Factors Associated with Choking During Meals; a Risk Indicator for Repetitive Fevers in the Elderly Community

Background: Choking during meals is a common symptom in the elderly, however the factors associated with it have not been fully clarified. In this study, we examined the factors associated with choking during meals. Methods: The oral health status and practices that promote oral health conditions was surveyed in 1305 community dwelling elderly using a self-administered questionnaire. Eight items including satisfaction with their oral condition, denture fit, chewing ability, tooth brushing frequency, dental visits, exercises to train muscles for chewing and swallowing, choking during meals, and repetitive fever were selected for analysis. Results: 25.1% of the subjects experienced choking during meals, which was significantly associated with repetitive fever occurrence. Differences in satisfaction levels with their oral condition, denture fit, chewing ability, and tooth brushing frequency were observed between groups with and without choking. Age, satisfaction level, and chewing ability were significantly associated with choking during meals. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that choking during meals is a risk indicator for repetitive fever in the elderly living in community settings. Poor chewing ability and dissatisfaction with their oral condition were risk factors associated with choking. These results suggest that training the elderly to eat efficiently and safely and improving oral conditions is necessary for those who suffer from choking during meals to prevent repetitive fever. &nbsp

Impact of Physical Stress on Salivary Buffering Capacity

Background: Saliva has many properties and the buffering capacity is important for the neutralization of oral fluids. It is unclear whether stressful conditions directly affect salivary buffering capacity, and we investigated the impact of physical stress on salivary buffering capacity. Methods: Twelve participants were subjected to the physical stress of jogging and running. The salivary buffering capacity and flow rate of the participants were measured before and after exposure to stressful conditions. Salivary α-amylase activity was measured as a quantitative index of stress. Results: No change in buffering capacity was detected among each time point during the whole course under physically stressful conditions. Next, we examined the change in buffering capacity after jogging compared to baseline. Six participants showed an increase in buffering capacity (Group A), while the other six participants showed a decrease or no change (Group B) after jogging. Group B showed a decrease in flow rate and increases in α-amylase activity and protein level after jogging, whereas Group A showed no changes in these properties. Conclusions: The results suggest that salivary buffering capacity changes following exposure to physically stressful conditions, and that the changes are dependent on the stress susceptibility of individuals

Novel Magnetic and Thermodynamic Properties of Thiospinel Compound CuCrZrS4_{4}

We have carried out dc magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat measurements on thiospinel CuCrZrS$_{4}$. Below $T_{\rm C}^{*} =$ 58 K, dc magnetic susceptibility and magnetization data show ferromagnetic behavior with a small spontaneous magnetization 0.27 $\mu_{\rm B}/$f. u.. In dc magnetic susceptibility, large and weak irreversibilities are observed below $T_{\rm f} =$ 6 K and in the range $T_{\rm f}< T < T_{\rm C}^{*}$ respectively. We found that there is no anomaly as a peak or step in the specific heat at $T_{\rm C}^{*}$.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

In-gap state and effect of light illumination in CuIr2_2S4_4 probed by photoemission spectroscopy

We have studied disorder-induced in-gap states and effect of light illumination in the insulating phase of spinel-type CuIr$_2$S$_4$ using ultra-violet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). The Ir$^{3+}$/Ir$^{4+}$ charge-ordered gap appears below the metal-insulator transition temperature. However, in the insulating phase, in-gap spectral features with $softgap$ are observed in UPS just below the Fermi level ($E_F$), corresponding to the variable range hopping transport observed in resistivity. The spectral weight at $E_F$ is not increased by light illumination, indicating that the Ir$^{4+}$-Ir$^{4+}$ dimer is very robust although the long-range octamer order would be destructed by the photo-excitation. Present results suggest that the Ir$^{4+}$-Ir$^{4+}$ bipolaronic hopping and disorder effects are responsible for the conductivity of CuIr$_2$S$_4$.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Family Law - Child Support - Mother Must Give Support Payments to Father Who Is in Custody of Children When Not Doing So Would Result in an Inequitable Situation. Moore v. Moore (Cal. App. 1969)

This recent case discusses Moore v. Moore (Cal. App. 1969)

Mobility of Basal Dislocations Interacting with Non Basal Dislocations in Zinc

Studies of the mobility of basal dislocations in zinc (1, 2) by use of a torsion stress pulsing technique (3) have shown that the maximum velocity of dislocations, V_(max), is a linear function of applied shear stress, τ, at stresses above 10^6 dyne/cm^2 as expressed by B V_(max) = τ b (1) where B is a drag coefficient and b is the basal Burgers vector. It has been concluded that some type of dislocation-phonon interaction is responsible for the damping of dislocation motion in an otherwise perfect crystal. Flow stress measurements have indicated a strong interaction between basal dislocations and forest dislocations (4). Hence, the scatter observed in the data of basal dislocation mobility measurements (1, 2) can be considered to be the result of interaction with non basal forest dislocations, whose density ranged between 10^2 and 10^4 cm^(-2). Recently, Frost and Ashby (5) analyzed the viscously damped motion of a dislocation through a regular array of discrete obstacles. Their calculations predicted that, at applied stresses higher than twice the critical stress to break through the obstacles (τ > 2τ_c), the motion of the dislocation is essentially governed by the viscous drag and not the obstacles. In the range τ_c < τ < 2τ_c, the average dislocation velocity is influenced by both the viscous drag and the obstacles. Existence of a critical stress for dislocation motion through random arrays of obstacles has also been predicted by a statistical analysis (6), and by a computer analysis (7)

The Effective Fragment Molecular Orbital Method for Fragments Connected by Covalent Bonds

We extend the effective fragment molecular orbital method (EFMO) into treating fragments connected by covalent bonds. The accuracy of EFMO is compared to FMO and conventional ab initio electronic structure methods for polypeptides including proteins. Errors in energy for RHF and MP2 are within 2 kcal/mol for neutral polypeptides and 6 kcal/mol for charged polypeptides similar to FMO but obtained two to five times faster. For proteins, the errors are also within a few kcal/mol of the FMO results. We developed both the RHF and MP2 gradient for EFMO. Compared to ab initio, the EFMO optimized structures had an RMSD of 0.40 and 0.44 {\AA} for RHF and MP2, respectively.Comment: Revised manuscrip