Characteristics of the low-energy reporters in a longitudinal national dietary survey

The aim of the present study was to establish whether the characteristics of members of a large national birth cohort study who submitted diet diaries with implausibly low-energy intake differed from those whose recorded energy intake was more plausible. Survey members (n 1898) recorded their diets in a 7 d diary in household measures. Those whose reported energy intake (EI) as a fraction of their estimated BMR was less than 1.10, here termed low-energy reporters (LER) but often called under-reporters, constituted 20.6 % of the study population. None of the variables describing dietary, smoking or exercise behaviour bore a significant relationship with low EI/BMR (<1.10), neither did those describing region of residence, subjective adequacy of income, current social class, social relations or the social environment of the subjects. Results of logistic regression analysis showed that the only independently significant characteristic for men was higher BMI. In women, in addition to higher BMI, having been overweight or obese as an adult independently, but less significantly, predicted low EI/BMR, while membership as a child of social class III (nonmanual), having more children in the household and having a paid job marginally but independently decreased the probability of reporting low EI/BMR. Submission of a diary with EI/BMR <1.10 7 years earlier in the same survey was an even more powerful predictor of current low EI/BMR than higher BMI in both sexes. The average reported diet-composition of LER was more micronutrient- and protein-rich than that of the others, indicating different dietary, or diet-recording, behaviour in this group of subjects. LER are not a random sample of the survey population, and their characteristics, definable to some extent, put them at risk for lower health status. Although EI/BMR cut-off points can be used to identify LER, the problem of how to use their data is still unresolved

Assessing and monitoring intratumor heterogeneity in glioblastoma: how far has multimodal imaging come?

Glioblastoma demonstrates imaging features of intratumor heterogeneity that result from underlying heterogeneous biological properties. This stems from variations in cellular behavior that result from genetic mutations that either drive, or are driven by, heterogeneous microenvironment conditions. Among all imaging methods available, only T1-weighted contrast-enhancing and T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery are used in standard clinical glioblastoma assessment and monitoring. Advanced imaging modalities are still considered emerging techniques as appropriate end points and robust methodologies are missing from clinical trials. Discovering how these images specifically relate to the underlying tumor biology may aid in improving quality of clinical trials and understanding the factors involved in regional responses to treatment, including variable drug uptake and effect of radiotherapy. Upon validation and standardization of emerging MR techniques, providing information based on the underlying tumor biology, these images may allow for clinical decision-making that is tailored to an individual's response to treatment.Stephen Price is funded by a Clinician Scientist Award from the National Institute for Health Research.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Future Medicine via http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/cns.15.2

Modular and predictable assembly of porous organic molecular crystals

Nanoporous molecular frameworks are important in applications such as separation, storage and catalysis. Empirical rules exist for their assembly but it is still challenging to place and segregate functionality in three-dimensional porous solids in a predictable way. Indeed, recent studies of mixed crystalline frameworks suggest a preference for the statistical distribution of functionalities throughout the pores rather than, for example, the functional group localization found in the reactive sites of enzymes. This is a potential limitation for 'one-pot' chemical syntheses of porous frameworks from simple starting materials. An alternative strategy is to prepare porous solids from synthetically preorganized molecular pores. In principle, functional organic pore modules could be covalently prefabricated and then assembled to produce materials with specific properties. However, this vision of mix-and-match assembly is far from being realized, not least because of the challenge in reliably predicting three-dimensional structures for molecular crystals, which lack the strong directional bonding found in networks. Here we show that highly porous crystalline solids can be produced by mixing different organic cage modules that self-assemble by means of chiral recognition. The structures of the resulting materials can be predicted computationally, allowing in silico materials design strategies. The constituent pore modules are synthesized in high yields on gram scales in a one-step reaction. Assembly of the porous co-crystals is as simple as combining the modules in solution and removing the solvent. In some cases, the chiral recognition between modules can be exploited to produce porous organic nanoparticles. We show that the method is valid for four different cage modules and can in principle be generalized in a computationally predictable manner based on a lock-and-key assembly between modules

Internal and external cooling methods and their effect on body temperature, thermal perception and dexterity

© 2018 The Authors. Published by PLOS. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191416© 2018 Maley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Objective The present study aimed to compare a range of cooling methods possibly utilised by occupational workers, focusing on their effect on body temperature, perception and manual dexterity. Methods Ten male participants completed eight trials involving 30 min of seated rest followed by 30 min of cooling or control of no cooling (CON) (34C, 58% relative humidity). The cooling methods utilised were: ice cooling vest (CV0), phase change cooling vest melting at 14C (CV14), evaporative cooling vest (CVEV), arm immersion in 10C water (AI), portable water-perfused suit (WPS), heliox inhalation (HE) and ice slushy ingestion (SL). Immediately before and after cooling, participants were assessed for fine (Purdue pegboard task) and gross (grip and pinch strength) manual dexterity. Rectal and skin temperature, as well as thermal sensation and comfort, were monitored throughout. Results Compared with CON, SL was the only method to reduce rectal temperature (P = 0.012). All externally applied cooling methods reduced skin temperature (P0.05). Conclusion The present study observed that ice ingestion or ice applied to the skin produced the greatest effect on rectal and skin temperature, respectively. AI should not be utilised if workers require subsequent fine manual dexterity. These results will help inform future studies investigating appropriate pre-cooling methods for the occupational worker.This project is financially supported by the US Government through the Technical Support Working Group within the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office.Published versio

Modeling the scaling properties of human mobility

While the fat tailed jump size and the waiting time distributions characterizing individual human trajectories strongly suggest the relevance of the continuous time random walk (CTRW) models of human mobility, no one seriously believes that human traces are truly random. Given the importance of human mobility, from epidemic modeling to traffic prediction and urban planning, we need quantitative models that can account for the statistical characteristics of individual human trajectories. Here we use empirical data on human mobility, captured by mobile phone traces, to show that the predictions of the CTRW models are in systematic conflict with the empirical results. We introduce two principles that govern human trajectories, allowing us to build a statistically self-consistent microscopic model for individual human mobility. The model not only accounts for the empirically observed scaling laws but also allows us to analytically predict most of the pertinent scaling exponents

Calcium Phosphate Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73791/1/j.1525-139X.2003.160301.x.pd

From fish to frogs and beyond: Impact and host range of emergent ranaviruses

Ranaviruses are pathogens of ectothermic vertebrates, including amphibians. We reviewed patterns of host range and virulence of ranaviruses in the context of virus genotype and postulate that patterns reflect significant variation in the historical and current host range of three groups of Ranavirus: FV3-like, CMTV-like and ATV-like ranaviruses. Our synthesis supports previous hypotheses about host range and jumps: FV3s are amphibian specialists, while ATVs are predominantly fish specialists that switched once to caudate amphibians. The most recent common ancestor of CMTV-like ranaviruses and FV3-like forms appears to have infected amphibians but CMTV-like ranaviruses may circulate in both amphibian and fish communities independently. While these hypotheses are speculative, we hope that ongoing efforts to describe ranavirus genetics, increased surveillance of host species and targeted experimental assays of susceptibility to infection and/or disease will facilitate better tests of the importance of hypothetical evolutionary drivers of ranavirus virulence and host range

The Citation Field of Evolutionary Economics

Evolutionary economics has developed into an academic field of its own, institutionalized around, amongst others, the Journal of Evolutionary Economics (JEE). This paper analyzes the way and extent to which evolutionary economics has become an interdisciplinary journal, as its aim was: a journal that is indispensable in the exchange of expert knowledge on topics and using approaches that relate naturally with it. Analyzing citation data for the relevant academic field for the Journal of Evolutionary Economics, we use insights from scientometrics and social network analysis to find that, indeed, the JEE is a central player in this interdisciplinary field aiming mostly at understanding technological and regional dynamics. It does not, however, link firmly with the natural sciences (including biology) nor to management sciences, entrepreneurship, and organization studies. Another journal that could be perceived to have evolutionary acumen, the Journal of Economic Issues, does relate to heterodox economics journals and is relatively more involved in discussing issues of firm and industry organization. The JEE seems most keen to develop theoretical insights

Proof-theoretic semantics, a problem with negation and prospects for modality

This paper discusses proof-theoretic semantics, the project of specifying the meanings of the logical constants in terms of rules of inference governing them. I concentrate on Michael Dummett’s and Dag Prawitz’ philosophical motivations and give precise characterisations of the crucial notions of harmony and stability, placed in the context of proving normalisation results in systems of natural deduction. I point out a problem for defining the meaning of negation in this framework and prospects for an account of the meanings of modal operators in terms of rules of inference

How does student educational background affect transition into the first year of veterinary school? Academic performance and support needs in university education

The first year of university is critical in shaping persistence decisions (whether students continue with and complete their degrees) and plays a formative role in influencing student attitudes and approaches to learning. Previous educational experiences, especially previous university education, shape the students’ ability to adapt to the university environment and the study approaches they require to perform well in highly demanding professional programs such as medicine and veterinary medicine. The aim of this research was to explore the support mechanisms, academic achievements, and perception of students with different educational backgrounds in their first year of veterinary school. Using questionnaire data and examination grades, the effects upon perceptions, needs, and educational attainment in first-year students with and without prior university experience were analyzed to enable an in-depth understanding of their needs. Our findings show that school leavers (successfully completed secondary education, but no prior university experience) were outperformed in early exams by those who had previously graduated from university (even from unrelated degrees). Large variations in student perceptions and support needs were discovered between the two groups: graduate students perceived the difficulty and workload as less challenging and valued financial and IT support. Each student is an individual, but ensuring that universities understand their students and provide both academic and non-academic support is essential. This research explores the needs of veterinary students and offers insights into continued provision of support and improvements that can be made to help students achieve their potential and allow informed "Best Practice"