Dynamics of Micropollutant Adsorption to Polystyrene Surfaces Probed by Angle-Resolved Second Harmonic Scattering

Angle-resolved second harmonic scattering is used to probe the adsorption dynamics of aqueous cationic and anionic dye molecules onto polystyrene surfaces. The adsorptions of malachite green to negatively charged polystyrene and naphthol yellow S to positively charged polystyrene are both highly favorable, with Î"GAds values of -10.9 ± 0.2 and -10.27 ± 0.09 kcal/mol, respectively. A competitive displacement methodology was employed to obtain values for the adsorption free energies of various smaller neutral organic molecules, including the important micropollutant ascorbic acid, caffeine, and pentoxifylline. For charged adsorbers, electrostatic interactions appear to significantly contribute to adsorption behavior. However, electrostatic repulsion does not necessarily deter the adsorption of molecules with large uncharged moieties (e.g., surfactants). In these cases, the mechanism of adsorption is dominated by van der Waals interactions, with the surface charge playing a relatively minor role

Maintaining credibility when communicating uncertainty: The role of communication format

Research into risk communication has commonly highlighted the disparity between the meaning intended by the communicator and what is understood by the recipient. Such miscommunications will have implications for perceived trust and expertise of the communicator, but it is not known whether this differs according to the communication format. We examined the effect of using verbal, numerical and mixed communication formats on perceptions of credibility and correctness, as well as whether they influenced a decision to evacuate, both before and after an ‘erroneous’ prediction (i.e. an ‘unlikely’ event occurs, or a ‘likely’ event does not occur). We observed no effect of communication format on any of the measures pre-outcome, but found the numerical format was perceived as less incorrect, as well as more credible than the other formats after an ‘erroneous’ prediction, but only when low probability expressions were used. Our findings suggest numbers should be used in consequential risk communications

Harris Williams Collection - Accession 1234

The C. Harris Williams Collection consists of newspaper clippings and photographs pertaining to the 1952 Rock Hill Centennial Celebration. C. Harris Williams (1912-1960) was a Rock Hill, SC resident, owner of the Williams Gulf Station in Rock Hill, and was a member of the Brothers of the Brush. Most of the photographs in the collection are of Mr. Williams and fellow members of the Brothers of the Bush participating in the 1952 Rock Hill Centennial events and include images of skits, parades, Rock Hill citizens, and Rock Hill Main Street and Downtown. There is also an original photograph of a cotton scene on Main Street in Rock Hill in the early 1900s (possibly 1911). The collection also includes several newspaper clippings related to the Centennial Celebration.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/manuscriptcollection_findingaids/1995/thumbnail.jp

Understanding ‘Unlikely (20% Likelihood)’ or ‘20% Likelihood (Unlikely)’ Outcomes: The Robustness of the Extremity Effect

Calls to communicate uncertainty using mixed, verbal‐numerical formats (‘unlikely [0–33%]’) have stemmed from research comparing mixed with solely verbal communications. Research using the new ‘which outcome’ approach to investigate understanding of verbal probability expressions suggests, however, that mixed formats might convey disadvantages compared with purely numerical communications. When asked to indicate an outcome that is ‘unlikely’, participants have been shown to often indicate outcomes with a value exceeding the maximum value shown, equivalent to a 0% probability —an ‘extremity effect’. Recognising the potential consequences of communication recipients expecting an ‘unlikely’ event to never occur, we extend the ‘which outcome’ work across four experiments, using verbal, numerical, and verbal‐numerical communication formats, as well as a previously unconsidered numerical‐verbal format. We examine how robust the effect is in the context of consequential outcomes and over non‐normal distributions. We also investigate whether participants are aware of the inconsistency in their responses from a traditional ‘how likely’ and ‘which outcome’ task. We replicate and extend previous findings, with preference for extreme outcomes (including above maximum values) observed in both verbal and verbal‐numerical formats. Our results suggest caution in blanket usage of recently recommended verbal‐numerical formats for the communication of uncertainty

Muscle fiber and motor unit behavior in the longest human skeletal muscle

The sartorius muscle is the longest muscle in the human body. It is strap-like, up to 600 mm in length, and contains five to seven neurovascular compartments, each with a neuromuscular endplate zone. Some of its fibers terminate intrafascicularly, whereas others may run the full length of the muscle. To assess the location and timing of activation within motor units of this long muscle, we recorded electromyographic potentials from multiple intramuscular electrodes along sartorius muscle during steady voluntary contraction and analyzed their activity with spike-triggered averaging from a needle electrode inserted near the proximal end of the muscle. Approximately 30% of sartorius motor units included muscle fibers that ran the full length of the muscle, conducting action potentials at 3.9 +/- 0.1 m/s. Most motor units were innervated within a single muscle endplate zone that was not necessarily near the midpoint of the fiber. As a consequence, action potentials reached the distal end of a unit as late as 100 ms after initiation at an endplate zone. Thus, contractile activity is not synchronized along the length of single sartorius fibers. We postulate that lateral transmission of force from fiber to endomysium and a wide distribution of motor unit endplates along the muscle are critical for the efficient transmission of force from sarcomere to tendon and for the prevention of muscle injury caused by overextension of inactive regions of muscle fibers

HOSTED—England's Household Transmission Evaluation Dataset: preliminary findings from a novel passive surveillance system of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is an important component of the community spread of the pandemic. Little is known about the factors associated with household transmission, at the level of the case, contact or household, or how these have varied over the course of the pandemic. METHODS: The Household Transmission Evaluation Dataset (HOSTED) is a passive surveillance system linking laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases to individuals living in the same household in England. We explored the risk of household transmission according to: age of case and contact, sex, region, deprivation, month and household composition between April and September 2020, building a multivariate model. RESULTS: In the period studied, on average, 5.5% of household contacts in England were diagnosed as cases. Household transmission was most common between adult cases and contacts of a similar age. There was some evidence of lower transmission rates to under-16s [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66-0.74). There were clear regional differences, with higher rates of household transmission in the north of England and the Midlands. Less deprived areas had a lower risk of household transmission. After controlling for region, there was no effect of deprivation, but houses of multiple occupancy had lower rates of household transmission [aOR 0.74 (0.66-0.83)]. CONCLUSIONS: Children are less likely to acquire SARS-CoV-2 via household transmission, and consequently there was no difference in the risk of transmission in households with children. Households in which cases could isolate effectively, such as houses of multiple occupancy, had lower rates of household transmission. Policies to support the effective isolation of cases from their household contacts could lower the level of household transmission

Evolution of surname distribution under gender-equality measurements

We consider a model for the evolution of the surnames distribution under a gender-equality measurement presently discussed in the Spanish parliament (the children take the surname of the father or the mother according to alphabetical order). We quantify how this would bias the alphabetical distribution of surnames, and analyze its effect on the present distribution of the surnames in Spain

Arthroscopic Treatment of Acetabular Retroversion With Acetabuloplasty and Subspine Decompression: A Matched Comparison With Patients Undergoing Arthroscopic Treatment for Focal Pincer-Type Femoroacetabular Impingement.

BackgroundGlobal acetabular retroversion is classically treated with open reverse periacetabular osteotomy. Given the low morbidity and recent success associated with the arthroscopic treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), there may also be a role for arthroscopic treatment of acetabular retroversion. However, the safety and outcomes after hip arthroscopic surgery for retroversion need further study, and the effect of impingement from the anterior inferior iliac spine (subspine) in patients with retroversion is currently unknown.HypothesisArthroscopic treatment for global acetabular retroversion will be safe, and patients will have similar outcomes compared with a matched group undergoing arthroscopic treatment for focal pincer-type FAI.Study designCohort study; Level of evidence, 2.MethodsPatients undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery for symptomatic global acetabular retroversion were prospectively enrolled and compared with a matched group of patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery for focal pincer-type FAI. Both groups underwent the same arthroscopic treatment protocol. All patients were administered patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, including the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) Physical Component Summary (PCS) and a Mental Component Summary (MCS), modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively.ResultsThere were no differences in age, sex, or body mass index between 39 hips treated for global acetabular retroversion and 39 hips treated for focal pincer-type FAI. There were no major or minor complications in either group. Patients who underwent arthroscopic treatment for global acetabular retroversion demonstrated similar significant improvements in postoperative PRO scores (scores increased by 17 to 43 points) as patients who underwent arthroscopic treatment for focal pincer-type FAI. Patients treated for retroversion who also underwent subspine decompression had greater improvement than patients who did not undergo subspine decompression for the HOOS-Pain (33.7 ± 15.3 vs 22.5 ± 17.6, respectively; P = .046) and HOOS-Quality of Life (49.7 ± 18.8 vs 34.6 ± 22.0, respectively; P = .030) scores.ConclusionArthroscopic treatment for acetabular retroversion is safe and provides significant clinical improvement similar to arthroscopic treatment for pincer-type FAI. Patients with acetabular retroversion who also underwent arthroscopic subspine decompression demonstrated greater improvements in pain and quality of life outcomes than those who underwent arthroscopic treatment without subspine decompression

Staphylococcal Periscope proteins Aap, SasG, and Pls project noncanonical legume-like lectin adhesin domains from the bacterial surface

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are frequently associated with medical device infections that involve establishment of a bacterial biofilm on the device surface. Staphylococcal surface proteins Aap, SasG, and Pls are members of the Periscope Protein class and have been implicated in biofilm formation and host colonization; they comprise a repetitive region ("B region") and an N-terminal host colonization domain within the "A region," predicted to be a lectin domain. Repetitive E-G5 domains (as found in Aap, SasG, and Pls) form elongated "stalks" that would vary in length with repeat number, resulting in projection of the N-terminal A domain variable distances from the bacterial cell surface. Here, we present the structures of the lectin domains within A regions of SasG, Aap, and Pls and a structure of the Aap lectin domain attached to contiguous E-G5 repeats, suggesting the lectin domains will sit at the tip of the variable length rod. We demonstrate that these isolated domains (Aap, SasG) are sufficient to bind to human host desquamated nasal epithelial cells. Previously, proteolytic cleavage or a deletion within the A domain had been reported to induce biofilm formation; the structures suggest a potential link between these observations. Intriguingly, while the Aap, SasG, and Pls lectin domains bind a metal ion, they lack the nonproline cis peptide bond thought to be key for carbohydrate binding by the lectin fold. This suggestion of noncanonical ligand binding should be a key consideration when investigating the host cell interactions of these bacterial surface proteins