A Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov method for time-implicit multidimensional hydrodynamics

This work is a continuation of our efforts to develop an efficient implicit solver for multidimensional hydrodynamics for the purpose of studying important physical processes in stellar interiors, such as turbulent convection and overshooting. We present an implicit solver that results from the combination of a Jacobian-Free Newton-Krylov method and a preconditioning technique tailored to the inviscid, compressible equations of stellar hydrodynamics. We assess the accuracy and performance of the solver for both 2D and 3D problems for Mach numbers down to $10^{-6}$. Although our applications concern flows in stellar interiors, the method can be applied to general advection and/or diffusion-dominated flows. The method presented in this paper opens up new avenues in 3D modeling of realistic stellar interiors allowing the study of important problems in stellar structure and evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Vulnerability of horticultural crop production to extreme weather events

The potential impact of future extreme weather events on horticultural crops was evaluated. A review was carried out of the sensitivities of a representative set of crops to environmental challenges. It confirmed that a range of environmental factors are capable of causing a significant impact on production, either as yield or quality loss. The most important of these were un-seasonal temperature, water shortage or excess,and storms. Future scenarios were produced by the LARS-WG1, a stochastic weather generator linked with UKCIP02 projections of future climate. For the analyses, 150 years of synthetic weather data were generated for baseline, 2020HI and 2050HI scenarios at defined locations. The output from the weather generator was used in case studies, either to estimate the frequency of a defined set of circumstances known to have impact on cropping, or as inputs to models of crop scheduling or pest phenology or survival. The analyses indicated that episodes of summer drought severe enough to interrupt the continuity of supply of salads and other vegetables will increase while the frequency of autumns with sufficient rainfall to restrict potato lifting will decrease. They also indicated that the scheduling of winter cauliflowers for continuity of supply will require the deployment of varieties with different temperature sensitivities from those in use currently. In the pest insect studies, the number of batches of Agrotis segetum (cutworm) larvae surviving to third instar increased with time, as did the potential number of generations of Plutella xylostella (diamond-back moth) in the growing season, across a range of locations. The study demonstrated the utility of high resolution scenarios in predicting the likelihood of specific weather patterns and their potential effect on horticultural production. Several limitations of the current scenarios and biological models were also identified

Making psychometric resources in positive psychology available in Russian : The “Methodlet”

Objective/Purpose The present aim was first to describe the medium of the “'Methodical Recommendations” or “Methodlets” commonly used in Russian psychology and second to describe three recent “Methodlets” in positive psychology. Design/Background Within contemporary Russian psychology, there is growing interest in the examination of human character strengths and virtues within the context of positive psychology. Such interest has led to a growing number of scales being translated from the original English version into the Russian language for clinical and research purposes. However, such translated materials are often difficult to gain access to for clinicians and researchers, and this is especially the case for students. To address this matter, one initiative involves the development and publication of “'Methodical Recommendations” or “Methodlets”, brief books focused on providing methodological guidance and resources to researchers and students. Methods Pertinent searches in the Russian language of the Russian psychological literature databases were undertaken. Result/Outcomes Three “Methodlets” specifically concerned with positive psychology were identified. Each of these “Methodlets” were obtained and examined. Each of the “Methodlets” contained Russian translations of five commonly used scales and associated information concerning administration instructions, scoring information, and published psychometric information, respectively. Conclusions In total, these three “Methodlets” contain 15 scales and comprise of a significant proportion of the positive psychology measures currently available in Russian. As such they provide an effective way of making Russian translations of positive psychology scales and associated information available to Russian speaking researchers, clinicians, and students

Rapid evolution of distinct Helicobacter pylori subpopulations in the Americas

For the last 500 years, the Americas have been a melting pot both for genetically diverse humans and for the pathogenic and commensal organisms associated with them. One such organism is the stomach-dwelling bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is highly prevalent in Latin America where it is a major current public health challenge because of its strong association with gastric cancer. By analyzing the genome sequence of H. pylori isolated in North, Central and South America, we found evidence for admixture between H. pylori of European and African origin throughout the Americas, without substantial input from pre-Columbian (hspAmerind) bacteria. In the US, strains of African and European origin have remained genetically distinct, while in Colombia and Nicaragua, bottlenecks and rampant genetic exchange amongst isolates have led to the formation of national gene pools. We found three outer membrane proteins with atypical levels of Asian ancestry in American strains, as well as alleles that were nearly fixed specifically in South American isolates, suggesting a role for the ethnic makeup of hosts in the colonization of incoming strains. Our results show that new H. pylori subpopulations can rapidly arise, spread and adapt during times of demographic flux, and suggest that differences in transmission ecology between high and low prevalence areas may substantially affect the composition of bacterial populations

Serum Concentrations of Organochlorine Pesticides and Growth among Russian Boys

Background: Limited human data suggest an association of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) with adverse effects on children’s growth

DIE BIOETHIK UND ANTHROPOLOGIE

Budući da je i bioetika, kako je već naznačeno i u njezinu imenu, posebna, specijalna etika (sadržana i u koncepciji bioetike kao nove, transdisciplinarne znanosti), prvo je rečeno ono osnovno o etici kao disciplini praktičke filozofije, da bi tako postao razgovjetniji i smisao, zadaća i mogućnosti bioetike kao primijenjene etike na područje života općenito, prvenstveno na čovjekov život i zdravlje. Kako je etika kao refleksija o ispravnom i dobrom ljudskom djelovanju bitno povezana s antropologijom kao filozofijskim i znanstvenim promišljanjem naravi, položaja u svijetu i biti čovjekova bića uopće (prirodnoga, društvenoga i duhovnog), to je u drugom dijelu ovoga konspekta pokazana i »pupčana« sveza bioetike s antropologijom, s posebnim obzirom na suvremene ekološke uvjete života, tj. na prijeteću globalnu i strukturalnu ekološku krizu.Since bioethics, as the name itself indicates, is a special kind of ethics (contained in the concept of bioethics as a new, transdisciplinary science), in the beginning, the basic thing about ethics as a discipline of practical philosophy is said, to make, therefore, more comprehensible the sense, task and possibilities of bioethics as applied ethics in the field of life in general, first of all, in human\u27s life and health. And since ethics as a reflection on right and good human activity is essentially connected with anthropology as philosophical and scientific reflexion on nature, on the position in the world and on the essence of human being in general (natural, social and spiritual) , thus, in the second part of this conspectus, the "umbilical" connection between bioethics and anthropology has been shown, with the special regard to contemporary ecological conditions of life, i.e. to the threatening global and ecological crisis.Da auch die Bioethik wie schon aus ihrem Namen hervorgeht eine besondere spezielle Ethik ist (das ist auch in der Konzeption der Bioethik als einer neuen transdisziplinaren Wisenschaft enthalten), wurde zuerst das Grundlegende über Ethik als einer Disziplin der praktischen Philosophie gesagt, damit so auch der Sinn deutlich wird, die Aufgabe und die Möglichkeiten der Bioethik als einer auf dem Gebiet des Lebens allgemein angewandten Ethik, vor allem angewandt auf das menschliche Leben und Gesundheit. Da die Ethik als eine Reflexion über die gute und richtige Wirkung des Menschen im Wesentlichen mit der Anthropologie als philosophische und wissenschaftliche Überlegung der menschlichen Natur verbunden ist, mit der Stellung in der Welt und dem Kern des menschlichen Wesens (natürlichem, gesellschaftlichem und geistigem), so ist im zweiten Teil dieses Konspekts die "Nabelschnurr" — Verbindung der Bioethik mit der Anthropologie dargelegt, und daß mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der heutigen ökologischen Umweltbediengungen., d.h. der droheneden globalen und strukturalen ökologischen Krise

Naturally prefabricated marine biomaterials: Isolation and applications of flat chitinous 3D scaffolds from Ianthella labyrinthus (demospongiae: Verongiida)

Marine sponges remain representative of a unique source of renewable biological materials. The demosponges of the family Ianthellidae possess chitin-based skeletons with high biomimetic potential. These three-dimensional (3D) constructs can potentially be used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In this study, we focus our attention, for the first time, on the marine sponge Ianthella labyrinthus Bergquist & Kelly-Borges, 1995 (Demospongiae: Verongida: Ianthellidae) as a novel potential source of naturally prestructured bandage-like 3D scaffolds which can be isolated simultaneously with biologically active bromotyrosines. Specifically, translucent and elastic flat chitinous scaffolds have been obtained after bromotyrosine extraction and chemical treatments of the sponge skeleton with alternate alkaline and acidic solutions. For the first time, cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-CMs) have been used to test the suitability of I. labyrinthus chitinous skeleton as ready-to-use scaffold for their cell culture. Results reveal a comparable attachment and growth on isolated chitin-skeleton, compared to scaffolds coated with extracellular matrix mimetic Geltrex®. Thus, the natural, unmodified I. labyrinthus cleaned sponge skeleton can be used to culture iPSC-CMs and 3D tissue engineering. In addition, I. labyrinthus chitin-based scaffolds demonstrate strong and efficient capability to absorb blood deep into the microtubes due to their excellent capillary effect. These findings are suggestive of the future development of new sponge chitin-based absorbable hemostats as alternatives to already well recognized cellulose-based fabrics. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Trans-Ethnic Mapping of BANK1 Identifies Two Independent SLE-Risk Linkage Groups Enriched for Co-Transcriptional Splicing Marks

BANK1 is a susceptibility gene for several systemic autoimmune diseases in several populations. Using the genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from Europeans (EUR) and African Americans (AA), we performed an extensive fine mapping of ankyrin repeats 1 (BANK1). To increase the SNP density, we used imputation followed by univariate and conditional analysis, combinedwith a haplotypic and expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis. The data from Europeans showed that the associated region was restricted to a minimal and dependent set of SNPs covering introns two and three, and exon two. In AA, the signal found in the Europeans was split into two independent effects. All of the major risk associated SNPs were eQTLs, and the risks were associated with an increased BANK1 gene expression. Functional annotation analysis revealed the enrichment of repressive B cell epigenomicmarks (EZH2 and H3K27me3) and a strong enrichment of splice junctions. Furthermore, one eQTL located in intron two, rs13106926, was found within the binding site for RUNX3, a transcriptional activator. These results connect the local genome topography, chromatin structure, and the regulatory landscape of BANK1 with co-transcriptional splicing of exon two. Our data defines a minimal set of risk associated eQTLs predicted to be involved in the expression of BANK1 modulated through epigenetic regulation and splicing. These findings allow us to suggest that the increased expression of BANK1 will have an impact on B-cell mediated disease pathways.The work presented in this paper has been supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (SAF2016-78631-P), partly co-financed by FEDER funds of the European Union, the Gustaf den V:e-80-års Fond and the Swedish Association against Rheumatism to M.E.A-R. In addition, this work was financed by the NIH P01 grant P01-AI-083194 to C.D.L., J.B.H., R.K., and M.E.A-R. JBH: NIH grants: R01 AI024717, U01 HG00866, P30 AR070549 and U01 AI130830 and the US Department of Veterans Affairs: I01 BX001834.C.D.L.: Center for Public Health Genomics. R.K.: NIH grant R01-AR33062. J.A.J.: NIH grants U54GM104938, P30AR053483

Naturally drug-loaded chitin: Isolation and applications

Naturally occurring three-dimensional (3D) biopolymer-based matrices that can be used in different biomedical applications are sustainable alternatives to various artificial 3D materials. For this purpose, chitin-based structures from marine sponges are very promising substitutes. Marine sponges from the order Verongiida (class Demospongiae) are typical examples of demosponges with well-developed chitinous skeletons. In particular, species belonging to the family Ianthellidae possess chitinous, flat, fan-like fibrous skeletons with a unique, microporous 3D architecture that makes them particularly interesting for applications. In this work, we focus our attention on the demosponge Ianthella flabelliformis (Linnaeus, 1759) for simultaneous extraction of both naturally occurring (“ready-to-use”) chitin scaffolds, and biologically active bromotyrosines which are recognized as potential antibiotic, antitumor, and marine antifouling substances. We show that selected bromotyrosines are located within pigmental cells which, however, are localized within chitinous skeletal fibers of I. flabelliformis. A two-step reaction provides two products: treatment with methanol extracts the bromotyrosine compounds bastadin 25 and araplysillin-I N20 sulfamate, and a subsequent treatment with acetic acid and sodium hydroxide exposes the 3D chitinous scaffold. This scaffold is a mesh-like structure, which retains its capillary network, and its use as a potential drug delivery biomaterial was examined for the first time. The results demonstrate that sponge-derived chitin scaffolds, impregnated with decamethoxine, effectively inhibit growth of the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in an agar diffusion assa

Nurse-led medicines’ monitoring in care homes, implementing the Adverse Drug Reaction (ADRe) Profile improvement initiative for mental health medicines: An observational and interview study

This study investigated the implementation and clinical impact of an Adverse Drug Reaction Profile (ADRe) used to assess the prescription regimes of older residents of nursing and care homes. Administration of ADRe was observed for 30 residents prescribed mental health medicines in ten care homes. The study pharmacist reviewed completed ADRes against medication records. Policy context was explored in 30 interviews with service users, nurse managers and strategic leads in Wales.Residents were aged 60–95, and prescribed 1–17 (median 9 [interquartile range (IQR) 7–13]) medicines. ADRe identified a median of 18 [IQR 11.5–23] problems per resident and nurses made 2 [1–2] changes to care per resident. For example: falls were reported for 9 residents, and care was modified for 5; pain was identified in 8 residents, and alleviated for 7; all 6 residents recognised as dyspnoeic were referred to prescribers. Nurses referred 17 of 30 residents to prescribers. Pharmacists recommended review for all 30. Doubts about administering ADRe, sometimes expressed by people who had not yet used it, diminished as it became familiar. ADRe was needed to bridge communication between resident, nurses and prescribers. When barriers of time, complacency, and doctors’ non-availability were overcome, reporting with ADRe made prescribers more likely to heed nurses’ concerns regarding residents’ welfare. Clinical gains were facilitated by one-to-one time, staff-resident relationships, and unification of documentation