Forty years of temporal analysis of products

A detailed understanding of reaction mechanisms and kinetics is required in order to develop and optimize catalysts and catalytic processes. While steady-state investigations are known to give a global view of the catalytic system, transient studies are invaluable since they can provide more comprehensive insight into elementary steps. For almost forty years temporal analysis of products (TAP) has been successfully utilized for transient studies of gas phase heterogeneous reactions, and there have been a number of advances in instrumentation and numerical modeling methods in that time. Since TAP is a complex methodology it is often viewed as a niche specialty. With the purpose to make TAP more relevant and approachable to a wider segment of the catalytic research community, part of the intention of this work is to highlight the significant contributions TAP has made to elucidating mechanistic and kinetic aspects of complex, multi-step heterogeneous reactions. With this in mind, an outlook is also disclosed for the technique in terms of what is needed to revitalize the field and make it more applicable to the recent advances in catalyst characterization (e.g. operando modes)

Pedestrian Injury and Human Behaviour: Observing Road-Rule Violations at High-Incident Intersections

Background Human behaviour is an obvious, yet under-studied factor in pedestrian injury. Behavioural interventions that address rule violations by pedestrians and motorists could potentially reduce the frequency of pedestrian injury. In this study, a method was developed to examine road-rule non-compliance by pedestrians and motorists. The purpose of the study was to examine the potential association between violations made by pedestrians and motorists at signalized intersections, and collisions between pedestrians and motor-vehicles. The underlying hypothesis is that high-incident pedestrian intersections are likely to vary with respect to their aetiology, and thus are likely to require individualized interventions – based on the type and rate of pedestrian and motorist violation. Methods High-incident pedestrian injury intersections in Vancouver, Canada were identified using geographic information systems. Road-rule violations by pedestrians and motorists were documented at each incident hotspot by a team of observers at several different time periods during the day. Results Approximately 9,000 pedestrians and 18,000 vehicles were observed in total. In total for all observed intersections, over 2000 (21%) pedestrians committed one of the observed pedestrian road-crossing violations, while approximately 1000 (5.9%) drivers committed one of the observed motorist violations. Great variability in road-rule violations was observed between intersections, and also within intersections at different observation periods. Conclusions Both motorists and pedestrians were frequently observed committing road-rule violations at signalized intersections, suggesting a potential human behavioural contribution to pedestrian injury at the study sites. These results suggest that each intersection may have unique mechanisms that contribute to pedestrian injury, and may require targeted behavioural interventions. The method described in this study provides the basis for understanding the relationship between violations and pedestrian injury risk at urban intersections. Findings could be applied to targeted prevention campaigns designed to reduce the number of pedestrian injuries at signalized intersections

Incidence of unplanned excisions of soft tissue sarcomas in the Netherlands:A population-based study

Introduction: Timely recognition of soft tissue sarcomas (STS) remains challenging, potentially leading to unplanned excisions (also known as 'whoops procedures'). This population-based study charted the occurrence of unplanned excisions and identified associated patient, tumour, and treatment-related characteristics. Furthermore, it presents an overview of the outcomes and clinical management following an unplanned excision. Methods: From the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) database, information was obtained on 2187 adult patients diagnosed with STS in 2016-2019 who underwent surgery. Tumours located in the mediastinum, heart or retroperitoneum were excluded, as well as incidental findings. Differences between patients with planned and unplanned excisions were assessed with chi-square tests and a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Overall, unplanned excisions comprise 18.2% of all first operations for STS, with a quarter of them occurring outside a hospital. Within hospitals, the unplanned excision rate was 14.4%. Unplanned excisions were more often performed on younger patients, and tumours unsuspected of being STS prior to surgery were generally smaller ( Discussion: Potential improvement in preventing unplanned excisions may be achieved by better compliance to preoperative imaging and referral guidelines, and stimulating continuous awareness of STS among general surgeons, general practitioners and private practices. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd, BASO similar to The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved

Characterizing steroid hormone receptor chromatin binding landscapes in male and female breast cancer

Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare and largely hormonally driven. Here, the authors examine the action of steroid hormone receptors in male and female breast cancers and find gender selective hormone receptor action that associates with the survival of MBC patients

Can weight loss prevent cancer?

We review and update evidence on obesity, weight gain and weight loss in relation to leading cancers since the International Agency for Research on Cancer report of 2002. Emphasis is placed on the time course of disease and implications for weight control to prevent cancer. We conclude that weight loss could prevent a major portion of common cancers

Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. DESIGN: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. METHODS: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. RESULTS: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. CONCLUSION: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Assessing the influence of the built environment on physical activity for utility and recreation in suburban metro Vancouver

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physical inactivity and associated co-morbidities such as obesity and cardiovascular disease are estimated to have large societal costs. There is increasing interest in examining the role of the built environment in shaping patterns of physical activity. However, few studies have: (1) simultaneously examined physical activity for leisure and utility; (2) selected study areas with a range of built environment characteristics; and (3) assessed the built environment using high-resolution land use data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on individuals used for this study are from a survey of 1602 adults in selected sites across suburban Metro Vancouver. Four types of physical activity were assessed: walking to work/school, walking for errands, walking for leisure and moderate physical activity for exercise. The built environment was assessed by constructing one-kilometre road network buffers around each respondent's postal code. Measures of the built environment include terciles of recreational and park land, residential land, institutional land, commercial land and land use mix.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Logistic regression analyses showed that walking to work/school and moderate physical activity were not associated with any built environment measure. Living in areas with lower land use mix, lower commercial and lower recreational land increased the odds of low levels of walking for errands. Individuals living in the lower third of land use mix and institutional land were more likely to report low levels of walking for leisure.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that walking for errands and leisure have a greater association with the built environment than other dimensions of physical activity.</p

Developmental changes in mesenteric artery reactivity in embryonic and newly hatched chicks

At birth, the intestine becomes the sole site for nutrient absorption requiring a dramatic increase in blood flow. The vascular changes accompanying this transition have been partly characterized in mammals. We investigated, using wire myography, the developmental changes in chick mesenteric artery (MA) reactivity. Rings of the MA from 15-day (E15) and 19-day (E19) chicken embryos (total incubation 21 days) as well as non-fed 0–3-h-old (NH3h) and first-fed 1-day-old (NH1d) newly hatched chicks contracted in response to KCl, norepinephrine (NE), U46619, and endothelin (ET)-1 and relaxed in response to acetylcholine (ACh), sodium nitroprusside (SNP), and forskolin indicating the presence of electro- and pharmaco-mechanical coupling as well as cGMP- and cAMP-mediated relaxation. In ovo development and transition to ex ovo life was accompanied by alterations in the response of the MAs, but a different developmental trajectory was observed for each reactivity pathway tested. Thus, the contractile efficacy of KCl underwent a linear increase (E15 < E19 < NH3h < NH1d). The efficacy of NE and U46619 increased in ovo, but not ex ovo (E15 < E19 = NH3h = NH1d) and the efficacy of ET-1 peaked at E19 (E15 < E19 > NH3h = NH1d). The relaxations elicited by ACh (endothelium-dependent), SNP, and forskolin did not undergo significant developmental changes. In conclusion, the ability of chick MAs to constrict in response to pharmacological stimuli increases during the embryonic period, but no dramatic changes are induced by hatching or the first feeding. Maturation of vasodilator mechanisms precedes that of vasoconstrictor mechanisms. Alterations of the delicate balance between vasoconstrictors and vasodilators may play an important role in perinatal intestinal diseases