Breaking the Cycle of Pain In Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

An attitude of helplessness pervades both patients and health professionals when dealing with the problems of dia betic peripheral neuropathy. Those afflicted are often over whelmed by the pain and find themselves unable to fulfill the daily requirements of their diabetes regimen. The in consistencies in amounts and timing of meals, levels of ac tivity, and scheduling of insulin injections can result in hyperglycemia, a state that has been found to correlate strongly with the occurrence of nerve damage. Thus the pain perpetrates itself. For the health professional, having to confront this devastating pain without objective factors to assess and few scientific treatment measures to offer con tributes to a sense of inadequacy and ignorance. It is fre quently assumed that "nothing can be done." In reality, health professionals do have something to offer the person suffering from this condition. First, they can provide infor mation about the relationship between control and compli cations, and explain the need for the patient to change those behaviors that may be perpetuating the pain. Sec ond, and most importantly, health professionals can con vey support and confidence, without which many patients will be unable to make the changes in their behavior neces sary to resolve their pain.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68854/2/10.1177_014572178501100103.pd

Intramolecular bonds resolved on a semiconductor surface

Noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) is now routinely capable of obtaining submolecular resolution, readily resolving the carbon backbone structure of planar organic molecules adsorbed on metal substrates. Here we show that the same resolution may also be obtained for molecules adsorbed on a reactive semiconducting substrate. Surprisingly, this resolution is routinely obtained without the need for deliberate tip functionalization. Intriguingly, we observe two chemically distinct apex types capable of submolecular imaging. We characterize our tip apices by “inverse imaging” of the silicon adatoms of the Si(111)−7×7 surface and support our findings with detailed density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We also show that intramolecular resolution on individual molecules may be readily obtained at 78 K, rather than solely at 5 K as previously demonstrated. Our results suggest a wide range of tips may be capable of producing intramolecular contrast for molecules adsorbed on semiconductor surfaces, leading to a much broader applicability for submolecular imaging protocols

Mapping the force field of a hydrogen-bonded assembly

Hydrogen bonding underpins the properties of a vast array of systems spanning a wide variety of scientific fields. From the elegance of base pair interactions in DNA to the symmetry of extended supramolecular assemblies, hydrogen bonds play an essential role in directing intermolecular forces. Yet fundamental aspects of the hydrogen bond continue to be vigorously debated. Here we use dynamic force microscopy (DFM) to quantitatively map the tip-sample force field for naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimide molecules hydrogen-bonded in two-dimensional assemblies. A comparison of experimental images and force spectra with their simulated counterparts shows that intermolecular contrast arises from repulsive tip-sample interactions whose interpretation can be aided via an examination of charge density depletion across the molecular system. Interpreting DFM images of hydrogen-bonded systems therefore necessitates detailed consideration of the coupled tip-molecule system: analyses based on intermolecular charge density in the absence of the tip fail to capture the essential physical chemistry underpinning the imaging mechanism

On the exchange of intersection and supremum of sigma-fields in filtering theory

We construct a stationary Markov process with trivial tail sigma-field and a nondegenerate observation process such that the corresponding nonlinear filtering process is not uniquely ergodic. This settles in the negative a conjecture of the author in the ergodic theory of nonlinear filters arising from an erroneous proof in the classic paper of H. Kunita (1971), wherein an exchange of intersection and supremum of sigma-fields is taken for granted.Comment: 20 page

A koherencia mint a lelki és testi egészség alapvető meghatározója a mai magyar társadalomban = Sense of coherence as an important determinant of mental and physical health

Az ún. salutogenezis modell olyan keretet kínál, amelyben a koherencia élmény bevezetésével lehetőség nyílik az „egész”-ség dinamikus értelmezésére. Vizsgálatunkban a Richard Rahe-féle, az „élet értelme” koherencia kérdőív összefüggéseit vizsgáltuk az egészségi állapottal. A Hungarostudy 2002 felmérés a 18 évesnél idősebb magyar népességet életkor, nem és terület szerint képviseli. 12 640 személlyel vettünk fel otthoni interjút. Az így vizsgált koherencia mutatót az egészségi állapot igen fontos előrejelzőjének találtuk. Ha az adatokat életkor, nem és iskolázottság szerint korrigáltuk, az egészségi állapot önbecslése mintegy 10-szer, a munkaképesség 8-szor jobb, a depresszió valószínűsége 7-szer alacsonyabb volt. Az „élet értelme” mutató igen szoros kapcsolatban áll az önhatékonysággal, a problémaorientált megbirkózással, a társas támogatással, ezzel szemben kevésbé függ az iskolázottságtól, az életkortól és a nemtől

Unique determination of “subatomic” contrast by imaging covalent backbonding

The origin of so-called “subatomic” resolution in dynamic force microscopy has remained controversial since its first observation in 2000. A number of detailed experimental and theoretical studies have identified different possible physicochemical mechanisms potentially giving rise to subatomic contrast. In this study, for the first time we are able to assign the origin of a specific instance of subatomic contrast as being due to the back bonding of a surface atom in the tip−sample junction

Fenologia de três espécies de plantas daninhas de pastagem em uma área de ecótono Cerrado-Pantanal.

A competição das plantas daninhas com as forrageiras em áreas de pastagens ocorre desde o momento da semeadura e perdura até mesmo após o estabelecimento do pasto (DIAS-FILHO, 1990; DIAS-FILHO, 2006), sendo que o manejo destas plantas envolve práticas associadas ao controle mecânico (remoção das plantas), controle químico (uso de herbicidas) e a queima (SANTOS et al., 2006). Na pecuária, algumas plantas daninhas são indesejáveis por prejudicar a produção animal, competir com as forrageiras, serem tóxicas e/ou causarem ferimentos ao homem ou aos animais (POTT; POTT; SOUZA, 2006). Nos casos do Cerrado e do Pantanal, parte considerável das espécies daninhas de pastagens são plantas nativas, ou seja, já possuem associações com espécies locais e são oportunistas em relação à colonização de novos habitats (POTT; POTT; SOUZA, 2006; SANTOS et al., 2006). Uma vez que o conhecimento da fenologia de plantas daninhas é crucial para práticas de controle mais adequadas das mesmas (SPADOTT et al., 1994; DIAS et al., 2013), o objetivo deste trabalho foi registrar e caracterizar os eventos fenológicos de três espécies de plantas daninhas de pastagens em uma área de ecótono Cerrado-Pantanal: Croton campestris A. St.-Hil. (Euphorbiaceae), Sapium haematospermum Müll. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) e Annona crassiflora Mart. (Annonaceae) e fornecer subsídios para o manejo e a conservação do ecótono Cerrado-Pantanal

On-Surface Covalent Linking of Organic Building Blocks on a Bulk Insulator

Kittelmann M, Rahe P, Nimmrich M, Hauke CM, Gourdon A, Kühnle A. On-Surface Covalent Linking of Organic Building Blocks on a Bulk Insulator. ACS Nano. 2011;5(10):8420-8425.On-surface synthesis in ultrahigh vacuum provides a promising strategy for creating thermally and chemically stable molecular structures at surfaces. The two-dimensional confinement of the educts, the possibility of working at higher (or lower) temperatures in the absence of solvent, and the templating effect of the surface bear the potential of preparing compounds that cannot be obtained in solution. Moreover, covalently linked conjugated molecules allow for efficient electron transport and are, thus, particularly interesting for future molecular electronics applications. When having these applications in mind, electrically insulating substrates are mandatory to provide sufficient decoupling of the molecular structure from the substrate surface. So far, however, on-surface synthesis has been achieved only on metallic substrates. Here we demonstrate the covalent linking of organic molecules on a bulk insulator, namely, calcite. We deliberately employ the strong electrostatic interaction between the carboxylate groups of halide-substituted benzoic adds and the surface calcium cations to prevent molecular desorption and to reach homolytic cleavage temperatures. This allows for the formation of aryl radicals and intermolecular coupling. By varying the number and position of the halide substitution, we rationally design the resulting structures, revealing straight lines, zigzag structures, and dimers, thus providing clear evidence for the covalent linking. Our results constitute an important step toward exploiting on-surface synthesis for molecular electronics and optics applications, which require electrically insulating rather than metallic supporting substrates

Randomized evaluation of fibrinogen vs placebo in complex cardiovascular surgery (REPLACE) : a double-blind phase III study of haemostatic therapy

Background: Single-dose human fibrinogen concentrate (FCH) might have haemostatic benefits in complex cardiovascular surgery. Methods: Patients undergoing elective aortic surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass were randomly assigned to receive FCH or placebo. Study medication was administered to patients with a 5 min bleeding mass of 60-250 g after separation from bypass and surgical haemostasis. A standardized algorithm for allogeneic blood product transfusion was followed if bleeding continued after study medication. Results: 519 patients from 34 centres were randomized, of whom 152 (29%) met inclusion criteria for study medication. Median (IQR) pretreatment 5 min bleeding mass was 107 (76-138) and 91 (71-112) g in the FCH and placebo groups, respectively (P=0.13). More allogeneic blood product units were administered during the first 24 h after FCH, 5.0 (2.0-11.0), when compared with placebo, 3.0 (0.0-7.0), P=0.026. Fewer patients avoided transfusion in the FCH group (15.4%) compared with placebo (28.4%), P=0.047. The FCH immediately increased plasma fibrinogen concentration and fibrin-based clot strength. Adverse event rates were comparable in each group. Conclusions: Human fibrinogen concentrate was associated with increased allogeneic blood product transfusion, an unexpected finding contrary to previous studies. Human fibrinogen concentrate may not be effective in this setting when administered according to 5-minute bleeding mass. Low bleeding rates and normal-range plasma fibrinogen concentrations before study medication, and variability in adherence to the complex transfusion algorithm, may have contributed to these results.Peer reviewe