Optical scattering resonances of single plasmonic nanoantennas

We investigate the far-field optical resonances of individual dimer nanoantennas using confocal scattering spectroscopy. Experiments on a single-antenna array with varying arm lengths and interparticle gap sizes show large spectral shifts of the plasmon modes due to a combination of geometrical resonances and plasmon hybridization. All resonances are considerably broadened compared to those of small nanorods in the quasistatic limit, which we attribute to a greatly enhanced radiative damping of the antenna modes. The scattering spectra are compared with rigorous model calculations that demonstrate both the near-field and far-field characteristics of a half-wave antenna.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Mental Health Patients' Expectations about the Non-Medical Care They Receive in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

A health system's responsiveness is the result of patient expectations for the non-medical care they receive. The objective of this study was to assess mental patients' responsiveness to the health system in primary care, as related to the domains of dignity, autonomy, confidentiality, and communication. Data were collected from 215 people over the age of 18 with mental disorders, using the Multi-Country Survey Study (MCSS) developed by the World Health Organization. Of them, 95% reported a good experience regarding the dignity, confidentiality, communication, and autonomy domains. Regarding responsiveness, patients valued the dignity domain as the most important one (25.1%). Among the patients who experienced poor confidentiality, five out of seven earned less than 900 euros per month (X-2 = 10.8, p = 0.004). Among those who experienced good autonomy, 85 out of 156 belonged to the working social class (90.4%), and among those who valued it as poor (16.1%), the highest proportion was for middle class people (X-2 = 13.1, p = 0.028). The two students and 87.5% of retirees experienced this dimension as good, and most patients who valued it as poor were unemployed (43.5%) (X-2 = 13.0, p = 0.011). Patients with a household income higher than 900 euros more frequently valued responsiveness as good, regarding those domains related to communication, with OR = 3.84, 95% CI = 1.05-14.09, and confidentiality, with OR = 10.48, 95% CI = 1.94-56.59. To conclude, as regards responsiveness in primary care, the dignity domain always obtained the best scores by people with mental disorders. Low economic income is related to a poor assessment of confidentiality. Working class patients, students, and retirees value autonomy as good

Readout electronics for the SiPM tracking plane in the NEXT-1 prototype

NEXT is a new experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using a 100 kg radio-pure high-pressure gaseous xenon TPC with electroluminescence readout. A large-scale prototype with a SiPM tracking plane has been built. The primary electron paths can be reconstructed from time-resolved measurements of the light that arrives to the SiPM plane. Our approach is to measure how many photons have reached each SiPM sensor each microsecond with a gated integrator. We have designed and tested a 16-channel front-end board that includes the analog paths and a digital section. Each analog path consists of three different stages: a transimpedance amplifier, a gated integrator and an offset and gain control stage. Measurements show good linearity and the ability to detect single photoelectrons. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the NEXT Collaboration, the DATE team at CERN PH-AID and the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO2010 grant CSD2008-0037 (Canfranc Underground Physics) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Herrero Bosch, V.; Toledo Alarcón, JF.; Català Pérez, JM.; Esteve Bosch, R.; Gil Ortiz, A.; Lorca, D.; Monzó Ferrer, JM.... (2012). Readout electronics for the SiPM tracking plane in the NEXT-1 prototype. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 695:229-232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2011.12.057S22923269

Evaluation of primary care responsiveness by people with mental illness in Spain

Background The health system responsiveness is a concept developed by the World Health Organization that measures patients'' expectations for the non-medical care they receive. The aim of this study is to assess primary care responsiveness as seen by people with mental illness and to analyse the factors associated with poor responsiveness. Methods Cross-sectional descriptive study on 426 people with mental illness who had attended primary care consultations at least once in the previous 12 months. The responsiveness of the health system was determined through the short questionnaire "Multi-country Survey Study on Health and Health Systems Responsiveness". Differences in responsiveness by sociodemographic characteristics were compared through the Chi-squared test. Logistic regression identified the factors associated with poor responsiveness. Results Overall responsiveness was measured as good by 77.4% of patients, being this probability higher in the domains: dignity, confidentiality, and communication. The most valued domains by people with mental illness were prompt attention (42.4%), dignity (30.1%), and communication (17%). Only prompt attention scored high importance and poor responsiveness. In patients with an income lower than 900 euros per month and low level of studies, the probability of poor confidentiality responsiveness was multiplied by 3 and 2.7 respectively. Conclusions People with mental illness perceive good responsiveness from primary care in terms of dignity, confidentiality, and communication. Prompt attention, as the domain of greatest importance and worst valuation, should be prioritised through the implementation of organisational measures in health centres to reduce waiting times, especially in urban areas

Increased circulating and visceral adipose tissue expression levels of YKL-40 in obesity-associated type 2 diabetes are related to inflammation: impact of conventional weight loss and gastric bypass

Context: Plasma YKL-40 is elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes. The potential role of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) as a significant source of YKL-40 is unknown. Objective: In the study circulating and expression levels of YKL-40 were examined in VAT analyzing the contribution of adipocytes and stromovascular fraction cells (SVFCs).Wealso explored YKL-40’s implication in insulin resistance and inflammation and the effect of weight loss on plasma YKL-40 concentrations. PatientsandMethods: Samples obtained from 53 subjects were used in the study.Geneandprotein expression levels of YKL-40 were analyzed in VAT as well as in both adipocytes and SVFCs. In addition, circulating YKL-40 concentrations were measured before and after weight loss achieved either by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (n 26) or after a conventional dietetic program (n 20). Results: Circulating concentrations and VAT expression of YKL-40 were increased in obese patients with type 2 diabetes (P 0.01) as well as associated with variables of insulin resistance and inflammation. No differences in YKL-40 expression levels between adipocytes and SVFCs were detected. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and homeostasis model assessment emerged (P 0.01) as independent factors predicting circulating YKL-40. Elevated levels of YKL-40 in obese patients decreased after weight loss following a conventional hypocaloric diet (P 0.05) but not via a surgery-induced negative energy balance mediated by the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Conclusions: The association of increased YKL-40 mRNA and protein levels in VAT with its circulating concentrations indicates an important contribution of VAT in YKL-40 regulation. Furthermore, our data suggest a relevant role of glucose metabolism and inflammation on YKL-40 regulation

The obestatin receptor (GPR39) is expressed in human adipose tissue and is down-regulated in obesity-associated type 2 diabetes mellitus

The G protein-coupled receptor 39 (GPR39) has recently been identified as the receptor for obestatin, a peptidic hormone involved in energy homeostasis. However, the expression levels of this receptor in human adipose tissue in obesity and obesity-associated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remain unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the actual presence of GPR39 mRNA in human adipose tissue and whether GPR39 expression levels are altered in obesity and obesity-associated T2DM. DESIGN: Omental adipose tissue biopsies obtained from 15 women were used in the study. Patients were classified as lean (body mass index 20.8 +/- 1.0 kg/m(2)), obese normoglycaemic (body mass index 48.4 +/- 2.1 kg/m(2)) and obese T2DM patients (body mass index 52.6 +/- 4.9 kg/m(2)). Anthropometric measurements and biochemical profiles were assessed for each subject. Real-time RT-PCR analyses were performed to quantify transcript levels of GPR39 and adiponectin. RESULTS: Obese T2DM patients exhibited significantly lower GPR39 expression levels compared to lean (P = 0.016) and obese normoglycaemic subjects (P = 0.008), while no differences between lean and obese normoglycaemic patients were observed. The mRNA expression levels of GPR39 were negatively correlated to fasting glucose concentrations (r = -0.581, P = 0.023), while exhibiting a positive correlation to adiponectin mRNA expression levels (r = 0.674, P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: GPR39 is expressed in human adipose tissue. The reduced expression levels of GPR39 in omental adipose tissue observed in obese patients with T2DM suggest an involvement of obestatin signalling in glucose homeostasis and T2DM development

Expression of caveolin-1 in human adipose tissue is upregulated in obesity and obesity-associated type 2 diabetes mellitus and related to inflammation

Caveolin-1 (CAV-1) plays important roles in many aspects of cellular biology, including vesicular transport, cholesterol homeostasis and signal transduction. The aim of the present study was to explore gene expression levels of CAV-1 in human adipose tissue in obesity and obesity-associated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to analyse its potential implication in the inflammatory state associated with obesity. DESIGN AND METHODS: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) obtained from 15 females were used in the study. Patients were classified as lean (BMI 20.8 +/- 1.0 kg/m(2)) or obese (BMI 50.5 +/- 2.6 kg/m(2)). The obese group was further subclassified as normoglycaemic (NG) or patients with T2DM. Anthropometric measurements as well as circulating metabolites, hormones and adipokines were determined. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses were performed to quantify transcript levels of CAV-1 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1). RESULTS: The presence of CAV-1 protein was detected in VAT and SAT by immunohistochemistry. Both obese NG and with T2DM patients exhibited significantly higher CAV-1 expression levels in VAT and SAT compared with lean subjects (P < 0.05). No differences between obese NG and T2DM patients were observed in VAT. However, obese T2DM patients were found to have higher CAV-1 expression levels in SAT (P < 0.05) compared with obese NG patients. A significant correlation was found between CAV-1 mRNA expression levels in VAT and different circulating inflammatory markers such as sialic acid (SA) (P < 0.001) and fibrinogen (P < 0.001) as well as with MCP1 mRNA expression (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings show for the first time the upregulation of mRNA CAV-1 expression levels in VAT and SAT of obese NG and obese T2DM patients compared with lean controls, suggesting a role for CAV-1 in obesity and T2DM development. The association with different inflammatory markers further suggests an implication of CAV-1 in the low-grade inflammation accompanying obesity

Endometrial area of the blood flow as a marker of endometritis in equine

In this study, uterine blood flow area (BFA) has been evaluated for the first time using power Doppler ultrasound (PD) as a marker of endometritis in mares and jennies. The uterine BFA in healthy mares was greater in oestrus than in diestrus (p&nbsp;&lt;.001). However, differences in endometrial blood flow between oestrus and diestrus were not observed in mares with endometritis. The uterine blood flow in healthy jennies is not affected by the oestrus cycle. Both species showed an increase in endometrial BFA in pathological uterine conditions compared to controls. BFA was a good marker of endometritis with an area under curve (AUC) (estrus:0.94 (p&nbsp;&lt;.001) diestrus:0.98 (p&nbsp;&lt;.001) in mares and AUC (0.91 (p&nbsp;&lt;.0001) in jennies. The results of this preliminary study suggest that PD ultrasound in combination with computerized image analysis has the potential to be a very useful tool in the diagnosis of endometritis

Genomic insertion of a heterologous acetyltransferase generates a new lipopolysaccharide antigenic structure in brucella abortus and brucella melitensis

Brucellosis is a bacterial zoonosis of worldwide distribution caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. In Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis, the major species infecting domestic ruminants, the smooth lipopolysaccharide (S-LPS) is a virulence factor. This S-LPS carries a N-formyl-perosamine homopolymer O-polysaccharide that is the major antigen in serodiagnostic tests and is required for virulence. We report that the Brucella O-PS can be structurally and antigenically modified using wbdR, the acetyl-transferase gene involved in N-acetyl-perosamine synthesis in Escherichia coli O157:H7. Brucella constructs carrying plasmidic wbdR expressed a modified O-polysaccharide but were unstable, a problem circumvented by inserting wbdR into a neutral site of chromosome II. As compared to wild-type bacteria, both kinds of wbdR constructs expressed shorter O-polysaccharides and NMR analyses showed that they contained both N-formyl and N-acetyl-perosamine. Moreover, deletion of the Brucella formyltransferase gene wbkC in wbdR constructs generated bacteria producing only N-acetyl-perosamine homopolymers, proving that wbdR can replace for wbkC. Absorption experiments with immune sera revealed that the wbdR constructs triggered antibodies to new immunogenic epitope(s) and the use of monoclonal antibodies proved that B. abortus and B. melitensis wbdR constructs respectively lacked the A or M epitopes, and the absence of the C epitope in both backgrounds. The wbdR constructs showed resistance to polycations similar to that of the wild-type strains but displayed increased sensitivity to normal serum similar to that of a per R mutant. In mice, the wbdR constructs produced chronic infections and triggered antibody responses that can be differentiated from those evoked by the wild-type strain in S-LPS ELISAs. These results open the possibilities of developing brucellosis vaccines that are both antigenically tagged and lack the diagnostic epitopes of virulent field strains, thereby solving the diagnostic interference created by current vaccines against Brucella