Boys and girls: Chinese future teachers\u27 expectations

The current study examines the expectations of Chinese education majors for their future students in the areas of academic behavior, classroom behavior, academic performance, and general behavior. Of special interest to us was the question whether the future teachers would have very similar or different expectations for boys and girls. A group of 152 education majors at a medium-sized university in Shanghai participated in the study by filling out a survey questionnaire. The results indicate that both male and female education majors had similar expectations of their future students in the areas of academic behavior, classroom behavior, and general behavior; however, they differed significantly on the Academic Performance Scale

Cachexia and protein-energy wasting in children with chronic kidney disease

Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk for “cachexia” or “protein-energy wasting” (PEW). These terms describe a pathophysiologic process resulting in the loss of muscle, with or without loss of fat, and involving maladaptive responses, including anorexia and elevated metabolic rate. PEW has been defined specifically in relation to CKD. We review the diagnostic criteria for cachexia and PEW in CKD and consider the limitations and applicability of these criteria to children with CKD. In addition, we present an overview of the manifestations and mechanisms of cachexia and PEW. A host of pathogenetic factors are considered, including systemic inflammation, endocrine perturbations, and abnormal neuropeptide signaling, as well as poor nutritional intake. Mortality risk, which is 100- to 200-fold higher in patients with end-stage renal disease than in the general population, is strongly correlated with the components of cachexia/PEW. Further research into the causes and consequences of wasting and growth retardation is needed in order to improve the survival and quality of life for children with CKD

Antagonists of Calcium Fluxes and Calmodulin Block Activation of the p21-Activated Protein Kinases in Neutrophils

Neutrophils stimulated with fMLP or a variety of other chemoattractants that bind to serpentine receptors coupled to heterotrimeric G proteins exhibit rapid activation of two p21-activated protein kinases (Paks) with molecular masses of ~63 and 69 kDa (y- and a-Pak). Previous studies have shown that products of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and tyrosine kinases are required for the activation of Paks. We now report that a variety of structurally distinct compounds which interrupt different stages in calcium/calmodulin (CaM) signaling block activation of the 63- and 69-kDa Paks in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils. These antagonists included selective inhibitors of phospholipase C (1-[6-((17ß-3-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl)amino)hexyl]-1H-pyrrole- 2,5-dione), the intracellular Ca^(2+) channel (8-(N,N-diethylamino)-octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate), CaM (N-(6-aminohexyl)-5- chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide; N-(4-aminobutyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide; trifluoperazine), and CaM-activated protein kinases (N-[2-(N-(chlorocinnamyl)-N-methylaminomethyl)phenyl]-N-[2-hydroxyethyl]-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide). This inhibition was dose-dependent with IC50 values very similar to those that interrupt CaM-dependent reactions in vitro. In contrast, less active analogues of these compounds (1-[6-((17ß-3-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl)amino)hexyl]-2,5-pyrrolidinedione; N-(6-aminohexyl)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide; N-(4-aminobutyl)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide; promethazine; 2-[N-(4- methoxybenzenesulfonyl)]amino-N-(4-chlorocinnamyl)-N-methylbenzyl-amine]) did not affect activation of Paks in these cells. CaM antagonists (N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide; trifluoperazine), but not their less-active analogues (N- (6-aminohexyl)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide; promethazine), were also found to block activation of the small GTPases Ras and Rac in stimulated neutrophils along with the extracellular signal-regulated kinases. These data strongly suggest that the Ca^(2+)/CaM complex plays a major role in the activation of a number of enzyme systems in neutrophils that are regulated by small GTPases

A side-by-side comparison of Daya Bay antineutrino detectors

The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is designed to determine precisely the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ with a sensitivity better than 0.01 in the parameter sin$^22\theta_{13}$ at the 90% confidence level. To achieve this goal, the collaboration will build eight functionally identical antineutrino detectors. The first two detectors have been constructed, installed and commissioned in Experimental Hall 1, with steady data-taking beginning September 23, 2011. A comparison of the data collected over the subsequent three months indicates that the detectors are functionally identical, and that detector-related systematic uncertainties exceed requirements.Comment: 24 pages, 36 figure

Disparity in Reimbursement for Tuberculosis Care Among Different Health Insurance Schemes: Evidence from Three Counties in Central China

Background: Health inequity is an important issue all around the world. The Chinese basic medical security system comprises three major insurance schemes, namely the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI), the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI), and the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS). Little research has been conducted to look into the disparity in payments among the health insurance schemes in China. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the disparity in reimbursements for tuberculosis (TB) care among the abovementioned health insurance schemes. Methods: This study uses a World Health Organization (WHO) framework to analyze the disparities and equity relating to the three dimensions of health insurance: population coverage, the range of services covered, and the extent to which costs are covered. Each of the health insurance scheme’s policies were categorized and analyzed. An analysis of the claims database of all hospitalizations reimbursed from 2010 to 2012 in three counties of Yichang city (YC), which included 1506 discharges, was conducted to identify the differences in reimbursement rates and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses among the health insurance schemes. Results: Tuberculosis patients had various inpatient expenses depending on which scheme they were covered by (TB patients covered by the NCMS have less inpatient expenses than those who were covered by the URBMI, who have less inpatient expenses than those covered by the UEBMI). We found a significant horizontal inequity of healthcare utilization among the lower socioeconomic groups. In terms of financial inequity, TB patients who earned less paid more. The NCMS provides modest financial protection, based on income. Overall, TB patients from lower socioeconomic groups were the most vulnerable. Conclusion: There are large disparities in reimbursement for TB care among the three health insurance schemes and this, in turn, hampers TB control. Reducing the gap in health outcomes between the three health insurance schemes in China should be a focus of TB care and control. Achieving equity through integrated policies that avoid discrimination is likely to be effective

A new measurement of antineutrino oscillation with the full detector configuration at Daya Bay

We report a new measurement of electron antineutrino disappearance using the fully-constructed Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. The final two of eight antineutrino detectors were installed in the summer of 2012. Including the 404 days of data collected from October 2012 to November 2013 resulted in a total exposure of 6.9$\times$10$^5$ GW$_{\rm th}$-ton-days, a 3.6 times increase over our previous results. Improvements in energy calibration limited variations between detectors to 0.2%. Removal of six $^{241}$Am-$^{13}$C radioactive calibration sources reduced the background by a factor of two for the detectors in the experimental hall furthest from the reactors. Direct prediction of the antineutrino signal in the far detectors based on the measurements in the near detectors explicitly minimized the dependence of the measurement on models of reactor antineutrino emission. The uncertainties in our estimates of $\sin^{2}2\theta_{13}$ and $|\Delta m^2_{ee}|$ were halved as a result of these improvements. Analysis of the relative antineutrino rates and energy spectra between detectors gave $\sin^{2}2\theta_{13} = 0.084\pm0.005$ and $|\Delta m^{2}_{ee}|= (2.42\pm0.11) \times 10^{-3}$ eV$^2$ in the three-neutrino framework.Comment: Updated to match final published versio

Observation of electron-antineutrino disappearance at Daya Bay

The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment has measured a non-zero value for the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations. Antineutrinos from six 2.9 GW$_{\rm th}$ reactors were detected in six antineutrino detectors deployed in two near (flux-weighted baseline 470 m and 576 m) and one far (1648 m) underground experimental halls. With a 43,000 ton-GW_{\rm th}-day livetime exposure in 55 days, 10416 (80376) electron antineutrino candidates were detected at the far hall (near halls). The ratio of the observed to expected number of antineutrinos at the far hall is $R=0.940\pm 0.011({\rm stat}) \pm 0.004({\rm syst})$. A rate-only analysis finds $\sin^22\theta_{13}=0.092\pm 0.016({\rm stat})\pm0.005({\rm syst})$ in a three-neutrino framework.Comment: 5 figures. Version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

New measurement of θ13\theta_{13} via neutron capture on hydrogen at Daya Bay

This article reports an improved independent measurement of neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ at the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. Electron antineutrinos were identified by inverse $\beta$-decays with the emitted neutron captured by hydrogen, yielding a data-set with principally distinct uncertainties from that with neutrons captured by gadolinium. With the final two of eight antineutrino detectors installed, this study used 621 days of data including the previously reported 217-day data set with six detectors. The dominant statistical uncertainty was reduced by 49%. Intensive studies of the cosmogenic muon-induced $^9$Li and fast neutron backgrounds and the neutron-capture energy selection efficiency, resulted in a reduction of the systematic uncertainty by 26%. The deficit in the detected number of antineutrinos at the far detectors relative to the expected number based on the near detectors yielded $\sin^22\theta_{13} = 0.071 \pm 0.011$ in the three-neutrino-oscillation framework. The combination of this result with the gadolinium-capture result is also reported.Comment: 26 pages, 23 figure