Dinitro­sylbis[tris­(4-chloro­phen­yl)phosphane]iron

The title dinitrosyl iron diphosphane complex, [Fe(NO)2(C18H12Cl3P)2] or Fe(NO)2 L 2 [L = P(C6H4-p-Cl)3] belongs to the family of metal dinitrosyl compounds with the general formula Fe(NO)2(L)x, referred to collectively as dinitrosyl iron compounds (DNICs). The iron atom is tetra­hedrally coordinated by two phosphane ligands and two NO groups with Fe—N—O bond angles of 178.76 (15) and 177.67 (14)°

National trends in utilization, mortality, and survival after repair of type B aortic dissection in the Medicare population

ObjectiveThe application of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has changed treatment paradigms for thoracic aortic disease. We sought to better define specific treatment patterns and outcomes for type B aortic dissection treated with TEVAR or open surgical repair (OSR).MethodsMedicare patients undergoing type B thoracic aortic dissection repair (2000-2010) were identified by use of a validated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnostic and procedural code–based algorithm. Trends in utilization were analyzed by procedure type (OSR vs TEVAR), and patterns in patient characteristics and outcomes were examined.ResultsTotal thoracic aortic dissection repairs increased by 21% between 2000 and 2010 (2.5 to 3 per 100,000 Medicare patients; P = .001). A concomitant increase in TEVAR was seen during the same interval (0.03 to 0.8 per 100,000; P < .001). By 2010, TEVAR represented 27% of all repairs. TEVAR patients had higher rates of comorbid congestive heart failure (12% vs 9%; P < .001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (17% vs 10%; P < .001), diabetes (8% vs 5%; P < .001), and chronic renal failure (8% vs 3%; P < .001) compared with OSR patients. For all repairs, patient comorbidity burden increased over time (mean Charlson comorbidity score of 0.79 in 2000, 1.10 in 2010; P = .04). During this same interval, in-hospital mortality rates declined from 47% to 23% (P < .001), a trend seen in both TEVAR and OSR patients. Whereas in-hospital mortality rates and 3-year survival were similar between patients selected for TEVAR and OSR, there was a trend toward women having slightly lower 3-year survival after TEVAR (60% women vs 63% men; P = .07).ConclusionsSurgical treatment of type B aortic dissection has increased over time, reflecting an increase in the utilization of TEVAR. Overall, type B dissection repairs are currently performed at lower mortality risk in patients with more comorbidities

Dinitro­sylbis[tris­(4-methyl­phen­yl)phosphane]iron

The title compound, [Fe(NO)2(C21H21P)2], belongs to the family of metal dinitrosyl compounds with the general formula Fe(NO)2(L)x, referred to collectively as ‘dinitrosyl iron compounds’ (DNICs). Herein we report the structure of a dinitrosyl iron diphosphane complex, [Fe(NO)2 L 2], with L = P(C6H4-p-CH3)3. There are two crystallographically independent but chemically equal mol­ecules per asymmetric unit. The iron atom in each mol­ecule is tetra­hedrally coordinated by two phosphane ligands and two NO groups, with Fe—N—O angles in the range 173.84 (15)–179.31 (16)°

Full effects of land use change in the representative concentration pathways

Future land use change (LUC) is an important component of the IPCC representative concentration pathways (RCPs), but in these scenarios' radiative forcing targets the climate impact of LUC only includes greenhouse gases. However, climate effects due to physical changes of the land surface can be as large. Here we show the critical importance of including non-carbon impacts of LUC when considering the RCPs. Using an ensemble of climate model simulations with and without LUC, we show that the net climate effect is very different from the carbon-only effect. Despite opposite signs of LUC, all the RCPs assessed here have a small net warming from LUC because of varying biogeophysical effects, and in RCP4.5 the warming is outside of the expected variability. The afforestation in RCP4.5 decreases surface albedo, making the net global temperature anomaly over land around five times larger than RCPs 2.6 and 8.5, for around twice the amount of LUC. Consequent changes to circulation in RCP4.5 in turn reduce Arctic sea ice cover. The small net positive temperature effect from LUC could make RCP4.5's universal carbon tax, which incentivizes retaining and growing forest, counter productive with respect to climate. However, there are spatial differences in the balance of impacts, and potential climate gains would need to be assessed against other environmental aims

Tracking spatial regimes in animal communities: Implications for resilience-based management

Spatial regimes (the spatial extents of ecological states) exhibit strong spatiotemporal order as they expand or contract in response to retreating or encroaching adjacent spatial regimes (e.g., woody plant invasion of grasslands) and human management (e.g., fire treatments). New methods enable tracking spatial regime boundaries via vegetation landcover data, and this approach is being used for strategic management across biomes. A clear advancement would be incorporating animal community data to track spatial regime boundaries alongside vegetation data. In a 41,170-hectare grassland experiencing woody plant encroachment, we test the utility of using animal community data to track spatial regimes via two hypotheses. (H1) Spatial regime boundaries identified via independent vegetation and animal datasets will exhibit spatial synchrony; specifically, grassland:woodland bird community boundaries will synchronize with grass:woody vegetation boundaries. (H2) Negative feedbacks will stabilize spatial regimes identified via animal data; specifically, frequent fire treatments will stabilize grassland bird community boundaries. We used 26 years of bird community and vegetation data alongside 32 years of fire history data. We identified spatial regime boundaries with bird community data via a wombling approach. We identified spatial regime boundaries with vegetation data by calculating spatial covariance between remotely-sensed grass and woody plant cover per pixel. For fire history data, we calculated the cumulative number of fires per pixel. Setting bird boundary strength (wombling R2 values) as the response variable, we tested our hypotheses with a hierarchical generalized additive model (HGAM). Both hypotheses were supported: animal boundaries synchronized with vegetation boundaries in space and time, and grassland bird communities stabilized as fire frequency increased (HGAM explained 38% of deviance). We can now track spatial regimes via animal community data pixel-by-pixel and year-by-year. Alongside vegetation boundary tracking, tracking animal community boundaries can inform the scale of management necessary to maintain animal communities endemic to desirable ecological states. Our approach will be especially useful for conserving animal communities requiring large-scale, unfragmented landscapes—like grasslands and steppes

Peripheral Artery Disease and Activity-Induced Shifts in Quadriceps Median Frequency during Treadmill Walking: A Preliminary Study

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with altered gait biomechanics. No previous research study has investigated the effect of activity on muscle activation in individuals with PAD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PAD on muscle activation in response to a ten-minute walking task. METHODS: Ten healthy young adults, ten healthy older adults and ten individuals with PAD performed a ten-minute treadmill walking trial at a self-selected velocity. Surface EMG was recorded from the vastus lateralis and medial gastrocnemius during five steps in the first and tenth minutes of the walking trial. EMG signals were rectified and smoothed using the root mean squared (RMS) with a 20 ms smoothing window. Peak RMS EMG and median frequencies (MdF) were calculated. Mixed-model ANOVAs with Tukey&rsquo;s post-hoc was used to determine effects of group and activity on peak RMS EMG and MdF. RESULTS: PAD was associated with significantly greater reductions in MdF of the vastus lateralis compared to healthy young and healthy older adults. No significant differences were observed in peak RMS EMG. DISCUSSION: PAD is associated with exaggerated rates of fatigue in the quadriceps but not the gastrocnemius. Efficacy of evidence-based therapeutic interventions should be further investigated

Polygenic risk for circulating reproductive hormone levels and their influence on hippocampal volume and depression susceptibility

Altered reproductive hormone levels have been associated with the pathophysiology of depressive disorders and this risk may be imparted by their modulatory effect upon hippocampal structure and function. Currently it is unclear whether altered levels of reproductive hormones are causally associated with hippocampal volume reductions and the risk of depressive disorders. Here, we utilize genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from a GWAS focusing on reproductive hormones, consisting of 2913 individuals. Using this data, we generated polygenic risk scores (PRS) for estradiol, progesterone, prolactin and testosterone in the European RADIANT cohort consisting of 176 postpartum depression (PPD) cases (100% female, mean age: 41.6 years old), 2772 major depressive disorder (MDD) cases (68.6% female, mean age: 46.9 years old) and 1588 control participants (62.5% female, mean age: 42.4 years old), for which there was also a neuroimaging subset of 111 individuals (60.4% female, mean age: 50.0 years old). Only the best-fit PRS for estradiol showed a significant negative association with hippocampal volume, as well as many of its individual subfields; including the molecular layer and granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1, CA2/3 and CA4 regions. Interestingly, several of these subfields are implicated in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. When we tested the same estradiol PRS for association with case-control status for PPD or MDD there was no significant relationship observed. Here, we provide evidence that genetic risk for higher plasma estradiol is negatively associated with hippocampal volume, but this does not translate into an increased risk of MDD or PPD. This work suggests that the relationship between reproductive hormones, the hippocampus, and depression is complex, and that there may not be a clear-cut pathway for etiology or risk moderation

Circadian rhythm of hepatic cytosolic and nuclear estrogen receptors

The distribution of estrogen receptor between the cytosolic and nuclear compartments were evaluated in liver of male rats to determine whether a circadian rhythm exists. Cytosolic receptor reached a maximum level at 400 hours and a minimum at 2000 and 2400 hr. Nuclear receptor reached a maximum level at 800 hr and was lowest at 1600 and 2000 hr. Serum estradiol levels were also highest at 800 hr and lowest at 1600 hr. The variations in cytosolic and nuclear receptors are not reciprocal; in fact, the overall content of receptor in the liver is not constant and also displays a circadian rhythm. © 1986 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted