The crystal morphology and growth rates of triclinic N-docosane crystallising from N-dodecane solutions

A detailed analysis of the crystal morphology of triclinic n-docosane (C22H46) is presented together with a preliminary assessment of the supersaturation-dependence of the growth rates for the predicted (hkl) faces. A methodology to index the experimentally observed crystal faces, based on a combined BFDH and zone axis methodology is defined. Analysis using this methodology yields the morphological indexation of n-docosane to be (001), (112), (102), (010), and (1 - 33) or (130) based on the expected triclinic crystal structure. Crystals of n-docosane growing from supersaturated n-dodecane (C12 H26) solutions, as studied using in-situ optical microscopy, at three different supersaturation (σ) levels 0.01, 0.02 and 0.05, reveal that the crystal morphology changes with increasing in supersaturation, evolving from a habit consistent with a triclinic crystal system to a habit that is perhaps more representative of an orthorhombic structure. Growth rates determined for the (112) and (102) faces as well as for those less dominant faces range between 0.51 and 9.85 mm/s, in good agreement with previously reported data for other organic molecules including n-alkanes

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Increasing frailty is associated with higher prevalence and reduced recognition of delirium in older hospitalised inpatients: results of a multi-centre study

Purpose: Delirium is a neuropsychiatric disorder delineated by an acute change in cognition, attention, and consciousness. It is common, particularly in older adults, but poorly recognised. Frailty is the accumulation of deficits conferring an increased risk of adverse outcomes. We set out to determine how severity of frailty, as measured using the CFS, affected delirium rates, and recognition in hospitalised older people in the United Kingdom. Methods: Adults over 65 years were included in an observational multi-centre audit across UK hospitals, two prospective rounds, and one retrospective note review. Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), delirium status, and 30-day outcomes were recorded. Results: The overall prevalence of delirium was 16.3% (483). Patients with delirium were more frail than patients without delirium (median CFS 6 vs 4). The risk of delirium was greater with increasing frailty [OR 2.9 (1.8–4.6) in CFS 4 vs 1–3; OR 12.4 (6.2–24.5) in CFS 8 vs 1–3]. Higher CFS was associated with reduced recognition of delirium (OR of 0.7 (0.3–1.9) in CFS 4 compared to 0.2 (0.1–0.7) in CFS 8). These risks were both independent of age and dementia. Conclusion: We have demonstrated an incremental increase in risk of delirium with increasing frailty. This has important clinical implications, suggesting that frailty may provide a more nuanced measure of vulnerability to delirium and poor outcomes. However, the most frail patients are least likely to have their delirium diagnosed and there is a significant lack of research into the underlying pathophysiology of both of these common geriatric syndromes

Experience of symptoms indicative of gynaecological cancers in UK women

BACKGROUND: Gynaecological cancers account for ∼12% of female cancer incidence in the United Kingdom. Encouraging prompt help-seeking for potential symptoms could help improve outcomes. However, before developing help-seeking interventions, it is important to estimate the number of women with symptoms potentially indicative of a gynaecological cancer to help estimate the impact of such interventions on primary care. METHODS: As part of a face-to-face, population-based survey, women aged 16 (n=911) were shown a list of symptoms potentially indicative of a gynaecological cancer and were asked to indicate any experienced in the last 3 months. Those who reported symptoms were asked about their responses to one randomly selected index symptom. RESULTS: Just under half (44%) of the respondents reported a symptom, with 35% reporting a frequent and/or severe symptom. Younger (P<0.001), lower socioeconomic status (P<0.01) and non-White women (P<0.05) were significantly more likely to report symptoms. Few (14%) respondents were both older (45 years) and had a frequent and/or severe symptom. Of these women, 38% had seen a GP. CONCLUSION: Symptoms that potentially indicate a gynaecological cancer, even if limited to those that are frequent and/or severe, appear to be common. Consequently, encouraging prompt help-seeking may increase the burden on primary care. However, targeting those at increased risk (older women with frequent or severe symptoms) should avoid unmanageable increases in primary care consultations for gynaecological conditions

A method to qualify and quantify the crystalline state of cocoa butter in industrial chocolate

A range of methods, mainly X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), have been used to characterise the polymorphism of fats in food products. As sugars present in chocolate have a significant XRD pattern, partially overlapping with the signal of cocoa butter, XRD cannot be applied directly to chocolate. In this paper, the XRD signal of a molten sample, similar to the one for pure sucrose, was subtracted from the signal of a solid sample of chocolate to remove the impact of the crystallised sugar. The XRD patterns obtained were compared with the pattern of cocoa butter cooled under the same conditions. Strong peaks were observed at similar inter lamellar d spacings showing that the polymorphic state of cocoa butter in processed chocolate could be obtained using this method. Numerical integration of the peaks also allowed quantification of the degree of crystallinity present in the system during a typical process. The accuracy of the method developed was found to be dependent on the (cocoa butter)/(sugar) ratio in the chocolate used

The promise of genomics in the study of plant-pollinator interactions

Flowers exist in exceedingly complex fitness landscapes, in which subtle variation in each trait can affect the pollinators, herbivores and pleiotropically linked traits in other plant tissues. A whole-genome approach to flower evolution will help our understanding of plant-pollinator interactions

The genome of a songbird

The zebra finch is an important model organism in several fields with unique relevance to human neuroscience. Like other songbirds, the zebra finch communicates through learned vocalizations, an ability otherwise documented only in humans and a few other animals and lacking in the chicken-the only bird with a sequenced genome until now. Here we present a structural, functional and comparative analysis of the genome sequence of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which is a songbird belonging to the large avian order Passeriformes. We find that the overall structures of the genomes are similar in zebra finch and chicken, but they differ in many intrachromosomal rearrangements, lineage-specific gene family expansions, the number of long-terminal-repeat-based retrotransposons, and mechanisms of sex chromosome dosage compensation. We show that song behaviour engages gene regulatory networks in the zebra finch brain, altering the expression of long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, transcription factors and their targets. We also show evidence for rapid molecular evolution in the songbird lineage of genes that are regulated during song experience. These results indicate an active involvement of the genome in neural processes underlying vocal communication and identify potential genetic substrates for the evolution and regulation of this behaviour