Long‐Term Variability and Tendencies in Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere Winds From Meteor Radar Observations Over Esrange (67.9°N, 21.1°E)

Long-term variabilities of monthly zonal (U) and meridional winds (V) in northern polar mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT, ∼80–100 km) are investigated using meteor radar observations during 1999–2022 over Esrange (67.9°N, 21.1°E). The summer (June-August) mean zonal winds are characterized by westward flow up to ∼88–90 km and eastward flow above this height. The summer mean meridional winds are equatorward with strong jet at ∼85–90 km and it weakens above this height. The U and V exhibit strong interannual variability that varies with altitude and month or season. The responses of U and V anomalies (from 1999 to 2003) to solar cycle (SC), Quasi Biennial Oscillation at 10 and 30 hPa, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, ozone (O3) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are analyzed using multiple linear regression. From analysis, significant regions of correlations between MLT winds and above potential drivers vary with altitude and month. The positive responses of U and V to SC (up to 15 m/s/100 sfu) indicates the strengthening of eastward winds in mid-late winter, and poleward winds in late autumn and early winter. The O3 likely intensifies the eastward and poleward winds (∼100 m/s/ppmv) in winter and early spring. The CO2 significantly influence the eastward flow in late winter and summer (above ∼90–95 km) and strengthen the meridional circulation. The significant positive trend in U peaks in summer, late autumn and early winter (∼0.6 m/s/year), the negative trend in V is more prominent in summer above ∼90–95 km

Charge-Fluctuation-Induced Non-analytic Bending Rigidity

In this Letter, we consider a neutral system of mobile positive and negative charges confined on the surface of curved films. This may be an appropriate model for: i) a highly charged membrane whose counterions are confined to a sheath near its surface; ii) a membrane composed of an equimolar mixture of anionic and cationic surfactants in aqueous solution. We find that the charge fluctuations contribute a non-analytic term to the bending rigidity that varies logarithmically with the radius of curvature. This may lead to spontaneous vesicle formation, which is indeed observed in similar systems.Comment: Revtex, 9 pages, no figures, submitted to PR

(Un)twisted: talking back to media representations of eating disorders

In 2014-15, there were several news reports about a rise in the diagnoses and treatment of eating disorders (EDs), as attributed to the use of image-driven social media. Such coverage can be situated within a long history of concern in which those diagnosed with an ED are constructed as ‘especially vulnerable’ to the power of media images – a subjectivity which is pathologised and devalued precisely through its association with femininity. The most incisive objections to EDs being presented as a response to the ‘weight’ of media representation have come from Abigail Bray (2005) in her work on how anorexia is constructed as a reading as well as an eating disorder. Indeed, there is a whole history of empirical work in Feminist Media Studies and Girlhood Studies which has challenged the pernicious construction of female subjectivity as ‘excessively’ invested in, and ‘damaged’ by, the consumption of mass mediated forms. Yet the media consumption practices of those with experience of an ED have not been subject to similar feminist re-evaluation – an omission which this research seeks to address. In exploring the results of 17 semi-structured interviews with people who have experience of an ED discussing their encounters with media representations of EDs (material that is often co-opted into debates about the ‘toxic’ nature of media culture in this regard), this article seeks to intervene in how such imagined media consumption practices are often defined. In seeking to speak back to historically pathologising constructions, the article seeks to explore the qualitative responses in the context of more ‘every day’ understandings of media engagement, thus working against the gendered othering which has persistently occurred

Aptamer-based multiplexed proteomic technology for biomarker discovery

Interrogation of the human proteome in a highly multiplexed and efficient manner remains a coveted and challenging goal in biology. We present a new aptamer-based proteomic technology for biomarker discovery capable of simultaneously measuring thousands of proteins from small sample volumes (15 [mu]L of serum or plasma). Our current assay allows us to measure ~800 proteins with very low limits of detection (1 pM average), 7 logs of overall dynamic range, and 5% average coefficient of variation. This technology is enabled by a new generation of aptamers that contain chemically modified nucleotides, which greatly expand the physicochemical diversity of the large randomized nucleic acid libraries from which the aptamers are selected. Proteins in complex matrices such as plasma are measured with a process that transforms a signature of protein concentrations into a corresponding DNA aptamer concentration signature, which is then quantified with a DNA microarray. In essence, our assay takes advantage of the dual nature of aptamers as both folded binding entities with defined shapes and unique sequences recognizable by specific hybridization probes. To demonstrate the utility of our proteomics biomarker discovery technology, we applied it to a clinical study of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We identified two well known CKD biomarkers as well as an additional 58 potential CKD biomarkers. These results demonstrate the potential utility of our technology to discover unique protein signatures characteristic of various disease states. More generally, we describe a versatile and powerful tool that allows large-scale comparison of proteome profiles among discrete populations. This unbiased and highly multiplexed search engine will enable the discovery of novel biomarkers in a manner that is unencumbered by our incomplete knowledge of biology, thereby helping to advance the next generation of evidence-based medicine

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

It's not what you say but the way that you say it: an fMRI study of differential lexical and non-lexical prosodic pitch processing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aims to identify the neural substrate involved in prosodic pitch processing. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to test the premise that prosody pitch processing is primarily subserved by the right cortical hemisphere.</p> <p>Two experimental paradigms were used, firstly pairs of spoken sentences, where the only variation was a single internal phrase pitch change, and secondly, a matched condition utilizing pitch changes within analogous tone-sequence phrases. This removed the potential confounder of lexical evaluation. fMRI images were obtained using these paradigms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Activation was significantly greater within the right frontal and temporal cortices during the tone-sequence stimuli relative to the sentence stimuli.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed that pitch changes, stripped of lexical information, are mainly processed by the right cerebral hemisphere, whilst the processing of analogous, matched, lexical pitch change is preferentially left sided. These findings, showing hemispherical differentiation of processing based on stimulus complexity, are in accord with a 'task dependent' hypothesis of pitch processing.</p

A qualitative study of health care professionals' views and experiences of paediatric advance care planning

Background Good end-of-life care planning is vital to ensure optimal care is provided for patients and their families. Two key factors are open and honest advance care planning conversations between the patient (where possible), family, and health care professionals, focusing on exploring what their future wishes are; and the development of an advance care plan document. However, in paediatric and neonatal settings, there has been little research to demonstrate how advance care planning conversations take place. This study explored health care professionals’ views and experiences of paediatric advance care planning in hospitals, community settings and hospices. MethodsA qualitative methodology was employed using purposive sampling of health care professionals involved in the end-of-life care for children aged 0–18 years known to the hospital palliative care team, and had died at least three months before, but less than 18 months prior to the study. Ethics committee approval was obtained for the study. Located in the North of England, the study involved three hospitals, a children’s hospice, and community services. Data were collected using semi-structured, digitally recorded, telephone interviews. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to thematic analysis. ResultsTwenty-one health care professionals participated, including generalist paediatric staff as well as specialist palliative care staff.Two themes were generated from the study: The timing of planning conversations, including waiting for the relationship with the family to form; the introduction of parallel planning; avoiding a crisis situation. Secondly, supporting effective conversations around advance care planning, including where to have the conversation; introducing the conversation; and how to approach the topic encompassing the value of advance care planning and documentation for families. Conclusion The timing of when to start the advance care planning conversations remains an issue for health care professionals. The value of doing it in stages and considering the environment where the conversations are held was noted. Timely planning was seen as vital to avoid difficult conversations at a crisis point and for co-ordination of care. Good advance care planning is to provide the best person-centred care for the child and experience for the family

Nurses' experiences, expectations, and preferences for mind-body practices to reduce stress

BACKGROUND: Most research on the impact of mind-body training does not ask about participants\u27 baseline experience, expectations, or preferences for training. To better plan participant-centered mind-body intervention trials for nurses to reduce occupational stress, such descriptive information would be valuable. METHODS: We conducted an anonymous email survey between April and June, 2010 of North American nurses interested in mind-body training to reduce stress. The e-survey included: demographic characteristics, health conditions and stress levels; experiences with mind-body practices; expected health benefits; training preferences; and willingness to participate in future randomized controlled trials. RESULTS: Of the 342 respondents, 96% were women and 92% were Caucasian. Most (73%) reported one or more health conditions, notably anxiety (49%); back pain (41%); GI problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (34%); or depression (33%). Their median occupational stress level was 4 (0 = none; 5 = extreme stress). Nearly all (99%) reported already using one or more mind-body practices to reduce stress: intercessory prayer (86%), breath-focused meditation (49%), healing or therapeutic touch (39%), yoga/tai chi/qi gong (34%), or mindfulness-based meditation (18%). The greatest expected benefits were for greater spiritual well-being (56%); serenity, calm, or inner peace (54%); better mood (51%); more compassion (50%); or better sleep (42%). Most (65%) wanted additional training; convenience (74% essential or very important), was more important than the program\u27s reputation (49%) or scientific evidence about effectiveness (32%) in program selection. Most (65%) were willing to participate in a randomized trial of mind-body training; among these, most were willing to collect salivary cortisol (60%), or serum biomarkers (53%) to assess the impact of training. CONCLUSIONS: Most nurses interested in mind-body training already engage in such practices. They have greater expectations about spiritual and emotional than physical benefits, but are willing to participate in studies and to collect biomarker data. Recruitment may depend more on convenience than a program\u27s scientific basis or reputation. Knowledge of participants\u27 baseline experiences, expectations, and preferences helps inform future training and research on mind-body approaches to reduce stress

Genetic Analysis of Central Carbon Metabolism Unveils an Amino Acid Substitution That Alters Maize NAD-Dependent Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Activity

Background: Central carbon metabolism (CCM) is a fundamental component of life. The participating genes and enzymes are thought to be structurally and functionally conserved across and within species. Association mapping utilizes a rich history of mutation and recombination to achieve high resolution mapping. Therefore, applying association mapping in maize (Zea mays ssp. mays), the most diverse model crop species, to study the genetics of CCM is a particularly attractive system. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used a maize diversity panel to test the CCM functional conservation. We found heritable variation in enzyme activity for every enzyme tested. One of these enzymes was the NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH, E.C. 1.1.1.41), in which we identified a novel amino-acid substitution in a phylogenetically conserved site. Using candidate gene association mapping, we identified that this non-synonymous polymorphism was associated with IDH activity variation. The proposed mechanism for the IDH activity variation includes additional components regulating protein level. With the comparison of sequences from maize and teosinte (Zea mays ssp. Parviglumis), the maize wild ancestor, we found that some CCM genes had also been targeted for selection during maize domestication. Conclusions/Significance: Our results demonstrate the efficacy of association mapping for dissecting natural variation in primary metabolic pathways. The considerable genetic diversity observed in maize CCM genes underlies heritable phenotypic variation in enzyme activities and can be useful to identify putative functional sites