Algebraic Density Functionals

A systematic strategy for the calculation of density functionals (DFs) consists in coding informations about the density and the energy into polynomials of the degrees of freedom of wave functions. DFs and Kohn-Sham potentials (KSPs) are then obtained by standard elimination procedures of such degrees of freedom between the polynomials. Numerical examples illustrate the formalism.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, changes to extend discussion of Kohn-Sham potentials, and also for interacting particles. Accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Validation of the Italian version of the Patient Reported Experience Measures for intermediate care services

Background: Intermediate care (IC) services are a key component of integrated care for elderly people, providing a link between hospital and home through provision of rehabilitation and health and social care. The Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) are designed to measure user experience of care in IC settings. Objective: To examine the feasibility and the scaling properties of the Italian version of PREMs questionnaires for use in IC services. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on consecutive users of 1 home-based and 4 bed-based IC services in Emilia-Romagna (Italy). The main outcome measure was the PREMs questionnaire results. PREMs for each home- and bed-based IC services were translated, back-translated, and adapted through consensus among the members of the advisory board and pilot testing of face validity in 15 patients. A total of 199 questionnaires were returned from users of bed-based services and 185 were returned by mail from users of home-based services. The return rates and responses were examined. Mokken analysis was used to examine the scaling properties of the PREMs. Results: Analysis performed on the bed-based PREMs (N=154) revealed that 13 items measured the same construct and formed a moderate-strength scale (Loevinger H=0.488) with good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha =0.843). Analysis of home-based PREMs (N=134 records) revealed that 15 items constituted a strong scale (Loevinger H=0.543) with good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha =0.875). Conclusion: The Italian versions of the bed- and home-based IC-PREMs questionnaires proved to be valid and reliable tools to assess patients’ experience of care. Future plans include monitoring user experience over time in the same facilities and in other Italian IC settings for between-service benchmarking

A multicentre, pragmatic, cluster randomised, controlled feasibility trial of the POD system of care

Objective to provide a preliminary estimate of the effectiveness of the prevention of delirium (POD) system of care in reducing incident delirium in acute hospital wards and gather data for a future definitive randomised controlled trial. Design cluster randomised and controlled feasibility trial. Setting sixteen acute care of older people and orthopaedic trauma wards in eight hospitals in England and Wales. Participants patients 65 years and over admitted to participating wards during the trial period. Interventions participating wards were randomly assigned to either the POD programme or usual care, determined by existing local policies and practices. The POD programme is a manualised multicomponent delirium prevention intervention that targets 10 risk factors for delirium. The intervention wards underwent a 6-month implementation period before trial recruitment commenced. Main outcome measure incidence of new-onset delirium measured using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) measured daily for up to 10 days post consent. Results out of 4449, 3274 patients admitted to the wards were eligible. In total, 714 patients consented (713 registered) to the trial, thirty-three participants (4.6%) withdrew. Adherence to the intervention was classified as at least medium for seven wards. Rates of new-onset delirium were lower than expected and did not differ between groups (24 (7.0%) of participants in the intervention group versus 33 (8.9%) in the control group; odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.68 (0.37–1.26); P = 0.2225). Conclusions based on these findings, a definitive trial is achievable and would need to recruit 5220 patients in 26 two-ward hospital clusters. Trial registration: ISRCTN01187372. Registered 13 March 2014

FÖRSTER TRANSFER CALCULATIONS BASED ON CRYSTAL STRUCTURE DATA FROM Agmenellum quadruplicatum C-PHYCOCYANIN

Excitation energy transfer in C-phycocyanin is modeled using the Forster inductive resonance mechanism. Detailed calculations are carried out using coordinates and orientations of the chromophores derived from X-ray crystallographic studies of C-phycocyanin from two different species (Schirmer et al, J. Mol. Biol. 184, 257–277 (1985) and ibid., 188, 651-677 (1986)). Spectral overlap integrals are estimated from absorption and fluorescence spectra of C-phycocyanin of Mastigocladus laminosus and its separated subunits. Calculations are carried out for the β-subunit, αβ-monomer, (αβ)3-trimer and (αβ)0-hexamer species with the following chromophore assignments: β155 = 's’(sensitizer), β84 =‘f (fluorescer) and α84 =‘m’(intermediate):]:. The calculations show that excitation transfer relaxation occurs to 3=98% within 200 ps in nearly every case; however, the rates increase as much as 10-fold for the higher aggregates. Comparison with experimental data on fluorescence decay and depolarization kinetics from the literature shows qualitative agreement with these calculations. We conclude that Forster transfer is sufficient to account for all of the observed fluorescence properties of C-phycocyanin in aggregation states up to the hexamer and in the absence of linker polypeptides

The trace-element compositions of amphibole, magnetite and ilmenite as potential exploration guides to metamorphosed Proterozoic Cu–Zn±Pb±Au±Ag volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in Colorado, USA

Orthoamphibole, clinoamphibole and magnetite are common minerals in altered rocks associated spatially with Palaeoproterozoic volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits in Colorado, USA and metamorphosed to the amphibolite facies. These altered rocks are dominated by the assemblage orthoamphibole (anthophyllite/gedrite)–cordierite–magnetite±gahnite±sulfides. Magnetite also occurs in granitoids, banded iron formations, quartz garnetite, and in metallic mineralisation consisting of semi-massive pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite with subordinate galena, gahnite and magnetite; amphibole also occurs in amphibolite. The precursor to the anthophyllite/gedrite–cordierite assemblages was probably the assemblage quartz–chlorite formed from hydrothermal ore-bearing fluids (~250° to 400°C) associated with the formation of metallic minerals in the massive sulfide deposits. Element–element variation diagrams for amphibole, magnetite and ilmenite based on LA-ICP-MS data and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for orthoamphiboles and magnetite show a broad range of compositions which are primarily dependent upon the nature of the host rock associated spatially with the deposits. Although discrimination plots of Al/(Zn+Ca) vs Cu/(Si+Ca) and Sn/Ga vs Al/Co for magnetite do not indicate a VMS origin, the concentration of Al+Mn together with Ti+V and Sn vs Ti support a hydrothermal rather than a magmatic origin for magnetite. Principal Component Analyses also show that magnetite and orthoamphibole in metamorphosed altered rocks and sulfide zones have distinctive eigenvalues that allow them to be used as prospective pathfinders for VMS deposits in Colorado. This, in conjunction with the contents of Zn and Al in magnetite, Zn and Pb in amphibole, ilmenite and magnetite, the Cu content of orthoamphibole and ilmenite, and possibly the Ga and Sn concentrations of magnetite constitute effective exploration vectors.This article is published as Spry PG, Berke EH, Layton-Matthews D, et al. The trace-element compositions of amphibole, magnetite and ilmenite as potential exploration guides to metamorphosed Proterozoic Cu–Zn±Pb±Au±Ag volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in Colorado, USA. Mineralogical Magazine. 2024;88(1):61-89. doi:10.1180/mgm.2023.69. Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited

Design of continuous circulation sub for gas drilling and the mechanical analysis on the sub body

AbstractGas drilling, as an important part of underbalanced drilling, can increase drilling speed. But in the process of conventional gas drilling, it tends to cause cutting settlement, borehole collapse, sticking and other safety hazards because gas circulation has to be interrupted. Therefore, this paper presents a continuous circulation sub which can be installed and removed easily. With this sub, gas circulation will not be interrupted when drilling tools are connected and removed. This sub is composed of body, main valve, bypass valve and side entry sub. The structure design of its key components (i.e. main and bypass valves) were fulfilled. Based on statics analysis on the sub body, its force situations under extension, torsion and internal pressure were simulated by using the ANSYS finite element analysis software. It is shown that its stress distribution trend is consistent with its elastic–plastic mechanics analysis results. Stress concentrates around the two round holes of the sub body, and the maximum deformation amount is still at the stage of elastic deformation. The analysis results are in line with the elastic–plastic mechanics analysis results, and the requirement of body strength is satisfied. This paper provides a new program to guarantee the drilling safety of extended-reach wells, underbalanced wells and narrow-density window wells

Attenuated Response of Aged Mice to Respiratory Francisella novicida Is Characterized by Reduced Cell Death and Absence of Subsequent Hypercytokinemia

Pneumonia and pulmonary infections are major causes of mortality among the growing elderly population. Age associated attenuations of various immune parameters, involved with both innate and adaptive responses are collectively known as immune senescence. These changes are likely to be involved with differences in host susceptibility to disease between young and aged individuals.The objective of this study was to assess potential age related differences in the pulmonary host response in mice to the Gram-negative respiratory pathogen, Francisella novicida. We intranasally infected mice with F. novicida and compared various immune and pathological parameters of the pulmonary host response in both young and aged mice.We observed that 20% of aged mice were able to survive an intranasal challenge with F. novicida while all of their younger cohorts died consistently within 4 to 6 days post infection. Further experiments revealed that all of the aged mice tested were initially able to control bacterial replication in the lungs as well as at distal sites of replication compared with young mice. In addition, the small cohort of aged survivors did not progress to a severe sepsis syndrome with hypercytokinemia, as did all of the young adult mice. Finally, a lack of widespread cell death in potential aged survivors coupled with a difference in cell types recruited to sites of infection within the lung confirmed an altered host response to Francisella in aged mice