Solubility studies of ultra pure transition elements in ultra pure alkali metals

Solubility of pure iron, molybdenum, niobium, and tantalum in liquid potassiu

Manufacturing checkout of orbital operational stages Midterm report, period ending 24 Feb. 1965

Manufacturing checkout of orbital operational Saturn S-IVB stage and instrument unit for parking orbit operation

The public health rationale for promoting plant protein as an important part of a sustainable and healthy diet

Open Access via Wiley publishing agreement. Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (GrantNumber(s): 1st April 2016 \ 31st March 2022) Minister of Science and Higher Education (GrantNumber(s): Project No. 010/RID/2018/19)Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Cross-Institutional Perspective of Pre Laboratory Activities in Undergraduate Chemistry

Pre-laboratory exercises may help reduce cognitive load in the laboratory, boost confidence, develop theoretical understanding and skills, and improve grades on assessment tasks. This study compared pre-laboratory activities at two institutions, Go8-1 and Go8-2, to evaluate which attributes of pre-laboratory activities were perceived by students to best prepare them for laboratory classes. Students were surveyed towards the end of their laboratory course, and were asked a series of Likert-style and open response questions. Factor analysis was used to construct three scales, incorporating items relating to performance and understanding, items relating to affective and personal laboratory experience, and items relating to requiring support with laboratory equipment. No difference between cohorts was observed between the two institutions regarding requiring support with equipment. While Go8-1 students rated performance and understanding more highly than Go8-2 students, the opposite result was observed for affective and personal factors. The factor analysis results and responses to the open response questions indicated that students felt most prepared for laboratory exercises when the pre-class activities touched upon all aspects of the laboratory class. It is recommended that quizzes and video be used in pre-laboratory activities, with these resources covering theory, aims, methods, calculations and data analysis

Assessing the impact on chronic disease of incorporating the societal cost of greenhouse gases into the price of food: an econometric and comparative risk assessment modelling study

Objectives To model the impact on chronic disease of a tax on UK food and drink that internalises the wider costs to society of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to estimate the potential revenue. Design An econometric and comparative risk assessment modelling study. Setting The UK. Participants The UK adult population. Interventions Two tax scenarios are modelled: (A) a tax of £2.72/tonne carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e)/100 g product applied to all food and drink groups with above average GHG emissions. (B) As with scenario (A) but food groups with emissions below average are subsidised to create a tax neutral scenario. Outcome measures Primary outcomes are change in UK population mortality from chronic diseases following the implementation of each taxation strategy, the change in the UK GHG emissions and the predicted revenue. Secondary outcomes are the changes to the micronutrient composition of the UK diet. Results Scenario (A) results in 7770 (95% credible intervals 7150 to 8390) deaths averted and a reduction in GHG emissions of 18 683 (14 665to 22 889) ktCO2e/year. Estimated annual revenue is £2.02 (£1.98 to £2.06) billion. Scenario (B) results in 2685 (1966 to 3402) extra deaths and a reduction in GHG emissions of 15 228 (11 245to 19 492) ktCO2e/year. Conclusions Incorporating the societal cost of GHG into the price of foods could save 7770 lives in the UK each year, reduce food-related GHG emissions and generate substantial tax revenue. The revenue neutral scenario (B) demonstrates that sustainability and health goals are not always aligned. Future work should focus on investigating the health impact by population subgroup and on designing fiscal strategies to promote both sustainable and healthy diets

Death is associated with complement C3 depletion in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with pneumococcal meningitis.

Pneumococcal meningitis can lead to death or serious neurological sequelae as a result of the host inflammatory response. We investigated the association between host response protein expression and outcome in patients with pneumococcal meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was obtained from 80 patients with pneumococcal meningitis (40 nonsurvivors and 40 survivors) and 10 normal controls. Candidate proteins were analyzed for an association with survival. Complement C3 levels were 5-fold lower in nonsurvivors than in survivors (P < 0.05). This C3 reduction was not associated with lower levels in serum, indicating a compartmentalized CSF response. Transferrin levels were significantly higher in CSF (but not serum) from nonsurvivors than in CSF from survivors, suggestive of blood-brain barrier damage. Classical apoptosis proteins caspase 3 and apoptosis-inducing factor were not present in CSF. Expression of creatine kinase BB in clinically infected CSF suggested neuronal necrosis, but there was no clear association between level of expression and clinical outcome. Increased blood-brain barrier permeability and complement C3 depletion may have a role in determining outcome from bacterial meningitis. Therapeutic use of citicoline or caspase inhibitors is unlikely to have beneficial effects in patients with meningitis. IMPORTANCE: We previously identified proteins associated with clinical outcome in patients diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis in a pilot proteomics study of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In this article, we have quantitatively assayed specific proteins identified from this previous proteomics analysis along with proteins associated with cell death by using Western blotting

On the subunit composition of the Neurospora plasma membrane H+-ATPase.

The resolution-reconstitution approach has been employed in order to gain information as to the subunit composition of the Neurospora plasma membrane H+-ATPase. Proteoliposomes prepared from sonicated asolectin and a highly purified, radiolabeled preparation of the 105,000-dalton hydrolytic moiety of the H+-ATPase by a freeze-thaw procedure catalyze ATP hydrolysis-dependent proton translocation as indicated by the extensive 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine fluorescence quenching that occurs upon the addition of MgATP to the proteoliposomes, and the reversal of this quenching induced by the H+-ATPase inhibitor, vanadate, and the proton conductors, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone and nigericin plus K+. ATP hydrolysis is tightly coupled to proton translocation into the liposomes as indicated by the marked stimulation of ATP hydrolysis by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone and nigericin plus K+. The maximum stimulation of ATPase activity by proton conductors is about 3-fold, which indicates that at least two-thirds of the hydrolytically active ATPase molecules present in the reconstituted preparation are capable of translocating protons into the liposomes. Furthermore, as estimated by the extent of protection of the reconstituted 105,000-dalton hydrolytic moiety against tryptic degradation by vanadate in the presence of Mg2+ and ATP, the fraction of the total population of ATPase molecules that are hydrolytically active is at least 91%. Taken together, these data indicate that at least 61% of the ATPase molecules present in the reconstituted preparation are able to catalyze proton translocation. This information allows an estimation of the amount of any polypeptide in the preparation that must be present in order for that polypeptide to qualify as a subunit that is required for proton translocation in addition to the 105,000-dalton hydrolytic moiety, and an analysis of the radiolabeled ATPase preparation by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea rules out the involvement of any such polypeptides larger than 2,500 daltons. This indicates that the Neurospora plasma membrane H+-ATPase has no subunits even vaguely resembling any that have been found to be associated with other transport ATPases and that if this enzyme has any subunits at all other than the 105,000-dalton hydrolytic moiety, they must be very small

Steady and Stable: Numerical Investigations of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations

Excerpt: Mathematics is a language which can describe patterns in everyday life as well as abstract concepts existing only in our minds. Patterns exist in data, functions, and sets constructed around a common theme, but the most tangible patterns are visual. Visual demonstrations can help undergraduate students connect to abstract concepts in advanced mathematical courses. The study of partial differential equations, in particular, benefits from numerical analysis and simulation

A health impact assessment of the UK soft drinks industry levy: a comparative risk assessment modelling study

Background In March, 2016, the UK government proposed a tiered levy on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs; high, moderate, and no tax for drinks with >8g, 5g to 8g, and <5g sugar per 100ml). We estimate the effect of possible industry responses to the levy on obesity, diabetes, and dental caries. Methods We modelled three possible industry responses: (1) reformulation to reduce sugar concentration, (2) increasing product price, and (3) changing the market share of high-, mid-, and low-sugar drinks. For each response, we defined a better and worse case health scenario. We developed a comparative risk assessment model to estimate the UK health impact of each scenario. Findings The best modelled scenario for health is SSB reformulation, resulting in 144,000 (95% uncertainty interval: 5,100 to 306,700) fewer adults and children with obesity in the UK, 19,000 (6,900 to 32,700) fewer incident cases of diabetes per year, and 269,000 (82,200 to 470,900) fewer decayed, missing, or filled teeth annually. Increasing the price of SSBs and changes to market share to increase the proportion of low-sugar drinks sold would also result in population health benefits, but to a lesser extent. The greatest benefit for obesity and oral health would be among individuals under 18 years, with people over 65 years experiencing the largest absolute decreases in diabetes incidence. Interpretation The health impact of the soft drink levy is dependent on its implementation by industry. There is uncertainty as to how industry will react and in the estimation of health outcomes. Health gains could be maximised by significant product reformulation with additional benefits possible if the levy is passed onto purchasers through raising the price of high- and mid-sugar drinks, and through activities to increase the market share of low-sugar products.RT and AK have previously done work on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes funded by the Union of European Soft Drinks Associations. MR is chair of Sustain and the Children's Food Campaign, which have campaigned for sugar drink taxes in the UK. MR is funded by the British Heart Foundation, grant number 006/PSS/CORE/2016/OXFORD. ADMB and OTM are members of the Faculty of Public Health, which has a position statement supporting sugary drink taxes. ADMB is funded by the Wellcome Trust, grant number 102730/Z/13/Z. OTM is a member of the UK Health Forum, which has also supported a UK sugar drinks tax. OTM is supported by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Doctoral Fellowship. SAJ was the independent Chair of the Department of Health Public Health Responsibility Deal Food Network from 2010 to 2015. SAJ is funded by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care Oxford. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, National Institute for Health Research, or the Department of Health. PS is funded by the British Heart Foundation, grant number FS/15/34/31656. TB is funded the Health Research Council of New Zealand (16/443). AE declares no competing interests