238 research outputs found
Local Exchange Services in the Next Century -- What Still Must Be Done to Bring Us to Where We Want to Be?
Our panel is Local Exchange Service in the Next Century--What Still must be Done to Bring Us to Where We Want to Be? We have four excellent panelists to address these questions. I expect the panelists to agree, in part, where we want to be, and they won\u27t spend a whole lot of time about increased service, new technology, lower prices, and all those things. I am sure we\u27ll hear some assurances along those lines, at least from three of the panelists. Most of the time will be spent on what still must be done to get us there. I hope we will have not just what we, the Commission, has to do to get us there, but also perhaps what they may have to do to get us there. Also, perhaps, some references to some new technologies
Heliyon
Purpose: Restraint is often used when administering procedures to children. However, no metrologically scale to measure the restraint intensity had yet been validated. This study validated the metrological criteria of a scale measuring the restraint intensity, Procedural Restraint Intensity in Children (PRIC), used during procedures in children. Design and methods: The PRIC scale performance was measured by a group of 7 health professionals working in a children's hospital, by watching 20 videos of health care procedures. This group included 2 physicians, 1 pediatric resident, and 4 nurses. The intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the inter-rater and test-retest reliability and the construct validity with the correlation between PRIC scale and a numerical rating scale. Results: One hundred and forty measurements were made. Inter-rater and test-retest correlation coefficients were 0.98 and 0.98, respectively. The 2 scales were positively correlated with a Spearman coefficient of 0.93. Conclusions: This study validated the Procedural Restraint Intensity in Children (PRIC) scale in metrological terms with some limitation. However, there is not gold standard scale to precisely validate the reliability of this tool and this study has been conducted in "experimental" conditions. Nevertheless, this is the first scale measuring the intensity of physical restraint with a metrological validation. The next step will be to validate it in real clinical situations
Antihyperlipidemic effects of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushrooms) in HIV-infected individuals taking antiretroviral therapy
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens in HIV patients commonly cause significant lipid elevations, including increases in both triglycerides and cholesterol. Standard treatments for hypercholesterolemia include the HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, or "statins." Because many ART agents and statins share a common metabolic pathway that uses the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, coadministration of ART with statins could increase statin plasma levels significantly. The oyster mushroom, <it>Pleurotus ostreatus</it>, has been shown in animal models to decrease lipid levels - a finding that has been supported by preliminary data in a small human trial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To assess the safety and efficacy of <it>P. ostreatus </it>in patients with HIV and ART-induced hyperlipidemia, a single-arm, open-label, proof-of-concept study of 8 weeks' duration with a target enrollment of 20 subjects was conducted. Study patients with ART-induced elevated non-HDL cholesterol levels (> 160 mg/dL) were enrolled. Participants received packets of freeze-dried <it>P. ostreatus </it>(15 gm/day) to be administered orally for the 8 week trial period. Lipid levels were drawn every two weeks to assess efficacy. Safety assessments included self-reported incidence of muscle aches and measurement of liver and muscle enzymes. Mean within-person change in lipid levels were estimated using generalized estimating equations to account for repeated observations on individuals. A 30 mg/dL decrease in non-HDL cholesterol was deemed clinically significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>126 patients were screened to enroll 25, of which 20 completed the 8-week study. The mean age was 46.4 years (36-60). Patients had a mean 13.7 yrs of HIV infection. Mean non-HDL cholesterol was 204.5 mg/dL at day 0 and 200.2 mg/dL at day 56 (mean within-person change = -1.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -17.4, 14.0). HDL cholesterol levels increased from 37.8 mg/dL at day 0 to 40.4 mg/dL on day 56 (mean within-person change = 2.6; 95% CI = -0.1, 5.2). Triglycerides dropped from 336.4 mg/dL on day 0 to 273.4 mg/dL on day 56 (mean within-person change = -63.0; 95% CI = -120.9, -5.1). Only 3 individuals achieved a sustained clinically significant (30 mg/dL) decline in non-HDL cholesterol after 8 weeks of therapy. There were no adverse experiences reported other than patients' distaste for the preparation. Liver function tests and muscle enzymes were not affected by the 8 weeks of treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Pleurotus ostreatus </it>as administered in this experiment did not lower non-HDL cholesterol in HIV patients with ART-induced hypercholesterolemia. Small changes in HDL and triglycerides were not of a clinical magnitude to warrant further study.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00069524">NCT00069524</a></p
Resistance of Antarctic black fungi and cryptoendolithic communities to simulated space and Martian conditions
Dried colonies of the Antarctic rock-inhabiting meristematic fungi
Cryomyces antarcticus CCFEE 515, CCFEE 534 and C. minteri
CCFEE 5187, as well as fragments of rocks colonized by the Antarctic
cryptoendolithic community, were exposed to a set of ground-based experiment
verification tests (EVTs) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR, Köln,
Germany). These were carried out to test the tolerance of these organisms in
view of their possible exposure to space conditions outside of the
International Space Station (ISS). Tests included single or combined simulated
space and Martian conditions. Responses were analysed both by cultural and
microscopic methods. Thereby, colony formation capacities were measured and
the cellular viability was assessed using live/dead dyes FUN 1 and SYTOX
Green. The results clearly suggest a general good resistance of all the
samples investigated. C. minteri CCFEE 5187, C. antarcticus
CCFEE 515 and colonized rocks were selected as suitable candidates to
withstand space flight and long-term permanence in space on the ISS in the
framework of the LIchens and Fungi Experiments (LIFE programme, European Space
Agency)
Planetary population synthesis
In stellar astrophysics, the technique of population synthesis has been
successfully used for several decades. For planets, it is in contrast still a
young method which only became important in recent years because of the rapid
increase of the number of known extrasolar planets, and the associated growth
of statistical observational constraints. With planetary population synthesis,
the theory of planet formation and evolution can be put to the test against
these constraints. In this review of planetary population synthesis, we first
briefly list key observational constraints. Then, the work flow in the method
and its two main components are presented, namely global end-to-end models that
predict planetary system properties directly from protoplanetary disk
properties and probability distributions for these initial conditions. An
overview of various population synthesis models in the literature is given. The
sub-models for the physical processes considered in global models are
described: the evolution of the protoplanetary disk, the planets' accretion of
solids and gas, orbital migration, and N-body interactions among concurrently
growing protoplanets. Next, typical population synthesis results are
illustrated in the form of new syntheses obtained with the latest generation of
the Bern model. Planetary formation tracks, the distribution of planets in the
mass-distance and radius-distance plane, the planetary mass function, and the
distributions of planetary radii, semimajor axes, and luminosities are shown,
linked to underlying physical processes, and compared with their observational
counterparts. We finish by highlighting the most important predictions made by
population synthesis models and discuss the lessons learned from these
predictions - both those later observationally confirmed and those rejected.Comment: 47 pages, 12 figures. Invited review accepted for publication in the
'Handbook of Exoplanets', planet formation section, section editor: Ralph
Pudritz, Springer reference works, Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Ed
New national and regional bryophyte records, 69
descripción no proporcionada por scopu
Giardia duodenalis infection: risk factors for children living in sub-standard settlements in Brazil
The relevance of fungi in astrobiology research – Astromycology
Since the very first steps of space exploration, fungi have been recorded as contaminants,
hitchhikers, or as part of missions’ crews and payloads. Because fungi can cause human disease and
are highly active decomposers, their presence in a space-linked context has been a source of major
concern given their possible detrimental effects on crews and space structures. However, fungi can
also be beneficial and be used for many space applications. The exact effects on fungi are not
always clear as they possess high adaptability and plasticity, and their phenotypes and genotypes
can undergo several changes under the extreme conditions found in space, thus leading to different
results than those we would have on Earth. Understanding and analysing these aspects is the subject
of astromycology, a research field within astrobiology. The impending situation of a resurgent space race is expected to boost astromycology’s
visibility and importance. However, researchers lack both a framework and a solid base of
knowledge from which to contextualise their work. This critical review addresses this gap by
conceptualising the field of astromycology, covering key research and current questions pertaining
to the field, and providing a relevant research instrument for future work
Development of a Halotolerant Community in the St. Lucia Estuary (South Africa) during a Hypersaline Phase
Background: The St. Lucia Estuary, Africa’s largest estuarine lake, is currently experiencing unprecedented freshwater deprivation which has resulted in a northward gradient of drought effects, with hypersaline conditions in its northern lakes. Methodology/Principal Findings: This study documents the changes that occurred in the biotic communities at False Bay from May 2010 to June 2011, in order to better understand ecosystem functioning in hypersaline habitats. Few zooplankton taxa were able to withstand the harsh environmental conditions during 2010. These were the flatworm Macrostomum sp., the harpacticoid copepod Cletocamptus confluens, the cyclopoid copepod Apocyclops cf. dengizicus and the ciliate Fabrea cf. salina. In addition to their exceptional salinity tolerance, they were involved in a remarkably simple food web. In June 2009, a bloom of an orange-pigmented cyanobacterium (Cyanothece sp.) was recorded in False Bay and persisted uninterruptedly for 18 months. Stable isotope analysis suggests that this cyanobacterium was the main prey item of F. cf. salina. This ciliate was then consumed by A. cf. dengizicus, which in turn was presumably consumed by flamingos as they flocked in the area when the copepods attained swarming densities. On the shore, cyanobacteria mats contributed to a population explosion of the staphylinid beetle Bledius pilicollis. Although zooplankton disappeared once salinities exceeded 130, many taxa are capable of producing spores or resting cysts to bridge harsh periods. The hypersaline community was disrupted by heavy summer rains in 2011, which alleviated drought conditions and resulted in a sharp increase in zooplankton stock an
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