Frostthomas6691

Within the context of Scotland's policy change to implement a minimum unit price (MUP) per unit of alcohol sold in licensed premises, this study used an N-of-1 design to assess between-person differences in the psychological and social factors associated with daily alcohol consumption.

A mixed-methods approach combined N-of-1 observational studies, comprising daily surveys followed by qualitative social network interviews (not reported here). Peer researchers with lived experience of substance use were involved in the study design and fieldwork was conducted in towns and rural areas in the East of Scotland.

Twenty-five adults with current or recent history of alcohol dependence recruited for three 12-week waves 11 in wave 1 (pre-MUP), 11 in wave 2 (pre- and post-MUP) and three in wave 3 (post MUP).

Gender, age, alcohol and other drug use history. Daily surveys for 12weeks captured information about factors in the last 24hours, e.g. amount and type of alcohol consumed, stress, social contact.

Each padence of individual differences in the factors relating to alcohol consumption patterns and some evidence that post-MUP consumption changes may be related to changing psychosocial factors.Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have potential in high energy density battery systems. However, intermediates of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) can easily shuttle to the Li anode and react with Li metal to deplete the active materials and cause rapid failure of the battery. A facile solution pretreatment method for Li anodes involving a solution of metal fluorides/dimethylsulfoxide was developed to construct robust biphasic surface layers (BSLs) in situ. The BSLs consist of lithiophilic alloy (Lix M) and LiF phases on Li metal, which inhibit the shuttle effect and increase the cycle life of Li-S batteries. The BSLs allow Li+ transport and they inhibit dendrite growth and shield the Li anodes from corrosive reaction with LiPSs. Li-S batteries containing BSLs-Li anodes demonstrate excellent cycling over 1000 cycles at 1 C and simultaneously maintain a high coulombic efficiency of 98.2 %. Based on our experimental and theoretical results, we propose a strategy for inhibition of the shuttle effect that produces high stability Li-S batteries.

The survival benefit of clinically negative cervical lymph nodes (cN0) in patients with T1-2 supraglottic cancer (SC) remains unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the prognostic value of lymph node dissection (LND) in patients with T1-2, cN0 SC.

We included 1036 confirmed T1-2, cN0 SC patients with clinicopathological characteristics between 2004 and 2015, based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program (SEER) database. The association between LND and overall survival (OS) was investigated by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Before propensity score matching (PSM), patients selected for LND had better OS, compared to patients did not receive LND (5-year OS 62.6% vs 51.2%, respectively; p = 0.011). After PSM, the LND group also present significant improvement in prognosis (5-year OS 64.3% vs 51.7%, respectively; p < 0.01).

LND was significantly associated with a more favorable prognosis compared with non-LND in patients with T1-2, cN0 SC.

LND was significantly associated with a more favorable prognosis compared with non-LND in patients with T1-2, cN0 SC.The recombination of short homologous ends in Escherichia coli has been known for 30 years, and it is often used for both site-directed mutagenesis and in vivo cloning. For cloning, a plasmid and target DNA fragments were converted into linear DNA fragments with short homologous ends, which are joined via recombination inside E. coli after transformation. Here this mechanism of joining homologous ends in E. coli was determined by a linearized plasmid with short homologous ends. Two 3'-5' exonucleases ExoIII and ExoX with nonprocessive activity digested linear dsDNA to generate 5' single-strand overhangs, which annealed with each other. The polymerase activity of DNA polymerase I (Pol I) was exclusively employed to fill in the gaps. The strand displacement activity and the 5'-3' exonuclease activity of Pol I were also required, likely to generate 5' phosphate termini for subsequent ligation. Ligase A (LigA) joined the nicks to finish the process. The model involving 5' single-stranded overhangs is different from established recombination pathways that all generate 3' single-stranded overhangs. This recombination is likely common in bacteria since the involved enzymes are ubiquitous.Metallic bismuth has drawn attention as a promising alloying anode for advanced potassium ion batteries (PIBs). However, serious volume expansion/electrode pulverization and sluggish kinetics always lead to its inferior cycling and rate properties for practical applications. Therefore, advanced Bi-based anodes via structural/compositional optimization and sur-/interface design are needed. Herein, we develop a bottom-up avenue to fabricate nanoscale Bi encapsulated in a 3D N-doped carbon nanocages (Bi@N-CNCs) framework with a void space by using a novel Bi-based metal-organic framework as the precursor. With elaborate regulation in annealing temperatures, the optimized Bi@N-CNCs electrode exhibits large reversible capacities and long-duration cyclic stability at high rates when evaluated as competitive anodes for PIBs. Insights into the intrinsic K+ -storage processes of the Bi@N-CNCs anode are put forward from comprehensive in situ characterizations.

The Green Cross method was developed to support healthcare staff in daily patient safety work. The aim of this study was to describe users' experiences of the method when working with patient safety and their views on the core elements.

Patient safety systems need to be user-friendly to facilitate learning from adverse events. The Green Cross method is described as a simple visual method to recognise risks and preventable adverse events (PAEs) in real time. There are no previous studies describing users' experiences of the Green Cross method.

A qualitative descriptive design.

32 healthcare workers and managers from different specialties in a Swedish hospital were interviewed, from May-September 2018 about their experiences of the Green Cross method; either individually or as part of a group. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The study follows the COREQ guidelines for qualitative data.

Participants associated the Green Cross method with patient safety, but no core elements of the e users.Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, we have established an archive system of livestock and wild animals from the surrounding ex-evacuation zone. Wildlife within the alert zone have been exposed to low-dose-rate (LDR) radiation for a long continuous time. In this study, we analysed the morphological characteristics of the testes and in vitro fertilization (IVF) capacity of cryopreserved sperm of racoons from the ex-evacuation zone of the FDNPP accident. The radioactivity of caesium-137 (137 Cs) was measured by gamma-ray spectrometry, and the measured radioactivity concentration was 300-6,630 Bq/kg in the Fukushima raccoons. Notably, normal spermatogenesis was observed in the seminiferous tubules of the testes, with the germinal epithelium composed of a spermatogenic cell lineage with no evident ultrastructural alterations; freeze-thawing sperm penetration ability was confirmed using the interspecific zona pellucida-free mouse oocytes IVF assays. This study revealed that the chronic and LDR radiation exposure associated with the FDNPP accident had no adverse effect on the reproductive characteristics and functions of male raccoons.Male infertility is a global health problem, and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not clearly known. Ion channels and microRNAs (miRNAs), known to function in many vital functions in cells, have been shown to play a significant role in male infertility through changes in their expressions. The study aimed to evaluate the alterations of testicular and/or spermatozoal potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 11 (KCNJ11), Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), miR-let-7a and miR-27a expressions in carbamazepine-related male infertility. Here, we showed that carbamazepine reduced sperm motility, increased abnormal sperm morphology, and impaired hormonal balance as well as increased relative testis weight and decreased relative seminal vesicle weight. On the other hand, downregulated KCNJ11 and upregulated miR-let-7a expressions were determined in testis (p less then .05). Also, downregulated KCNJ11 and upregulated CFTR and miR-27a expressions were found in spermatozoa (p less then .05). Interestingly, altered testicular KCNJ11 and miR-let-7a expressions were correlated with decreased sperm motility and elevated sperm tail defect. Besides, spermatozoal CFTR and miR-27a expressions positively correlated with sperm tail defects. The results indicated a significant relationship between ion channel and/or miRNA expression alterations and impaired sperm parameters due to carbamazepine usage.High-performance organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that use phosphorescent and/or thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters are capable of realizing 100 % electron-to-photon conversion. The host materials in these OLEDs play crucial roles in determining OLED performance. Carbazole derivatives are frequently used as host materials, among which 3,3-bis(9H-carbazol-9-yl)biphenyl (mCBP) is often used for lifetime testing in scientific studies. In this study, the π conjugation of the carbazole unit was expanded to enhance OLED lifetime by designing and developing two benzothienocarbazole (BTCz)-based host materials, namely m1BTCBP and m4BTCBP. Among these host materials, m1BTCBP formed a highly efficient [Ir(ppy)3 ]-based OLED with an operational luminescence half-life (LT50 ) of over 300 h at an initial luminance of approximately 12000 cd m-2 (current density 25 mA cm-2 ). The LT50 value at 1000 cd cm-2 was estimated to be about 23 000 h. TL12-186 nmr This performance is clearly higher than that of mCBP-based OLEDs (LT50 ≈8500 h).A 9-year-old girl presented with multiple, ring-shaped, erythematous, nonscaly plaques on the trunk, face and arms, most surrounding preexisting melanocytic nevi. She had experienced recurring episodes of herpes simplex labialis over several years (average 4/year), the last occurring 10 days prior.We examined factors shaping community assembly of the bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) microbiome by comparing microbial biofilm formation on photosynthetic kelp blade tissues and artificial kelp substrates ('agar substrates') deployed into a kelp forest. New kelp blade tissues were colonized by markedly distinct microbial taxa relative to agar substrates during the same time interval, even when agar substrates were infused with N. luetkeana blades, suggesting that microbial settlement onto kelp surfaces is more than just attraction to a polysaccharide-rich surface. Further, common seawater taxa such as Colwellia sp. and Psychromonas sp. became abundant on agar substrates but avoided new kelp blade tissues, indicating that host-specific factors may deter certain surface-associated marine microbial taxa. Over two-thirds of the bacterial taxa in the kelp microbiome were associated with strictly aerobic metabolisms; thus, photosynthetic production of O2 may favour aerobic microbial metabolisms. While living kelp blades primarily recruited aerobic microbes, including the obligate aerobe Granulosicoccus sp.