We compared and statistically evaluated the effectiveness of nine DNA extraction procedures by using frozen and dried samples of two silt loam soils and a silt loam wetland sediment with different ...organic matter contents. The effects of different chemical extractants (sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS, chloroform, phenol, Chelex 100, and guanadinium isothiocyanate), different physical disruption methods (bead mill homogenization and freeze-thaw lysis), and lysozyme digestion were evaluated based on the yield and molecular size of the recovered DNA. Pairwise comparisons of the nine extraction procedures revealed that bead mill homogenization with SDS combined with either chloroform or phenol optimized both the amount of DNA extracted and the molecular size of the DNA (maximum size, 16 to 20 kb). Neither lysozyme digestion before SDS treatment nor guanidine isothiocyanate treatment nor addition of Chelex 100 resin improved the DNA yields. Bead mill homogenization in a lysis mixture containing chloroform, SDS, NaCl, and phosphate-Tris buffer (pH 8) was found to be the best physical lysis technique when DNA yield and cell lysis efficiency were used as criteria. The bead mill homogenization conditions were also optimized for speed and duration with two different homogenizers. Recovery of high-molecular-weight DNA was greatest when we used lower speeds and shorter times (30 to 120 s). We evaluated four different DNA purification methods (silica-based DNA binding, agarose gel electrophoresis, ammonium acetate precipitation, and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration) for DNA recovery and removal of PCR inhibitors from crude extracts. Sephadex G-200 spin column purification was found to be the best method for removing PCR-inhibiting substances while minimizing DNA loss during purification. Our results indicate that for these types of samples, optimum DNA recovery requires brief, low-speed bead mill homogenization in the presence of a phosphate-buffered SDS-chloroform mixture, followed by Sephadex G-200 column purification.
Objective The aim of this study was to analyze whether exposure to workplace bullying among 5701 female employees in the Danish eldercare sector increases the risk of onset of a major depressive ...episode (MDE). Methods Participants received questionnaires in 2004—2005 and again in 2006-2007. MDE was assessed with the Major Depression Inventory. We examined baseline bullying as a predictor of onset of MDE at follow-up using multiple logistic regression. We further conducted a cross-sectional analysis at the time of follow-up among participants who at baseline were free of bullying, MDE, and signs of reduced psychological health. Finally, we analyzed reciprocal effects, by using baseline bullying and baseline MDE as predictors for bullying and MDE at follow-up. Results Onset rates of MDE in the groups of no, occasional, and frequent bullying were 1.5%, 3.4%, and 11.3%, respectively. Odds ratios (OR) for onset of MDE were 2.22 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.31-3.76 for occasional bullying and OR 8.45 (95% CI 4.04-17.70) for frequent bullying, after adjustment for covariates. In the cross-sectional analysis, OR were 6.29 (95% CI 2.52-15.68) for occasional bullying and 20.96 (95% CI 5.80-75.80) for frequent bullying. In the analyses on reciprocal effects, both baseline bullying occasional: OR 2.12 (95% CI 1.29-3.48) and frequent: OR 6.39 (95% CI 3.10-13.17) and baseline MDE OR 7.18 (95% CI 3.60-14.30 predicted MDE at follow-up. However, only baseline bullying occasional: OR 7.44 (95% CI 5.94-9.31) and frequent: OR 11.91 (95% CI 7.56-18.77) but not baseline MDE OR 0.93 (95% CI 0.47-1.84) predicted bullying at follow-up. Conclusions Workplace bullying increased the risk of MDE among female eldercare workers. MDE did not predict risk of bullying. Eliminating bullying at work may be an important contribution to the prevention of MDE.
An epidemic of cholera infections was documented in Haiti for the first time in more than 100 years during October 2010. Cases have continued to occur, raising the question of whether the ...microorganism has established environmental reservoirs in Haiti. We monitored 14 environmental sites near the towns of Gressier and Leogane during April 2012-March 2013. Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor biotype strains were isolated from 3 (1.7%) of 179 water samples; nontoxigenic O1 V. cholerae was isolated from an additional 3 samples. All samples containing V. cholerae O1 also contained non-O1 V. cholerae. V. cholerae O1 was isolated only when water temperatures were ≥31°C. Our data substantiate the presence of toxigenic V. cholerae O1 in the aquatic environment in Haiti. These isolations may reflect establishment of long-term environmental reservoirs in Haiti, which may complicate eradication of cholera from this coastal country.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Emergencies in Hematology and Oncology Halfdanarson, Thorvardur R; Hogan, William J; Madsen, Bo E
Mayo Clinic proceedings,
04/2017, Letnik:
92, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The development of medical emergencies related to the underlying disease or as a result of complications of therapy are common in patients with hematologic or solid tumors. These oncological ...emergencies can occur as an initial presentation or in a patient with an established diagnosis and are encountered in all medical care settings, ranging from primary care to the emergency department and various subspecialty environments. Therefore, it is critically important that all physicians have a working knowledge of the potential oncological emergencies that may present in their practice and how to provide the most effective care without delay. This article reviews the most common oncological emergencies and provides practical guidance for initial management of these patients.
There is disagreement in the accounting community about what level of standardization would be efficient for accounting. Many of the known costs and benefits of standardization have gone unmeasured ...and, as a result, there have been no efforts to quantitatively identify an efficient level of accounting standardization. Without guidance from researchers, the level of accounting standardization is set according to the intuition of standard-setters. Using data on a large cross-section of occupations, I provide evidence that the level of standardization in financial reporting occupations is far higher than would be expected given their characteristics. I then show with time-series data that the breadth of professional accounting discourse declined during the late 20th century, coincident with increases in the output of standard-setters. A lower quality discourse is one of many possible consequences of inefficient standardization.
Aims/hypothesis
The aim of this multicohort study was to examine whether employees exposed to social stressors at work, such as workplace bullying and violence, have an increased risk of type 2 ...diabetes.
Methods
The study included 45,905 men and women (40–65 years of age and free of diabetes at baseline) from four studies in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Workplace bullying and violence were self-reported at baseline. Incident diabetes was ascertained through national health and medication records and death registers. Marginal structural Cox models adjusted for age, sex, country of birth, marital status and educational level were used for the analyses.
Results
Nine per cent of the population reported being bullied at work and 12% were exposed to workplace violence or threats of violence. Bullied participants had a 1.46 (95% CI 1.23, 1.74) times higher risk of developing diabetes compared with non-bullied participants. Exposure to violence or threats of violence was also associated with a higher risk of diabetes (HR 1.26 95% CI 1.02, 1.56). The risk estimates attenuated slightly when taking BMI into account, especially for bullying. The results were similar for men and women, and were consistent across cohorts.
Conclusions/interpretation
We found a higher risk of incident type 2 diabetes among employees exposed to bullying or violence in the workplace. Further research is needed to determine whether policies to reduce bullying and violence at work may reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes in working populations. Research on the mechanisms is also highly warranted.
The aim of this study was to compare the functional and radiological outcomes and the complication rate after nail and plate fixation of unstable fractures of the ankle in elderly patients.
In this ...multicentre study, 120 patients aged ≥ 60 years with an acute unstable AO/OTA type 44-B fracture of the ankle were randomized to fixation with either a nail or a plate and followed for 24 months after surgery. The primary outcome measure was the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot score. Secondary outcome measures were the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire, the Olerud and Molander Ankle score, the EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire, a visual analogue score for pain, complications, the quality of reduction of the fracture, nonunion, and the development of osteoarthritis.
At 24 months, the median AOFAS score was equivalent in the two groups (nail 90 (interquartile range (IQR) 82 to 100), plate 95 (IQR 87 to 100), p = 0.478). There were statistically more complications and secondary operations after nail than plate fixation (p = 0.024 and p = 0.028, respectively). There were no other significant differences in the outcomes between the two groups.
The functional outcome after nail and plate fixation was equivalent; however, the complication rate and number of secondary operations was significantly higher after nail fixation. These results suggest that plate fixation should usually be the treatment of choice for unstable ankle fractures in the elderly.Cite this article:
2023;105-B(1):72-81.
ABSTRACT We report the discovery of two long-term intermittent radio pulsars in the ongoing Pulsar Arecibo L-Band Feed Array survey. Following discovery with the Arecibo Telescope, extended ...observations of these pulsars over several years at Jodrell Bank Observatory have revealed the details of their rotation and radiation properties. PSRs J1910+0517 and J1929+1357 show long-term extreme bimodal intermittency, switching between active (ON) and inactive (OFF) emission states and indicating the presence of a large, hitherto unrecognized underlying population of such objects. For PSR J1929+1357, the initial duty cycle was fON = 0.008, but two years later, this changed quite abruptly to fON = 0.16. This is the first time that a significant evolution in the activity of an intermittent pulsar has been seen, and we show that the spin-down rate of the pulsar is proportional to the activity. The spin-down rate of PSR J1929+1357 is increased by a factor of 1.8 when it is in active mode, similar to the increase seen in the other three known long-term intermittent pulsars. These discoveries increase the number of known pulsars displaying long-term intermittency to five. These five objects display a remarkably narrow range of spin-down power ( ) and accelerating potential above their polar caps. If confirmed by further discoveries, this trend might be important for understanding the physical mechanisms that cause intermittency.
Brushite, forming tabular crystals, has been precipitated at 25
°C in the presence of each of 14 different di- and trivalent metal ions. The influence of these ions at micromolar concentrations on ...the solvent-mediated phase transformation of brushite to more basic calcium phosphates has been studied as well. The effect of additives on brushite crystallization was pH-dependent, which could be related to the presence or absence of amorphous precipitate. In the latter case the course of the crystallization process could be followed by recording pH as function of time. For half of the additives kinetic analysis was possible and showed that the crystal growth mechanism is surface nucleation. Edge free energy is lowered in the presence of an additive. Zn favoured aggregates, and the transition metals with the exceptions of Mn(II), Co(II) and Cu(II) favoured irregular growth. Zn inhibited lateral growth, as did Cd and Cr(III) at low and Cu(II) at high pH. Most of the ions have a marked effect on the transformation to octacalcium phosphate (OCP) and hydroxyapatite (HAP) as well. In both cases Cu(II) and Zn are strong inhibitors, whereas Pb(II) is a moderate promotor. Fe in both oxidation states, Co(II), Mn(II) and Sr are intermediate in effect on phase transformation. Inhibition may be caused by adsorbed foreign ions impeding growth of nuclei or by poisoning of the substrate for heterogeneous nucleation, i.e. brushite crystals. Promotion is explained by the formation of nuclei with suitable crystal structure, e.g. apatite/pyromorphite (Ca,Pb)
5OH(PO
4)
3 in the case of Pb.
Understanding how and why cultural diversity changes in human populations remains a central topic of debate in cultural evolutionary studies. Due to the effects of drift, small and isolated ...populations face evolutionary challenges in the retention of richness and diversity of cultural information. Such variation, however, can have significant fitness consequences, particularly when environmental conditions change unpredictably, such that knowledge about past environments may be key to long-term persistence. Factors that can shape the outcomes of drift within a population include the semantics of the traits as well as spatially structured social networks. Here, we use cultural transmission simulations to explore how social network structure and interaction affect the rate of trait retention and extinction. Using Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) as an example, we develop a model-based hypothesis for how the structural constraints of communities living in small, isolated populations had dramatic effects and likely led to preventing the loss of cultural information in both community patterning and technology.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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