Functional and self-rated health mediate the association between diabetes and depression

Depression is common among persons with diabetes and associated with adverse health outcomes. To date, little is known about the causal mechanisms that lead to depression in diabetes. The aim of the present study was to examine to which extent functional and self-rated health mediate the association between physical health and depressive symptoms in diabetes. Data of n = 3222 individuals with type 2 diabetes were analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally at three measurement occasions using path analysis. Indicators of physical health were glycemic control, number of comorbid somatic diseases, BMI, and insulin dependence. Furthermore, functional health, self-rated health and depressive symptoms were assessed. The effects of physical health on depressive symptoms were largely mediated by functional health and self-rated health. There was only a weak indirect effect of physical health on depressive symptoms. In contrast, self-rated health was a strong direct predictor of depressive symptoms. Self-rated health in turn depended strongly on patients’ functional health. The way individuals perceive their health appears to have a stronger effect on their depressive symptoms than objective physical indicators of diabetes. Therefore practitioners should be trained to pay more attention to their patients’ subjective health perceptions

Embryonic Diapause Is Conserved across Mammals

Embryonic diapause (ED) is a temporary arrest of embryo development and is characterized by delayed implantation in the uterus. ED occurs in blastocysts of less than 2% of mammalian species, including the mouse (Mus musculus). If ED were an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon, then it should be inducible in blastocysts of normally non-diapausing mammals, such as domestic species. To prove this hypothesis, we examined whether blastocysts from domestic sheep (Ovis aries) could enter into diapause following their transfer into mouse uteri in which diapause conditions were induced. Sheep blastocysts entered into diapause, as demonstrated by growth arrest, viability maintenance and their ED-specific pattern of gene expression. Seven days after transfer, diapausing ovine blastocysts were able to resume growth in vitro and, after transfer to surrogate ewe recipients, to develop into normal lambs. The finding that non-diapausing ovine embryos can enter into diapause implies that this phenomenon is phylogenetically conserved and not secondarily acquired by embryos of diapausing species. Our study questions the current model of independent evolution of ED in different mammalian orders

Effective proton-neutron interaction near the drip line from unbound states in 25,26 F

Background: Odd-odd nuclei, around doubly closed shells, have been extensively used to study proton-neutron interactions. However, the evolution of these interactions as a function of the binding energy, ultimately when nuclei become unbound, is poorly known. The F26 nucleus, composed of a deeply bound π0d5/2 proton and an unbound ν0d3/2 neutron on top of an O24 core, is particularly adapted for this purpose. The coupling of this proton and neutron results in a Jπ=11+-41+ multiplet, whose energies must be determined to study the influence of the proximity of the continuum on the corresponding proton-neutron interaction. The Jπ=11+,21+,41+ bound states have been determined, and only a clear identification of the Jπ=31+ is missing. Purpose: We wish to complete the study of the Jπ=11+-41+ multiplet in F26, by studying the energy and width of the Jπ=31+ unbound state. The method was first validated by the study of unbound states in F25, for which resonances were already observed in a previous experiment. Method: Radioactive beams of Ne26 and Ne27, produced at about 440AMeV by the fragment separator at the GSI facility were used to populate unbound states in F25 and F26 via one-proton knockout reactions on a CH2 target, located at the object focal point of the R3B/LAND setup. The detection of emitted γ rays and neutrons, added to the reconstruction of the momentum vector of the A-1 nuclei, allowed the determination of the energy of three unbound states in F25 and two in F26. Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound state in F25, at the relative energy of 49(9) keV, is proposed to be a Jπ=1/2- arising from a p1/2 proton-hole state. In F26, the first resonance at 323(33) keV is proposed to be the Jπ=31+ member of the Jπ=11+-41+ multiplet. Energies of observed states in F25,26 have been compared to calculations using the independent-particle shell model, a phenomenological shell model, and the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group method. Conclusions: The deduced effective proton-neutron interaction is weakened by about 30-40% in comparison to the models, pointing to the need for implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical descriptions or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of F26

Managing formalization to increase global team effectiveness and meaningfulness of work in multinational organizations

Global teams may help to integrate across locations, and yet, with formalized rules and procedures, responsiveness to those locations’ effectiveness, and the team members’ experiences of work as meaningful may suffer. We employ a mixed-methods approach to understand how the level and content of formalization can be managed to resolve these tensions in multinationals. In a sample of global teams from a large mining and resources organization operating across 44 countries, interviews, observations, and a quantitative 2-wave survey revealed a great deal of variability between teams in how formalization processes were enacted. Only those formalization processes that promoted knowledge sharing were instrumental in improving team effectiveness. Implementing rules and procedures in the set-up of the teams and projects, rather than during interactions, and utilizing protocols to help establish the global team as a source of identity increased this knowledge sharing. Finally, we found members’ personal need for structure moderated the effect of team formalization on how meaningful individuals found their work within the team. These findings have significant implications for theory and practice in multinational organizations

Влияние фосфатных связующих на физико-механические свойства периклазохромитовых огнеупоров

У данній статті наведено та порівняно фізико-механічні властивості периклазо-хромітових матеріалів в залежності від різних типів фосфатних зв’язуючих та введення різних домішок. Визначено, що найбільш раціональним є введення триполіфосфату натрію.In given clause are resulted and the physycal-mechanical properties periclase-cgromite of materials are compared depending on different of types phosphate binding and introduction of the various additives. Is determined, that most rational is the introduction treepolyphosphate sodume

Explicating the Conditions Under Which Multilevel Multiple Imputation Mitigates Bias Resulting from Random Coefficient-Dependent Missing Longitudinal Data

Random coefficient dependent (RCD) missingness is a non-ignorable mechanism through which missing data can arise in longitudinal designs. RCD, for which we cannot test, is a problematic form of missingness that occurs if subject-specific random effects correlate with propensity for missingness or dropout. Particularly when covariate missingness is a problem, investigators typically handle missing longitudinal data by using single-level multiple imputation procedures implemented with long-format data, which ignores within-person dependency entirely, or implemented with wide-format (i.e., multivariate) data, which ignores some aspects of within-person dependency. When either of these standard approaches to handling missing longitudinal data is used, RCD missingness leads to parameter bias and incorrect inference. We explain why multilevel multiple imputation (MMI) should alleviate bias induced by a RCD missing data mechanism under conditions that contribute to stronger determinacy of random coefficients. We evaluate our hypothesis with a simulation study. Three design factors are considered: intraclass correlation (ICC; ranging from .25 to .75), number of waves (ranging from 4 to 8), and percent of missing data (ranging from 20% to 50%). We find that MMI greatly outperforms the single-level wide-format (multivariate) method for imputation under a RCD mechanism. For the MMI analyses, bias was most alleviated when the ICC is high, there were more waves of data, and when there was less missing data. Practical recommendations for handling longitudinal missing data are suggested