Peptide Biomarkers for Identifying the Species Origin of Gelatin Using Coupled UPLC-MS/MS

Liquid chromatography linked with mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was used to analyse gelatin from four different species after a trypsin digest. Using chemometric software to analyse the data it was possible to find peptide fragments that were specific to each species of gelatin: porcine, bovine, chicken or fish. Identification of these peptides was challenging due to the destructive nature of gelatin manufacture. The untargeted workflow method developed allowed identification of 21 unknown gelatin samples with 100% accuracy. Fish gelatin is made from a large range of different species that do not share a common differentiating protein but it was shown that the protein from a parasitic bacteria could be used to identify fish gelatin.</p

Multi-Scale Entropy Analysis as a Method for Time-Series Analysis of Climate Data

Evidence is mounting that the temporal dynamics of the climate system are changing at the same time as the average global temperature is increasing due to multiple climate forcings. A large number of extreme weather events such as prolonged cold spells, heatwaves, droughts and floods have been recorded around the world in the past 10 years. Such changes in the temporal scaling behaviour of climate time-series data can be difficult to detect. While there are easy and direct ways of analysing climate data by calculating the means and variances for different levels of temporal aggregation, these methods can miss more subtle changes in their dynamics. This paper describes multi-scale entropy (MSE) analysis as a tool to study climate time-series data and to identify temporal scales of variability and their change over time in climate time-series. MSE estimates the sample entropy of the time-series after coarse-graining at different temporal scales. An application of MSE to Central European, variance-adjusted, mean monthly air temperature anomalies (CRUTEM4v) is provided. The results show that the temporal scales of the current climate (1960–2014) are different from the long-term average (1850–1960). For temporal scale factors longer than 12 months, the sample entropy increased markedly compared to the long-term record. Such an increase can be explained by systems theory with greater complexity in the regional temperature data. From 1961 the patterns of monthly air temperatures are less regular at time-scales greater than 12 months than in the earlier time period. This finding suggests that, at these inter-annual time scales, the temperature variability has become less predictable than in the past. It is possible that climate system feedbacks are expressed in altered temporal scales of the European temperature time-series data. A comparison with the variance and Shannon entropy shows that MSE analysis can provide additional information on the statistical properties of climate time-series data that can go undetected using traditional method

Environmental Stimulation Chamber for Nanosatellite Functional Testing

The goal of this project is to develop a nanosatellite thermal testing chamber for the Robotic Systems Laboratory at Santa Clara University. The nanosatellite industry has thrived in recent years and continues to grow at the level of universities and small businesses. To meet this demand, the team designed and built a testing bed capable of achieving environmental conditions adequate for testing nanosatellite hardware as a low-cost and low-maintenance alternative to more expensive and robust systems. Furthermore, the design can be fully manufactured and assembled at the university or small business level with inexpensive, sustainable, and commercially available components. The final product will save money and decrease energy consumption while fully realizing the thermal testing needs for nanosatellite communication hardware

Investigating trends and determinants of violence-related injury in England and Wales

Interpersonal violence is a public health concern in England and Wales. Nationally, over half of all victims of interpersonal violence sustain physical injuries, whilst approximately one-fifth suffer injuries serious enough to require medical treatment. Interpersonal violence therefore places a considerable burden on criminal justice and health service resources. Accurate and reliable data on the extent and correlates of violence at both national and local level are required in order to inform prevention strategies. Despite this, police and crime survey measures of violence have reported contradictory national trends, whilst few studies in England and Wales have examined either correlates of violence-related injury or the mechanisms explaining how such correlates increase risk of sustaining violence-related injury. This thesis presents findings from three studies which aimed to remedy these deficiencies. Firstly, Emergency Department (ED) attendance data were collected from 100 EDs across England and Wales and time series statistical methods employed to detect both national and local trends. Secondly, regional price indices for alcohol were calculated and associations with regional rates of violence-related injury and socioeconomic measures examined. Thirdly, potential mechanisms linking deprivation with increased risk of violence-related injury among adolescents and how these differed according to gender were examined qualitatively. Findings revealed violence-related injury decreased nationally by 6.4% between January 2005 and December 2012. Rates of violence-related injury were shown to be highest among men, 18-30 year olds and those living in the North West of England. Modelling revealed a significant negative association between violence-related injury and the real price of on-trade and off-trade alcohol; in so that a 10% increase in real alcohol price would reduce violence-related ED attendances in England and Wales by over 60,000 per year. Modelling also revealed that poverty and income inequality had the largest impact on rates of violence-related injury. At micro level, adolescent females were shown to be particularly sensitive to the effects of deprivation; poor alcohol regulation by parents and a lack of structured and appealing leisure activities may potentially increase risk of violence-related injury among this cohort. This thesis has shown ED data to be an invaluable tool for investigating trends and determinants of violence-related injury in England and Wales by clarifying national and local trends and identifying risk factors at both macro and micro level. Implications for violence prevention policies that can be drawn from these findings include targeting regions where violence is higher, raising the price of alcohol above inflation, and improving alcohol regulation and leisure opportunities among deprived adolescents female

The influence of ascorbate on anthocyanin accumulation during high light acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana: further evidence for redox control of anthocyanin synthesis

PublishedArticleThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: AGE, M., SULTANA, N., PASZKIEWICZ, K., FLORANCE, H. and SMIRNOFF, N. (2012), The influence of ascorbate on anthocyanin accumulation during high light acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana: further evidence for redox control of anthocyanin synthesis. Plant, Cell & Environment, 35: 388–404. , which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2011.02369. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Ascorbate and anthocyanins act as photoprotectants during exposure to high light (HL). They accumulate in Arabidopsis leaves in response to HL on a similar time-scale, suggesting a potential relationship between them. Flavonoids and related metabolites were identified and profiled by LC-MS/MS. The ascorbate deficient mutants vtc1, vtc2 and vtc3 accumulated less anthocyanin than wild-type during HL acclimation. In contrast, kaempferol glycoside accumulation was less affected by light and not decreased by ascorbate deficiency, while sinapoyl malate levels decreased during HL acclimation. Comparison of six Arabidopsis ecotypes showed a positive correlation between ascorbate and anthocyanin accumulation in HL. mRNA-Seq analysis showed that all flavonoid biosynthesis transcripts were increased by HL acclimation in wild-type. RT-PCR analysis showed that vtc1 and vtc2 were impaired in HL induction of transcripts of anthocyanin biosynthesis enzymes, and the transcription factors PAP1, GL3 and EGL3 that activate the pathway. Abscisic acid and jasmonic acid, hormones that could affect anthocyanin accumulation, were unaffected in vtc mutants. It is concluded that HL induction of anthocyanin synthesis involves a redox-sensitive process upstream of the known transcription factors. Because anthocyanins accumulate in preference to kaempferol glycosides and sinapoyl malate in HL, they might have specific properties that make them useful in high light acclimation.Biotechnology and Biological SciencesResearch Council (BBSRC)Exeter University ScienceStrategy FundHazara UniversityMansehra (NWFP) PakistanHigher Education Commission (Pakistan

Violence in England and Wales in 2017: An Accident and Emergency perspective

Executive Summary • Serious violence levels and trends in England and Wales were studied based on data from a structured sample of 94 Emergency Departments (EDs), Minor Injury Units (MIUs) and Walk-in Centres. All are certified members of the National Violence Surveillance Network (NVSN). • Overall, an estimated 190,747 people attended EDs in England and Wales for treatment following violence in 2017, 1942 more than in 2016; a 1% increase. Falls or no change in overall violence levels in England and Wales according to this public health measure over the past decade were maintained in 2017. • In 2017, males (4.6 per 1,000 residents) were more than twice as likely as females (1.9 per 1,000 residents) to be treated in EDs following injury in violence. • Increases in violent injury among those aged 0-10 years (11%), 31-50 years (4.6%) and those aged 51 years and over (2.1%) were offset by the 1.8% decrease in violence among those aged 18-30 years. Due to small numbers, NVSN is unable to provide reliable violence trends for those aged 0-10 years. • Implementation of the new Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS) in Type 1 EDs in England led to increases in violence recording in the three months, October to December 2017. • Those most at risk of violence-related injury were males and those aged 18 to 30. Violence-related ED attendance was most frequent on Saturdays and Sundays

Emergency department hyperoxia is associated with increased mortality in mechanically ventilated patients: A cohort study

Definitions of comorbid conditions. (DOCX 13 kb

Macroeconomic Modeling of Tax Policy: A Comparison of Current Methodologies

The macroeconomic effects of tax reform are a subject of significant discussion and controversy. In 2015, the House of Representatives adopted a new “dynamic scoring” rule requiring a point estimate within the budget window of the deficit effect due to the macroeconomic response to certain proposed tax legislation. The revenue estimates provided by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) for major tax bills often play a critical role in Congressional deliberations and public discussion of those bills. The JCT has long had macroeconomic analytic capability, and in recent years, responding to Congress’ interest in macrodynamic estimates for purposes of scoring legislation, outside think tank groups — notably the Tax Policy Center and the Tax Foundation — have also developed macrodynamic estimation models. The May 2017 National Tax Association (NTA) Spring Symposium brought together the JCT with the Tax Foundation and the Tax Policy Center for a panel discussion regarding their respective macrodynamic estimating approaches. This paper reports on that discussion. Below each organization provides a general description of their macrodynamic modeling methodology and answers five questions posed by the convening authors

A cruise ship emergency medical evacuation triggered by handheld ultrasound findings and directed by tele-ultrasound

Cruise ships travel far from shoreside medical care and present a unique austere medical environment. For the cruise ship physician, decisions regarding emergency medical evacuation can be challenging. In the event that a passenger or crew member becomes seriously ill or is injured, the use of point-of-care ultrasound may assist in clarifying the diagnosis and stratifying the risk of a delayed care, and at times expedite an emergent medical evacuation. In this report we present the first case reported in the literaturę of an emergency medical evacuation from a cruise ship triggered by handheld ultrasound. A point-of-care ultrasound performed by a trained cruise ship physician, reviewed by a remote telemedical consultant with experience in point-of-care ultrasound, identified an ectopic pregnancy with intraabdominal free fluid in a young female patient with abdominal pain and expedited emergent helicopter evacuation from a cruise ship to a shoreside facility, where she immediately underwent successful surgery. The case highlights a medical evacuation that was accurately triggered by utilising a handheld ultrasound and successfully directed via a tele-ultrasound consultation. American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) health care guidelines for cruise ship medical facilities should be updated to include guidelines for point-of-care ultrasound, including training and telemedical support