Reading ability influences native and non-native voice recognition, even for unimpaired readers

Research suggests that phonological ability exerts a gradient influence on talker identification, including evidence that adults and children with reading disability show impaired talker recognition for native and non-native languages. The present study examined whether this relationship is also observed among unimpaired readers. Learning rate and generalization of learning in a talker identification task were examined in average and advanced readers who were tested in both native and non-native language conditions. The results indicate that even among unimpaired readers, phonological competence as captured by reading ability exerts a gradient influence on perceptual learning for talkers' voices (...

Radiation stability of diglycolamide functionalized calix[4]arenes in ionic liquid: Solvent extraction, EPR and GC–MS studies

Ionic liquid-based solvent systems containing diglycolamide-functionalized calix[4]arenes (C4DGAs) are efficient for actinide ion extraction from nitric acid feeds. Therefore, the radiolytic stability of three C4DGAs (wide-rim, narrow-rim and both side DGA-functionalized calix[4]arenes) and TODGA (N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyldiglycolamide) (used for comparison purpose), was evaluated by exposing their solutions in an ionic liquid as well as a 95:5 mixture of n-dodecane + isodecanol to gamma radiation up to an absorbed dose of 1000 kGy. Liquid–liquid extraction studies were carried out using 241Am as a radiotracer. Apart from a decrease in the DAm values, ascribed to radiolytic degradation, FT-IR, EPR and GC–MS studies were carried out to characterize the degraded species. The different extractants are less sensitive to radiolytic degradation in the ionic liquid than in the molecular diluent

Caring for people with multiple chronic conditions in the United Kingdom: policy and practices with a focus on England and Scotland.

General Practice (Primary Care) is responsible for the provision of health care for people with chronic conditions in the UK. General Practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses play a key role in the coordination of care with input from secondary care specialists. The prevalence of coexisting chronic health conditions (multimorbidity) is rising and is a challenge facing health care in the UK. All four UK countries have a strategic emphasis at government level on the investigation of current provision and the redesign of healthcare delivery for patients with chronic conditions, including those with multimorbidity. Several initiatives focusing specifically on the care of patients with multimorbidity have been developed within the last 5 years in the UK with the aim of improving their care and quality of life. These initiatives are often provided by multi-disciplinary teams and by integrated teams, including health care, social care and the voluntary sector

Rapid crystallization process development strategy from lab to industrial scale with PAT tools in skid configuration

Batch cooling crystallization is a commonly used separation and purification step in the pharmaceutical industry. Various properties of the crystalline product from a batch crystallizer can have a strong impact on the efficiency of downstream processes such as filtration and drying, on the formulation process and on the dissolution behaviour of the drug. Development of the crystallization processes presents a major challenge in the process development of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Therefore, it is beneficial to develop a rapid crystallization process development strategy to industrial scale. In this paper we present a strategy for rapid process development and apply this strategy for androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione, cyclic 1742,2-dimethyltrimethylene acetal), a pharmaceutical intermediate produced by Merck Sharp and Dohme. The major advantages of the strategy are that there is no requirement of the crystallizer design modification, the calibration of the process analytical technology (PAT) tools can be performed at industrial scale, and the determination of the operating window can be done directly at the industrial scale. This strategy allows for process optimization directly at the industrial scale, thus eliminating the need for time-intensive scale-dependent study. The implementation of this strategy at industrial scale was performed with the help of PAT tools arranged in a unique skid-based configuration. The skid which contains both the concentration sensors and the crystal size distribution (CSD) sensors can be connected to the existing crystallizers, thereby avoiding the time and cost-intensive modifications in the crystallizer design. The modular nature of the skid offers opportunities to choose the PAT tools which complement the solute-solvent model system. The skid makes it possible to gather the relevant information concerning the thermodynamics and kinetics of the model system in situ during the crystallization runs at the industrial scale. A strategy for process development based on a sensor skid is beneficial for the industry as it is intrinsically rapid and can be combined with the development of control strategies which lead to consistent product qualit

Assessment of ambient gamma dose rate around a prospective uranium mining area of South India – A comparative study of dose by direct methods and soil radioactivity measurements

Indoor and outdoor gamma dose rates were evaluated around a prospective uranium mining region – Gogi, South India through (i) direct measurements using a GM based gamma dose survey meter, (ii) integrated measurement days using CaSO4:Dy based thermo luminescent dosimeters (TLDs), and (iii) analyses of 273 soil samples for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K activity concentration using HPGe gamma spectrometry. The geometric mean values of indoor and outdoor gamma dose rates were 104 nGy h−1 and 97 nGy h−1, respectively with an indoor to outdoor dose ratio of 1.09. The gamma dose rates and activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K varied significantly within a small area due to the highly localized mineralization of the elements. Correlation study showed that the dose estimated from the soil radioactivity is better correlated with that measured directly using the portable survey meter, when compared to that obtained from TLDs. This study showed that in a region having localized mineralization in situ measurements using dose survey meter provide better representative values of gamma dose rates

The effect of sevoflurane on the transmural dispersion of repolarisation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a prospective observational study

The 'torsadogenic' property of a drug is linked to its ability to increase the transmural dispersion of repolarisation, represented by the interval between the peak of, and the end of, the T-wave (Tp-e interval) in an electrocardiogram. Reports have consistently shown that sevoflurane does not increase the Tp-e interval. Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for increased QTc (rate-corrected QT interval), QTcd (rate-corrected QTc dispersion: difference between the maximum and the minimum QTc interval), and Tp-e, as well as the rate-corrected Tp-e (Tp-e/QTc ratio). The study aimed to ascertain whether sevoflurane increased the Tp-e interval and Tp-e/QTc ratio in patients with diabetes, thereby increasing their risk of torsades. We enrolled 35 female patients; 17 with type 2 diabetes and 18 controls undergoing non-laparoscopic surgery under sevoflurane anaesthesia. The Tp-e interval, Tp-e/QTc ratio, QTc and QTcd were recorded after intubation, 5, 10, 30 and 60 minutes into the anaesthetic, and were compared between the groups. No significant increase in the Tp-e interval or Tp-e/QTc was observed between or within the groups (a 13 ms increase was considered significant). In the control group, the QTc was significantly increased from baseline immediately after intubation (449 versus 414 ms, P <0.001); at 5 minutes (434 versus 414 ms, P=0.01); at 10 minutes (444 versus 414 ms, P=0.002); at 30 minutes (439 versus 414 ms, P=0.001) and at 60 minutes (442 versus 414 ms; P <0.001) (a 20 ms increase was considered significant). No significant increase in QTc was observed in the diabetic group. There were no between or within group differences observed for QTcd. Our findings suggest that sevoflurane does not have a significant predictable pro-arrhythmic effect in type 2 diabetic patients in the absence of other factors affecting ventricular repolarisation

Diglycolamide-functionalized task specific ionic liquids for nuclear waste remediation: extraction, luminescence, theoretical and EPR investigations

A 3.6 × 10−2 M solution of a diglycolamide-functionalized task specific ionic liquid (DGA-TSIL) in [C4mim][NTf2] was used for the extraction of actinides (mainly Am) and other elements present in high level nuclear waste. The extraction of Eu3+ was relatively higher than that of Am3+ conforming to the mechanism displayed by other diglycolamide extractants such as TODGA (tetraoctyl diglycolamide). The distribution ratio values decreased in the presence of simulated high level waste (SHLW) as compared to those obtained with pure tracers. The nature of the extracted species was established by the slope analysis method which suggested 1:2 species for the extraction of Am3+ and Eu3+. Calculation of the Judd–Ofelt parameters from the luminescence data of the Eu3+ complexes indicated that the structure of the extracted complexes exhibits S4 symmetry. Theoretical calculations showed virtually no difference between the structures of the complexes of Am3+ and Eu3+. The nature of the radiolytic degradation products was analyzed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic measurements revealing the presence of alkyl imidazolium and methyl radicals