Osteoblast activity is diminished in young Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) are used as a genetic model of essential hypertension. Reductions in cortical and cancellous bone mass and increased bone turnover have been observed in aged SHR vs. Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, normotensive genetics controls. In addition, antihypertensive aids have been effective in improving bone parameters in hypertensive rats. Thus, the relation between hypertension and bone remodeling warrants further attention. The purpose of this study was to determine how acute (i.e., 9 weeks) hypertension effects bone remodeling parameters (i.e., osteoclast and osteoblast activity). Methods: Right femora from 14-week-old SHR (n=5) and WKY (n=4) rats were dissected, fixed in 10% formalin and processed for bone histomorphometry for the examination of bone microarchitectural (bone volume/total volume ratio [BV/TV, %], trabecular thickness [Tb.Th, μm], trabecular number [Tb.N /mm] and trabecular separation [Tb. Sp, μm]) and bone static (osteoid surface/bone surface [OS/BS, %], osteoblast surface/bone surface [Ob.S/BS, %], number of osteoblast per total area [N.Ob/T.Ar], osteoclast surface/bone surface [Oc.S/BS, %)], and number of osteoclast per total area [N.Oc/T.Ar]) properties. Results: Body mass did not differ between SHR and WKY rats (i.e., 357 ± 6g vs. 351 ± 8g). No significant differences in bone microarchitectural properties (i.e., BV/TV, Tb.Th, Tb.N and Tb.Sp) were observed after acute hypertension. However, OS/BS, which represents newly formed yet unmineralized bone tissue, was significantly (p \u3c 0.05) reduced in SHR vs. WKY rats. In addition, osteoblast activity (Ob.S/BS) was significantly (p \u3c 0.05) diminished with hypertension. Further, there was a tendency (p = 0.08) for higher N.Oc/T.Ar in SHR vs. WKY rats. Conclusions: Results from this study indicate that hypertension alters bone remodeling parameters by decreasing osteoblast and increasing osteoclast activity. Differences in bone mircoarchitectural properties (i.e., BV/TV, Tb.Th, Tb.N and Tb.Sp) were not observed at this age; however, the alterations in bone cellular activity (i.e., OS/BS, Ob.S/BS and N.Oc/T.Ar) imply that reductions in bone mass are inevitable as the duration of hypertension increases

Yours ever (well, maybe): Studies and signposts in letter writing

Electronic mail and other digital communications technologies seemingly threaten to end the era of handwritten and typed letters, now affectionately seen as part of snail mail. In this essay, I analyze a group of popular and scholarly studies about letter writing-including examples of pundits critiquing the use of e-mail, etiquette manuals advising why the handwritten letter still possesses value, historians and literary scholars studying the role of letters in the past and what it tells us about our present attitudes about digital communications technologies, and futurists predicting how we will function as personal archivists maintaining every document including e-mail. These are useful guideposts for archivists, providing both a sense of the present and the past in the role, value and nature of letters and their successors. They also provide insights into how such documents should be studied, expanding our gaze beyond the particular letters, to the tools used to create them and the traditions dictating their form and function. We also can discern a role for archivists, both for contributing to the literature about documents and in using these studies and commentaries, suggesting not a new disciplinary realm but opportunities for new interdisciplinary work. Examining a documentary form makes us more sensitive to both the innovations and traditions as it shifts from the analog to the digital; we can learn not to be caught up in hysteria or nostalgia about one form over another and archivists can learn about what they might expect in their labors to document society and its institutions. At one time, paper was part of an innovative technology, with roles very similar to the Internet and e-mail today. It may be that the shifts are far less revolutionary than is often assumed. Reading such works also suggests, finally, that archivists ought to rethink how they view their own knowledge and how it is constructed and used. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

High sensitivity measurement of 224Ra and 226Ra in water with an improved hydrous titanium oxide technique at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The existing hydrous titanium oxide (HTiO) technique for the measurement of 224Ra and 226Ra in the water at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) has been changed to make it faster and less sensitive to trace impurities in the HTiO eluate. Using HTiO-loaded filters followed by cation exchange adsorption and HTiO co-precipitation, Ra isotopes from 200-450 tonnes of heavy water can be extracted and concentrated into a single sample of a few millilitres with a total chemical efficiency of 50%. Combined with beta-alpha coincidence counting, this method is capable of measuring 2.0x10^3 uBq/kg of 224Ra and 3.7x10^3 uBq/kg of 226Ra from the 232Th and 238U decay chains, respectively, for a 275 tonne D2O assay, which are equivalent to 5x10^16 g Th/g and 3x10^16 g U/g in heavy water.Comment: 8 Pages, 2 figures and 2 table

The burden of peripheral intravenous catheters in older hospital inpatients : a national cross-sectional study part of the One Million Global Peripheral Intravenous Catheters Collaboration

Objectives: To investigate the burden of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) in older hospitalised patients. Methods: A cross-sectional prospective observational study (2014/2015) to describe the characteristics, indications and outcomes of PIVCs among patients aged ≥65 from 65 Australian hospitals. Results: Amongst 2179 individual PIVCs (in 2041 patients, mean age 77.6 years, 45% female, 58% in NSW), 43% were inserted by doctors and 74% used that day, meaning 25% were ‘idle’. Overall, 18% (393/2179) exhibited signs of PIVC-related complications. Most commonly exhibited PIVC-related complications were tenderness (4.1%) and local redness (1.8%). Nearly one in three (29.1%) dressings was soiled, loosened or had come off, and only 36.8% had the time and date documented on the dressing. Both infusing IV medications (aOR 1.74, 95% CI 1.28–2.38, p 84 years) was independently associated with lower likelihood of a high score (aOR 0.71, 95% CI 0.54–0.94, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Given 1 in 5 PIVCs were identified with having complications, further research should focus on optimising PIVC use in older patients

Appetite, gut hormone and energy intake responses to low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance exercise.

Sprint interval exercise improves several health markers but the appetite and energy balance response is unknown. This study compared the effects of sprint interval and endurance exercise on appetite, energy intake and gut hormone responses. Twelve healthy males [mean (SD): age 23 (3) years, body mass index 24.2 (2.9) kg m(-2), maximum oxygen uptake 46.3 (10.2) mL kg(-1) min(-1)] completed three 8 h trials [control (CON), endurance exercise (END), sprint interval exercise (SIE)] separated by 1 week. Trials commenced upon completion of a standardised breakfast. Sixty minutes of cycling at 68.1 (4.3) % of maximum oxygen uptake was performed from 1.75-2.75 h in END. Six 30-s Wingate tests were performed from 2.25-2.75 h in SIE. Appetite ratings, acylated ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY) concentrations were measured throughout each trial. Food intake was monitored from buffet meals at 3.5 and 7 h and an overnight food bag. Appetite (P 0.05). Therefore, relative energy intake (energy intake minus the net energy expenditure of exercise) was lower in END than that in CON (15.7 %; P = 0.006) and SIE (11.5 %; P = 0.082). An acute bout of endurance exercise resulted in lower appetite perceptions in the hours after exercise than sprint interval exercise and induced a greater 24 h energy deficit due to higher energy expenditure during exercise

Measurement of 222Rn dissolved in water at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The technique used at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) to measure the concentration of 222Rn in water is described. Water from the SNO detector is passed through a vacuum degasser (in the light water system) or a membrane contact degasser (in the heavy water system) where dissolved gases, including radon, are liberated. The degasser is connected to a vacuum system which collects the radon on a cold trap and removes most other gases, such as water vapor and nitrogen. After roughly 0.5 tonnes of H2O or 6 tonnes of D2O have been sampled, the accumulated radon is transferred to a Lucas cell. The cell is mounted on a photomultiplier tube which detects the alpha particles from the decay of 222Rn and its daughters. The overall degassing and concentration efficiency is about 38% and the single-alpha counting efficiency is approximately 75%. The sensitivity of the radon assay system for D2O is equivalent to ~3 E(-15) g U/g water. The radon concentration in both the H2O and D2O is sufficiently low that the rate of background events from U-chain elements is a small fraction of the interaction rate of solar neutrinos by the neutral current reaction.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; v2 has very minor change

Embodying compassion: A systematic review of the views of nurses and patients

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aims and objectives: To provide a review of empirical research investigating how compassion is expressed by nurses and received by patients in hospital settings. Background: Compassion is viewed as an important and fundamental part of a health professional practice. Universally, reports from both media and government agencies have addressed perceived deficits of compassion in healthcare with nurses accused of a lack of compassion. Research into compassion to date has largely focused on the problematic nature of compassion such as burnout, fatigue and other negative personal and work-related outcomes. Design: A systematic literature review of empirical research guided by a meta-ethnographic approach supported the systematic comparison and translation of the included studies. Six online databases were searched from January 2006–December 2016. Methods: This review was carried out according to the PRISMA-P reporting guidelines. How compassion in healthcare was defined was extracted alongside findings on how compassion was expressed by nurses and received by patients. Synthesis of the research was completed resulting in new interpretations. Results: Eleven papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Multiple differing definitions of compassion in healthcare were applied. Nurses embody and enact compassion through behaviours such as spending time with patients and communicating effectively with patients. Patients experience compassion through a sense of togetherness with nurses. Conclusion: Existing research demonstrated dissonance between the expression of compassion by nurses and how compassion is experienced by patients. The themes identified in this review should be considered by health professionals providing patient care. Relevance to clinical practice: Health providers should acknowledge and account for the time that nurses need with patients to demonstrate compassion in practice. Nursing education relating to the expression of compassion should articulate both the subjectivity and ambiguity of the term and examine the relationship between compassion and suffering

Appetite and gut hormone responses to moderate-intensity continuous exercise versus high-intensity interval exercise, in normoxic and hypoxic conditions.

This study investigated the effects of continuous moderate-intensity exercise (MIE) and high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) in combination with short exposure to hypoxia on appetite and plasma concentrations of acylated ghrelin, peptide YY (PYY), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Twelve healthy males completed four, 2.6 h trials in a random order: 1) MIE-normoxia, 2) MIE-hypoxia, 3) HIIE-normoxia, and 4) HIIE-hypoxia. Exercise took place in an environmental chamber. During MIE, participants ran for 50 min at 70% of altitude-specific maximal oxygen uptake ( 2max) and during HIIE performed 6 x 3 min running at 90% 2max interspersed with 6 x 3 min active recovery at 50% 2max with a 7 min warm-up and cool-down at 70% 2max (50 min total). In hypoxic trials, exercise was performed at a simulated altitude of 2,980 m (14.5% O2). Exercise was completed after a standardised breakfast. A second meal standardised to 30% of participants’ daily energy requirements was provided 45 min after exercise. Appetite was suppressed more in hypoxia than normoxia during exercise, post-exercise, and for the full 2.6 h trial period (linear mixed modelling, p 0.05). These findings demonstrate that short exposure to hypoxia causes suppressions in appetite and plasma acylated ghrelin concentrations. Furthermore, appetite responses to exercise do not appear to be influenced by exercise modality