288 research outputs found
Socioeconomic Inequality in Malnutrition in Developing Countries
Epidemiological evidence points to a small set of primary causes of child
mortality that are the main killers of children aged less than 5 years: pneumonia,
diarrhoea, low birth weight, asphyxia and, in some parts of the world, HIV and
malaria. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of one out of every two such
deaths. The evidence also shows that child death and malnutrition are not
equally distributed throughout the world. They cluster in sub-Saharan Africa and
south Asia, and in poor communities within these regions. Disparities in health
outcomes between the poor and the rich are increasingly attracting attention from
researchers and policy-makers, thereby fostering a substantial growth in the
literature on health equity. “Socioeconomic inequality” in malnutrition refers to
the degree to which childhood malnutrition rates differ between more and less
socially and economically advantaged groups. This is different from “pure
inequality”, which takes into account all factors influencing childhood malnutrition.
The available literature documenting socioeconomic inequality in malnutrition
focuses mainly on individual countries or regions. At a more global level,
Wagstaff and Watanabe provided evidence on socioeconomic inequality in
malnutrition across 20 developing countries. Other relevant cross-country studies
include those of Pradhan et al., who describe total inequality, and Smith et
al., who describe inequalities between urban and rural populations. The latter
two studies, however, provide no evidence on socioeconomic inequality within
developing countries
Tracing the evolution of nearby early-type galaxies in low density environments. The Ultraviolet view from GALEX
We detected recent star formation in nearby early-type galaxies located in
low density environments, with GALEX Ultraviolet (UV) imaging. Signatures of
star formation may be present in the nucleus and in outer rings/arm like
structures. Our study suggests that such star formation may be induced by
different triggering mechanisms, such as the inner secular evolution driven by
bars, and minor accretion phenomena. We investigate the nature of the (FUV-NUV)
color vs. Mg2 correlation, and suggest that it relates to "downsizing" in
galaxy formation.Comment: Conference "UV Universe 2010" S. Petersburg 31 May - 3 June, 2010
Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science . The final
publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co
Enhancing the Photocatalytic Activity by Tailoring an Anodic Aluminum Oxide Photonic Crystal to the Semiconductor Catalyst: At the Example of Iron Oxide
Published online:
OnlinePublPhotonic crystals (PhCs) are interesting structures for photocatalytic applications because of their capability of harnessing distinct forms of light–matter interactions within the PhCs. Of all these, overlapping one of the photonic stopband’s (PSB) edge with the absorption of the PhC material or adsorbed molecules improves their excitation and generated charge carriers can subsequently induce photocatalytic reactions. The PSB position of anodic aluminum oxide PhCs (AAO-PhCs) can be easily adjusted by modifying the anodization profile. Herein, AAO-PhCs are designed to match the band gap of a model semiconductor enabling a general photocatalytic activity enhancement independent of the chemical to be decomposed. Fe₂O₃, as an example photocatalyst, is coated onto AAO-PhCs to demonstrate efficient photocatalytic systems by utilizing the slow photon effect. Tailored Fe₂O₃-AAO-PhCs with their PSB edge at 564 nm matching the Fe₂O₃ band gap exhibit generally enhanced degradation of three different organic dyes while a significant activity decrease is observed when the PSB edge does not overlap with the Fe₂O₃ absorption. Furthermore, photocatalyst degradation can be reduced down to only 4% activity loss over six consecutive measurements by an ultra-thin alumina coating.Carina Hedrich, Anna R. Burson, Silvia González-García, Víctor Vega, Victor M. Prida, Abel Santos, Robert H. Blick, and Robert Zierol
Descripción de tres protocolos anestésicos fijos en cerdas sometidas a trasferencia embrionaria quirúrgica
La utilización del cerdo como modelo en investigación biomédica ha dado lugar a múltiples descripciones de protocolos anestésicos. El presente trabajo tiene por objeto socializar las dosis y drogas utilizadas en tres protocolos. Las tres cerdas anestesiadas, una por protocolo, son parte de la puesta a punto de la técnica de transferencia embrionaria quirúrgica. Protocolo 1: Medicación preanestésica: ketamina 15 mg/kg vía intramuscular, xilacina 3 mg/kg intramuscular. Inducción: midazolam 0,15 mg/kg vía EV. Mantenimiento: xilacina 0,6 mg/kg EV, y ketamina 3 mg/kg EV + dos refuerzos de ketamina 2 mg/kg EV. Protocolo 2: Medicación preanestésica: ketamina 15 mg/kg vía intramuscular, xilacina 3 mg/kg intramuscular. Inducción: midazolam 0,14 mg/kg vía endovenosa. Mantenimiento por vía endovenosa: Ketamina 1,5 mg/kg, Xilacina 0,6 mg/kg, Ketamina 2 mg/kg. Protocolo 3: Medicación preanestésica: ketamina 15 mg/kg vía intramuscular, xilacina 3 mg/kg intramuscular. Inducción: ketamina 5 mg/kg vía endovenosa. Mantenimiento por vía endovenosa: Xilacina 0,6 mg/kg, Ketamina 3 mg/kg, Ketamina 2 mg/kg, Ketamina 2 mg/kg. El planteo farmacológico del protocolo 3 requirió mayor frecuencia y dosis de drogas utilizada
Nitrate stable isotopes and major ions in snow and ice samples from four Svalbard sites
Increasing reactive nitrogen (N-r) deposition in the Arctic may adversely impact N-limited ecosystems. To investigate atmospheric transport of N-r to Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic, snow and firn samples were collected from glaciers and analysed to define spatial and temporal variations (1 10 years) in major ion concentrations and the stable isotope composition (delta N-15 and delta O-18) of nitrate (NO3-) across the archipelago. The delta N-15(NO3-) and delta O-18(NO3-) averaged -4 parts per thousand and 67 parts per thousand in seasonal snow (2010-11) and -9 parts per thousand and 74 parts per thousand in firn accumulated over the decade 2001-2011. East-west zonal gradients were observed across the archipelago for some major ions (non-sea salt sulphate and magnesium) and also for delta N-15(NO3-) and delta O-18(NO3-) in snow, which suggests a different origin for air masses arriving in different sectors of Svalbard. We propose that snowfall associated with long-distance air mass transport over the Arctic Ocean inherits relatively low delta N-15(NO3-) due to in-transport N isotope fractionation. In contrast, faster air mass transport from the north-west Atlantic or northern Europe results in snowfall with higher delta N-15(NO3-) because in-transport fractionation of N is then time-limited
Clinical and ultrasound thyroid nodule characteristics and their association with cytological and histopathological outcomes: A retrospective multicenter study in high-resolution thyroid nodule clinics
Introduction: Thyroid nodules are a common finding. A high-resolution thyroid nodule
clinic (HR-TNC) condenses all tests required for the evaluation of thyroid nodules into a single
appointment. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes at HR-TNCs. Design and Methods:
A retrospective cross-sectional multicenter study including data from four HR-TNCs in Spain.
We evaluated fine-needle aspiration (FNA) indications and the association between clinical and
ultrasound characteristics with cytological and histopathological outcomes. Results: A total of 2809
thyroid nodules were included; FNA was performed in 82.1%. Thyroid nodules that underwent
FNA were more likely larger, isoechoic, with microcalcifications, and in younger subjects. The rate
of nondiagnostic FNA was 4.3%. A solid component, irregular margins or microcalcifications,
significantly increased the odds of Bethesda IV-V-VI (vs. Bethesda II). Irregular margins and a solid
component were independently associated with increased odds of malignancy. Thyroid nodules
<20 mm and ≥20–<40 mm had a 6.5-fold and 3.3-fold increased risk for malignancy respectively
in comparison with those ≥40 mm. Conclusion: In this large multicenter study, we found that the
presence of a solid component and irregular margins are factors independently related to malignancy
in thyroid nodules. Since nodule size ≥40 mm was associated with the lowest odds of malignancy,
this cut-off should not be a factor leading to indicate thyroid surgery. HR-TNCs were associated with
a low rate of nondiagnostic FNA
An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics
For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types
An additive manufactured CubeSat mirror incorporating a novel circular lattice
Additive Manufacturing (AM; 3D printing) for mirror fabrication allows for intricate designs that can combine lightweight structures and integrated mounting. Conventional lightweight structures utilise cubic or prismatic unit cells, which do not provide uniform support at the edge of curved mirrors. We present a new circular lattice based upon cylindrical coordinates and how this lattice has been incorporated within an 80 mm diameter mirror intended for use in a 3U CubeSat telescope. Several design iterations are explored, which include prototype mirrors produced in a titanium alloy and a finite element analysis of the one of the design iterations
Disease Dynamics in a Specialized Parasite of Ant Societies
Coevolution between ant colonies and their rare specialized parasites are intriguing, because lethal infections of workers may correspond to tolerable chronic diseases of colonies, but the parasite adaptations that allow stable coexistence with ants are virtually unknown. We explore the trade-offs experienced by Ophiocordyceps parasites manipulating ants into dying in nearby graveyards. We used field data from Brazil and Thailand to parameterize and fit a model for the growth rate of graveyards. We show that parasite pressure is much lower than the abundance of ant cadavers suggests and that hyperparasites often castrate Ophiocordyceps. However, once fruiting bodies become sexually mature they appear robust. Such parasite life-history traits are consistent with iteroparity– a reproductive strategy rarely considered in fungi. We discuss how tropical habitats with high biodiversity of hyperparasites and high spore mortality has likely been crucial for the evolution and maintenance of iteroparity in parasites with low dispersal potential
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