al x ) 1 − y Y y N alloy films (0.72 b Ti/Al b 0.88) deposited at oblique vapour beam incidence and 500 °C (corresponding to zone T) in which mixed cubic TiN (c-TiN) and wurtzite AlN (w-AlN) structures were formed together with an unusual complex texture. The texture of c-TiN phase changed from 〈001〉 to b111N at a certain thickness forming a definite crossover. Moreover the c-TiNb111N and the w-AlN〈0001〉 crystals were epitaxially related with axes tilted to the direction of the vapour beam. Based on a comprehensive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and diffraction (XRD and selected area electron diffraction (SAED)) structure and morphology analysis, we discovered the details of this exotic structure making it possible to construct the complex pathway of structure evolution including the formation of the w-AlN phase and the change of the dominating texture of c-TiN phase with thickness in dependence of the Ti/Al ratio and the deposition parameters. This pathway could be deduced from the fundamental phenomena of structure formation and may be generalised for multi-component thin film systems. A composition structure zone model has been also proposed for the (Ti 1 − x Al x ) 1 − y Y y N thin film system in the 0 b x b 1 composition range

Crossover of texture and morphology in (Ti 1 − x Al x ) 1 − y Y y N alloy films and the pathway of structure evolution

In our earlier published work, we have shown that there is a composition range of the (Ti 1 − x Al x ) 1 − y Y y N alloy films (0.72 b Ti/Al b 0.88) deposited at oblique vapour beam incidence and 500 °C (corresponding to zone T) in which mixed cubic TiN (c-TiN) and wurtzite AlN (w-AlN) structures were formed together with an unusual complex texture. The texture of c-TiN phase changed from 〈001〉 to b111N at a certain thickness forming a definite crossover. Moreover the c-TiNb111N and the w-AlN〈0001〉 crystals were epitaxially related with axes tilted to the direction of the vapour beam. Based on a comprehensive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and diffraction (XRD and selected area electron diffraction (SAED)) structure and morphology analysis, we discovered the details of this exotic structure making it possible to construct the complex pathway of structure evolution including the formation of the w-AlN phase and the change of the dominating texture of c-TiN phase with thickness in dependence of the Ti/Al ratio and the deposition parameters. This pathway could be deduced from the fundamental phenomena of structure formation and may be generalised for multi-component thin film systems. A composition structure zone model has been also proposed for the (Ti 1 − x Al x ) 1 − y Y y N thin film system in the 0 b x b 1 composition range

Enhancing reuse of data and biological material in medical research : from FAIR to FAIR-Health

The known challenge of underutilization of data and biological material from biorepositories as potential resources formedical research has been the focus of discussion for over a decade. Recently developed guidelines for improved data availability and reusability—entitled FAIR Principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability)—are likely to address only parts of the problem. In this article,we argue that biologicalmaterial and data should be viewed as a unified resource. This approach would facilitate access to complete provenance information, which is a prerequisite for reproducibility and meaningful integration of the data. A unified view also allows for optimization of long-term storage strategies, as demonstrated in the case of biobanks.Wepropose an extension of the FAIR Principles to include the following additional components: (1) quality aspects related to research reproducibility and meaningful reuse of the data, (2) incentives to stimulate effective enrichment of data sets and biological material collections and its reuse on all levels, and (3) privacy-respecting approaches for working with the human material and data. These FAIR-Health principles should then be applied to both the biological material and data. We also propose the development of common guidelines for cloud architectures, due to the unprecedented growth of volume and breadth of medical data generation, as well as the associated need to process the data efficiently.peer-reviewe

Quantitative coronary plaque analysis predicts high-risk plaque morphology on coronary computed tomography angiography: results from the ROMICAT II trial

Semi-automated software can provide quantitative assessment of atherosclerotic plaques on coronary CT angiography (CTA). The relationship between established qualitative high-risk plaque features and quantitative plaque measurements has not been studied. We analyzed the association between quantitative plaque measurements and qualitative high-risk plaque features on coronary CTA. We included 260 patients with plaque who underwent coronary CTA in the Rule Out Myocardial Infarction/Ischemia Using Computer Assisted Tomography (ROMICAT) II trial. Quantitative plaque assessment and qualitative plaque characterization were performed on a per coronary segment basis. Quantitative coronary plaque measurements included plaque volume, plaque burden, remodeling index, and diameter stenosis. In qualitative analysis, high-risk plaque was present if positive remodeling, low CT attenuation plaque, napkin-ring sign or spotty calcium were detected. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between quantitative and qualitative high-risk plaque assessment. Among 888 segments with coronary plaque, high-risk plaque was present in 391 (44.0%) segments by qualitative analysis. In quantitative analysis, segments with high-risk plaque had higher total plaque volume, low CT attenuation plaque volume, plaque burden and remodeling index. Quantitatively assessed low CT attenuation plaque volume (odds ratio 1.12 per 1 mm3, 95% CI 1.04-1.21), positive remodeling (odds ratio 1.25 per 0.1, 95% CI 1.10-1.41) and plaque burden (odds ratio 1.53 per 0.1, 95% CI 1.08-2.16) were associated with high-risk plaque. Quantitative coronary plaque characteristics (low CT attenuation plaque volume, positive remodeling and plaque burden) measured by semi-automated software correlated with qualitative assessment of high-risk plaque features