Magnetocaloric effect and magnetostructural coupling in Mn0.92Fe0.08CoGe compound

The structural properties of Mn0.92Fe0.08CoGe have been investigated in detail using synchrotron x-ray diffraction in zero and applied pressure (p = 0-10 GPa). A ferromagnetic transition occurs around TC = 300 K and a large magnetic-entropy change -ΔSM = 17.3 J/kg K detected at TC for a field change of ΔB = 5 T. The field dependence of -ΔSM max can be expressed as -ΔSM max ∞ B. At ambient temperature and pressure, Mn0.92Fe0.08CoGe exhibits a co-existence of the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure (space group Pnma) and hexagonal Ni2In-type structure (space group P63/mmc). Application of external pressure drives a structure change from the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure to the hexagonal Ni2In-type structure. A large anomaly in heat capacity around TC is detected and the Debye temperature θD (=319(±10) K) has been derived from analyses of the low temperature heat capacity, T ≲ 10 K

Social-ecological, motivational and volitional factors for initiating and maintaining physical activity in the context of HIV

Sport and exercise can have several health benefits for people living with HIV. These benefits can be achieved through different types of physical activity, adapting to disease progression, motivation and social-ecological options. However, physical activity levels and adherence to exercise are generally low in people living with HIV. At the same time, high drop-out rates in intervention studies are prevalent; even though they often entail more favourable conditions than interventions in the natural settings. Thus, in the framework of an intervention study, the present study aims to explore social-ecological, motivational and volitional correlates of South African women living with HIV with regard to physical activity and participation in a sport and exercise health promotion programme. The qualitative data was produced in the framework of a non-randomised pre-post intervention study that evaluated structure, processes and outcomes of a 10-week sport and exercise programme. All 25 participants of the programme were included in this analysis, independent of compliance. Data was produced through questionnaires, participatory group discussions, body image pictures, research diaries and individual semi-structured interviews. All participants lived in a low socioeconomic, disadvantaged setting. Hence, the psychological correlates are contextualised and social-ecological influences on perception and behaviour are discussed. The results show the importance of considering social-cultural and environmental influences on individual motives, perceptions and expectancies, the fear of disclosure and stigmatisation, sport and exercise-specific group dynamics and self-supporting processes. Opportunities and strategies to augment physical activity and participation in sport and exercise programmes in the context of HIV are discussed.Scopu

SARS-CoV-2-specific immune responses and clinical outcomes after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with immune-suppressive disease

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immune responses and infection outcomes were evaluated in 2,686 patients with varying immune-suppressive disease states after administration of two Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Overall, 255 of 2,204 (12%) patients failed to develop anti-spike antibodies, with an additional 600 of 2,204 (27%) patients generating low levels (<380 AU ml−1). Vaccine failure rates were highest in ANCA-associated vasculitis on rituximab (21/29, 72%), hemodialysis on immunosuppressive therapy (6/30, 20%) and solid organ transplant recipients (20/81, 25% and 141/458, 31%). SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses were detected in 513 of 580 (88%) patients, with lower T cell magnitude or proportion in hemodialysis, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and liver transplant recipients (versus healthy controls). Humoral responses against Omicron (BA.1) were reduced, although cross-reactive T cell responses were sustained in all participants for whom these data were available. BNT162b2 was associated with higher antibody but lower cellular responses compared to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. We report 474 SARS-CoV-2 infection episodes, including 48 individuals with hospitalization or death from COVID-19. Decreased magnitude of both the serological and the T cell response was associated with severe COVID-19. Overall, we identified clinical phenotypes that may benefit from targeted COVID-19 therapeutic strategies

Associations between neighbourhood environmental factors and the uptake and effectiveness of a brief intervention to increase physical activity: findings from deprived urban communities in an English city

Background: Evidence suggests behavioural interventions may exacerbate health inequalities, potentially due to differences in uptake or effectiveness. We used a physical activity intervention targeting deprived communities to identify neighbourhood-level factors that might explain differences in programme impact. Methods: Individuals aged 40–65 were sent a postal invitation offering a brief intervention to increase physical activity. We used postcodes linkage to determine whether neighbourhood indicators of deprivation, housing, crime and proximity to green spaces and leisure facilities predicted uptake of the initial invitation or an increase in physical activity level in those receiving the brief intervention. Results: A total of 4134 (6.8%) individuals responded to the initial invitation and of those receiving the intervention and contactable after 3 months, 486 (51.6%) reported an increase in physical activity. Area deprivation scores linked to postcodes predicted intervention uptake, but not intervention effectiveness. Neighbourhood indicators did not predict either uptake or intervention effectiveness. Conclusions: The main barrier to using brief intervention invitations to increase physical activity in deprived, middle-aged populations was the low uptake of an intervention requiring significant time and motivation from participants. Once individuals have taken up the intervention offer, neighbourhood characteristics did not appear to be significant barriers to successful lifestyle change

Proteomic analysis of human plasma during intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) increases lifespan and decreases metabolic disease phenotypes and cancer risk in model organisms, but the health benefits of IF in humans are less clear. Human plasma derived from clinical trials is one of the most difficult sample sets to analyze using mass spectrometry-based proteomics due to the extensive sample preparation required and the need to process many samples to achieve statistical significance. Here, we describe an optimized and accessible device (Spin96) to accommodate up to 96 StageTips, a widely used sample preparation medium enabling efficient and consistent processing of samples prior to LC-MS/MS. We have applied this device to the analysis of human plasma from a clinical trial of IF. In this longitudinal study employing 8-weeks IF, we identified significant abundance differences induced by the IF intervention, including increased apolipoprotein A4 (APOA4) and decreased apolipoprotein C2 (APOC2) and C3 (APOC3). These changes correlated with a significant decrease in plasma triglycerides after the IF intervention. Given that these proteins have a role in regulating apolipoprotein particle metabolism, we propose that IF had a positive effect on lipid metabolism through modulation of HDL particle size and function. In addition, we applied a novel human protein variant database to detect common protein variants across the participants. We show that consistent detection of clinically relevant peptides derived from both alleles of many proteins is possible, including some that are associated with human metabolic phenotypes. Together, these findings illustrate the power of accessible workflows for proteomics analysis of clinical samples to yield significant biological insight.Dylan J. Harney, Amy T. Hutchison, Luke Hatchwell, Sean J. Humphrey, David E. James, Samantha Hocking, Leonie K. Heilbronn and Mark Laranc

Comparison of high-order harmonic generation in uracil and thymine ablation plumes

We present studies of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in laser ablation plumes of the ribonucleic acid nucleobase uracil and its deoxyribonucleic acid counterpart thymine. Harmonics were generated using 780 nm, 30 fs and 1300 nm, 40 fs radiation upon ablation with 1064 nm, 10 ns or 780 nm, 160 ps pulses. Strong HHG signals were observed from uracil plumes with harmonics emitted with photon energies >55 eV. Results obtained in uracil plumes were compared with those from thymine, which did not yield signs of harmonic generation. The ablation plumes of the two compounds were examined by collection of the ablation debris on a silicon substrate placed in close proximity to the target and by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. From this evidence we conclude that the differences in HHG signal are due to the different fragmentation dynamics of the molecules in the plasma plume. These studies constitute the first attempt to analyse differences in structural properties of complex molecules through plasma ablation-induced HHG spectroscopy. © 2013 the Owner Societies.Peer Reviewe