Detection of X-Ray Doses with Color-Changing Hackmanites: Mechanism and Application

Hackmanites, a variety of sodalite with the general formula Na$_{8}$Al$_{6}$Si$_{6}$O$_{24}$(Cl,S)$_{2}$, are a family of nature-based smart materials having the ability for reversible photochromism upon UV or X-ray exposure. Being nontoxic, cheap, and durable, hackmanite would be an optimal material for the visual detection of the presence of X-rays in simple portable systems. However, its X-ray-induced coloring abilities are so far known only qualitatively. In this work, a combination of experimental and computational methods is used to reveal the mechanism of X-ray-induced color changing in these materials. Finally, their use is demonstrated both in color intensity-based X-ray dosimetry and photochromic X-ray imaging

24-h urinary sodium excretion and the risk of adverse outcomes

AimsThe objective was to evaluate whether sodium intake, assessed with the gold standard 24-h urinary collections, was related to long-term incidence of death, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM). MethodsA cohort of 4630 individuals aged 25-64 years collected 24-h urine samples in 1979-2002 and were followed up to 14 years for the incidence of any CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, heart failure (HF) and DM event, and death. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the association between the baseline salt intake and incident events and adjusted for baseline age, body mass index, serum cholesterol, prevalent DM, and stratified by sex and cohort baseline year. ResultsDuring the follow-up, we observed 423 deaths, 424 CVD events (288 CHD events, 142 strokes, 139 HF events) and 161 DM events. Compared with the highest quartile of salt intake, persons in the lowest quartile had a lower incidence of CVD (hazard ratio [HR] 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.95, p = .02), CHD (HR 0.63 [95% CI 0.42-0.94], p = .02) and DM (HR 0.52 [95% CI 0.31-0.87], p = .01). The results were non-significant for mortality, HF, and stroke.Conclusion High sodium intake is associated with an increased incidence of CVD and DM.</div

On being a 'good' mother: The moral presentation of self in written life stories

This article examines how women present a moral self in relation to public norms that constitute'good' motherhood.Thefocus of this article is on two types of written life story: first, those written by mothers who express a past or current wish to divorce and, second, those written by lone mothers.The life stories offer insights into how individuals account for their actions in situations where they face the moral dilemma of clashing ethical norms - care for self and care for children - and how individuals with a 'spoiled identity' manage a moral presentation of self. The article concludes by critically examining the consequences of using written life stories rather than face-to-face interviews as data in a study of the moral tales that individuals tell. © 2008 BSA Publications Ltd

Unprecedented staining of polar lipids by a luminescent rhenium complex revealed by FTIR microspectroscopy in adipocytes.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy and confocal imaging have been used to demonstrate that the neutral rhenium(i) tricarbonyl 1,10-phenanthroline complex bound to 4-cyanophenyltetrazolate as the ancillary ligand is able to localise in regions with high concentrations of polar lipids such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), sphingomyelin, sphingosphine and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) in mammalian adipocytes