Stacking fault-associated polarized surface-emitted photoluminescence from zincblende InGaN/GaN quantum wells

Zincblende InGaN/GaN quantum wells offer a potential improvement to the efficiency of green light emission by removing the strong electric fields present in similar structures. However, a high density of stacking faults may have an impact on the recombination in these systems. In this work, scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray measurements demonstrate that one dimensional nanostructures form due to indium segregation adjacent to stacking faults. In photoluminescence experiments these structures emit visible light which is optically polarised up to 86% at 10K and up to 75% at room temperature. The emission redshifts and broadens as the well width increases from 2nm to 8nm. Photoluminescence excitation measurements indicate that carriers are captured by these structures from the rest of the quantum wells and recombine to emit light polarised along the length of these nanostructures

Photocatalytic hydrogen production by biomimetic indium sulfide using Mimosa pudica leaves as template

Biomimetic sulfur-deficient indium sulfide (In2.77S4) was synthesized by a template-assisted hydrothermal method using leaves of Mimosa pudica as a template for the first time. The effect of this template in modifying the morphology of the semiconductor particles was determined by physicochemical characterization, revealing an increase in surface area, decrease in microsphere size and pore size and an increase in pore volume density in samples synthesized with the template. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed the presence of organic sulfur (S O/S C/S H) and sulfur oxide species ( SO2, SO32−, SO42−) at the surface of the indium sulfide in samples synthesized with the template. Biomimetic indium sulfide also showed significant amounts of Fe introduced as a contaminant present on the Mimosa pudica leaves. The presence of these sulfur and iron species favors the photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production by their acting as a sacrificial reagent and promoting water oxidation on the surface of the templated particles, respectively. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rates over optimally-prepared biomimetic indium sulfide and indium sulfide synthesized without the organic template were 73 and 22 μmol g−1, respectively, indicating an improvement by a factor of three in the templated sample

Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity and clustered cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents: the HAPPY study

Clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors can occur during childhood and predisposes individuals to cardiometabolic disease. This study calculated clustered cardiometabolic risk in 100 children and adolescents aged 10-14 years (59 girls) and explored differences according to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels and time spent at different physical activity (PA) intensities. CRF was determined using a maximal cycle ergometer test, and PA was assessed using accelerometry. A cardiometabolic risk score was computed as the sum of the standardised scores for waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio, triglycerides and glucose. Differences in clustered cardiometabolic risk between fit and unfit participants, according to previously proposed health-related threshold values, and between tertiles for PA subcomponents were assessed using ANCOVA. Clustered risk was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the fit group (mean 1.21 ± 3.42) compared to the unfit group (mean -0.74 ± 2.22), while no differences existed between tertiles for any subcomponent of PA. Conclusion These findings suggest that CRF may have an important cardioprotective role in children and adolescents and highlights the importance of promoting CRF in youth

Psychometric properties of the Iranian interview-administered version of the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF): A population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of the current study was to translate and validate the Iranian version of the WHOQOL-BREF.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A forward-backward translation procedure was followed to develop the Iranian version of the questionnaire. A stratified random sample of individuals aged 18 and over completed the questionnaire in Tehran, Iran. Psychometric properties of the instrument including reliability (internal consistency, and test-retest analysis), validity (known groups' comparison and convergent validity), and items' correlation with their hypothesized domains were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In all 1164 individuals entered into the study. The mean age of the participants was 36.6 (SD = 13.2) years, and the mean years of their formal education was 10.7 (SD = 4.4). In general the questionnaire received well and all domains met the minimum reliability standards (Cronbach's alpha and intra-class correlation > 0.7), except for social relationships (alpha = 0.55). Performing known groups' comparison analysis, the results indicated that the questionnaire discriminated well between subgroups of the study samples differing in their health status. Since the WHOQOL-BREF demonstrated statistically significant correlation with the Iranian version of the SF-36 as expected, the convergent validity of the questionnaire was found to be desirable. Correlation matrix also showed satisfactory results in all domains except for social relationships.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has provided some preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of the WHOQOL-BREF to be used in Iran, though further research is required to challenge the problems of reliability in one of the dimensions and the instrument's factor structure.</p

The implementation evaluation of primary care groups of practice: a focus on organizational identity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since 2002 the Health Ministry of Québec (Canada) has been implementing a primary care organizational innovation called 'family medicine groups'. This is occurring in a political context in which the reorganization of primary care is considered necessary to improve health care system performance. More specifically, the purpose of this reform has been to overcome systemic deficiencies in terms of accessibility and continuity of care. This paper examines the first years of implementation of the family medicine group program, with a focus on the emergence of the organizational identity of one of the pilot groups located in the urban area of Montreal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An in-depth longitudinal case study was conducted over two and a half years. Face to face individual interviews with key informants from the family medicine group under study were conducted over the research period considered. Data was gathered throuhg observations and documentary analysis. The data was analyzed using temporal bracketing and Fairclough's three-dimensional critical discourse analytical techniques.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three different phases were identified over the period under study. During the first phase, which corresponded to the official start-up of the family medicine group program, new resources and staff were only available at the end of the period, and no changes occurred in medical practices. Power struggles between physicians and nurses characterized the second phase, resulting in a very difficult integration of advanced nurse practitioners into the group. Indeed, the last phase was portrayed by initial collaborative practices associated with a sensegiving process prompted by a new family medicine group director.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The creation of a primary care team is a very challenging process that goes beyond the normative policy definitions of who is on the team or what the team has to do. To fulfil expectations of quality improvement through team-based care, health care professionals who are required to work together need shared time/space contexts to communicate; to overcome interprofessional and interpersonal conflicts; and to make sense of and define who they collectively are and what they do as a clinical team.</p

In Silico Screening Based on Predictive Algorithms as a Design Tool for Exon Skipping Oligonucleotides in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

The use of antisense 'splice-switching' oligonucleotides to induce exon skipping represents a potential therapeutic approach to various human genetic diseases. It has achieved greatest maturity in exon skipping of the dystrophin transcript in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), for which several clinical trials are completed or ongoing, and a large body of data exists describing tested oligonucleotides and their efficacy. The rational design of an exon skipping oligonucleotide involves the choice of an antisense sequence, usually between 15 and 32 nucleotides, targeting the exon that is to be skipped. Although parameters describing the target site can be computationally estimated and several have been identified to correlate with efficacy, methods to predict efficacy are limited. Here, an in silico pre-screening approach is proposed, based on predictive statistical modelling. Previous DMD data were compiled together and, for each oligonucleotide, some 60 descriptors were considered. Statistical modelling approaches were applied to derive algorithms that predict exon skipping for a given target site. We confirmed (1) the binding energetics of the oligonucleotide to the RNA, and (2) the distance in bases of the target site from the splice acceptor site, as the two most predictive parameters, and we included these and several other parameters (while discounting many) into an in silico screening process, based on their capacity to predict high or low efficacy in either phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (89% correctly predicted) and/or 2'O Methyl RNA oligonucleotides (76% correctly predicted). Predictions correlated strongly with in vitro testing for sixteen de novo PMO sequences targeting various positions on DMD exons 44 (R² 0.89) and 53 (R² 0.89), one of which represents a potential novel candidate for clinical trials. We provide these algorithms together with a computational tool that facilitates screening to predict exon skipping efficacy at each position of a target exon

A school-based physical activity promotion intervention in children: rationale and study protocol for the PREVIENE Project

The lack of physical activity and increasing time spent in sedentary behaviours during childhood place importance on developing low cost, easy-toimplement school-based interventions to increase physical activity among children. The PREVIENE Project will evaluate the effectiveness of five innovative, simple, and feasible interventions (active commuting to/from school, active Physical Education lessons, active school recess, sleep health promotion, and an integrated program incorporating all 4 interventions) to improve physical activity, fitness, anthropometry, sleep health, academic achievement, and health-related quality of life in primary school children. The PREVIENE Project will provide the information about the effectiveness and implementation of different school-based interventions for physical activity promotion in primary school children.The PREVIENE Project was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2015-63988-R, MINECO-FEDER). MAG is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes

The effect of cognitive fatigue on prefrontal cortex correlates of neuromuscular fatigue in older women

BACKGROUND: As the population of adults aged 65 and above is rapidly growing, it is crucial to identify physical and cognitive limitations pertaining to daily living. Cognitive fatigue has shown to adversely impact neuromuscular function in younger adults, however its impact on neuromuscular fatigue, and associated brain function changes, in older adults is not well understood. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of cognitive fatigue on neuromuscular fatigue and associated prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation patterns in older women. METHODS: Eleven older (75.82 (7.4) years) females attended two sessions and performed intermittent handgrip exercises at 30 % maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) until voluntary exhaustion after a 60-min control (watching documentary) and 60-min cognitive fatigue (performing Stroop Color Word and 1-Back tests) condition. Dependent measures included endurance time, strength loss, PFC activity (measured using fNIRS), force fluctuations, muscle activity, cardiovascular responses, and perceived discomfort. RESULTS: Participants perceived greater cognitive fatigue after the 60-min cognitive fatigue condition when compared to the control condition. While neuromuscular fatigue outcomes (i.e., endurance time, strength loss, perceived discomfort), force fluctuations, and muscle activity were similar across both the control and cognitive fatigue conditions, greater decrements in PFC activity during neuromuscular fatigue development after the cognitive fatigue condition were observed when compared to the control condition. CONCLUSION: Despite similar neuromuscular outcomes, cognitive fatigue was associated with blunted PFC activation during the handgrip fatiguing exercise that may be indicative of neural adaptation with aging in an effort to maintain motor performance. Examining the relationship between cognitive fatigue and neuromuscular output by imaging other motor-related brain regions are needed to provide a better understanding of age-related compensatory adaptations to perform daily tasks that involve some levels of cognitive demand and physical exercise, especially when older adults experience them sequentially