After a brief survey of conventional radical polymerization of alkenes, we review their Li+ catalyzed radical polymerization and their controlled radical polymerization. Emphasis is on ...homopolymerization, but related copolymerization of less activated monomers is mentioned as well.
This paper presents a general curriculum quality framework that has been developed on the basis of research in the Czech Republic and internationally. The cogency of this framework and its relevance ...to the Czech PE curriculum is demonstrated by reference to curriculum research. Finally its potential as a quality assessment tool for the review of the Czech Physical Education curriculum is discussed.
We present a novel combination of a metal oxide laser ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MOLI MSI) technique with off-line lipid derivatization by ozone for the detection of fatty acids (FA) and ...their carbon–carbon double bond (CC) positional isomers in biological tissues. MOLI MSI experiments were realized with CeO2 and TiO2 nanopowders using a vacuum matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometer in the negative mode. The catalytic properties of these metal oxides allow FA cleavage from phospholipids under UV laser irradiation. At the same time, fragile ozonides produced at the sites of unsaturation decomposed, yielding four diagnostic ions specific for the CC positions. Advantageously, two MOLI MSI runs from a single tissue sprayed with the metal oxide suspension were performed. The first run prior to ozone derivatization revealed the distribution of FAs, while the second run after the reaction with ozone offered additional information about FA CC isomers. The developed procedure was demonstrated on MSI of a normal mouse brain and human colorectal cancer tissues uncovering the differential distribution of FAs down to the isomer level. Compared to the histological analysis, MOLI MSI showed the distinct distribution of specific FAs in different functional parts of the brain and in healthy and cancer tissues pointing toward its biological relevance. The developed technique can be directly adopted by laboratories with MALDI TOF analyzers and help in the understanding of the local FA metabolism in tissues.
We describe experiments pertaining to the formation of surface-anchored poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brushes with a gradual variation of the PAA grafting densities on flat surfaces and provide detailed ...analysis of their properties. The PAA brush gradients are generated by first covering the substrate with a molecular gradient of the polymerization initiator, followed by the “grafting from” polymerization of tert-butyl acrylate (tBA) from these substrate-bound initiator centers, and finally converting the PtBA into PAA. We use spectroscopic ellipsometry to measure the wet thickness of the grafted PAA chains in aqueous solutions at three different pH values (4, 5.8, and 10) and a series of ionic strengths (IS). Our measurements reveal that at low grafting densities, σ, the wet thickness of the PAA brush (H) remains relatively constant, the polymers are in the mushroom regime. Beyond a certain value of σ, the macromolecules enter the brush regime, where H increases with increasing σ. For a given σ, H exhibits a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the IS. At large IS, the H is small because the charges along PAA are completely screened by the excess of the external salt. As IS decreases, the PAA enters the so-called salt brush (SB) regime, where H increases. At a certain value of IS, H reaches a maximum and then decreases again. The latter is a typical brush behavior in so-called osmotic brush (OB) regime. We provide detailed discussion of the behavior of the grafted PAA chains in the SB and OB regimes.
Basic motor competencies (BMC) are a prerequisite for children to be physically active, participate in sports and thus develop a healthy, active lifestyle. The present study provides a broad ...screening of BMC and associations with age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and extracurricular physical activity (PA) in 10 different European countries. The different country and regional contexts within Europe will offer a novel view on already established BMC associations. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 regions in 10 European countries in 2018. The motor competence areas,
(OM) and
(SM), were assessed using the MOBAK-1-2 test instrument in 3758 first and second graders (age:
= 6.86 ± 0.60 years; 50% girls) during Physical Education classes. Children were questioned about their extracurricular PA and age. Their body weight and height were measured in order to calculate BMI. Statistical analyses included variances and correlations. The results showed significant differences in BMC levels between countries (OM:
= 18.74,
< 0.001, η
= 0.048; SM:
= 73.10,
< 0.001, η
= 0.163) whereas associations between BMC and correlates were similar. Boys performed significantly better in OM while girls performed better in SM. Age was consistently positively related to OM and SM with older children reaching higher levels of BMC than younger ones. While participation rates for extracurricular PA differed widely, participation in ball sports was correlated with OM and SM. Participation in individual sports showed a significant association with SM. In summary, BMC levels of children seem to depend on where they live and are strongly related to their participation in extracurricular PA. Therefore, education and health policies, in order to enhance motor competence development and PA participation, are recommended. Further research on country-specific Physical Education frameworks and their influence on BMC will provide more insights into structural factors and cultural characteristics of BMC development. On a school level, support tools and educational materials for teachers about BMC may enable children to achieve a basic level of motor competencies through Physical Education, contributing to lifelong participation in PA.
This work discusses the clinical performance of chromogranin A (CGA), a commonly measured marker in neuroendocrine neoplasms, for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PPGL). Plasma CGA ...(cut-off value 150 µg/L) was determined by an immunoradiometric assay. Free metanephrine (cut-off value 100 ng/L) and normetanephrine (cut-off value 170 ng/L) were determined by radioimmunoassay. Blood samples were collected from PPGL patients preoperatively, one week, six months, one year and two years after adrenal gland surgery. The control patients not diagnosed with PPGL suffered from adrenal problems or from MEN2 and thyroid carcinoma. The clinical sensitivity in the PPGL group of patients (n = 71) based on CGA is 90% and is below the clinical sensitivity determined by metanephrines (97%). The clinical specificity based on all plasma CGA values after surgery (n = 98) is 99% and is the same for metanephrines assays. The clinical specificity of CGA in the control group (n = 85) was 92% or 99% using metanephrines tests. We can conclude that plasma CGA can serve as an appropriate complement to metanephrines assays in laboratory diagnosis of PPGL patients. CGA is elevated in PPGLs, as well as in other neuroendocrine or non-neuroendocrine neoplasia and under clinical conditions increasing adrenergic activity.
Samples of the tree fungus
Antrodia xantha
were collected on
Pinus strobus
in the therapy garden of the UPK campus (University Psychiatric Clinics) in Basel in summer 2021. The samples contained an ...alien Ciidae species new to Switzerland:
Cis chinensis
Lawrence, 1991, a species otherwise mainly known as a storage pest of commercially dried fungi. The adults and larvae of the Basel population are described and illustrated. When comparing the size of the adults of the two sample series collected two weeks apart, statistically significant differences were found. It appears that the above-average temperatures in June 2021 favoured the size of the second group. A number of (4–)5 larval stages are postulated for larval development. As an endoparasitoid of the eggs of
C. chinensis
, an unknown Mymaridae of the genus
Cleruchus
was found. Noteworthy was an unusually heavy infestation of Ciidae by phoretic mites (Histiostomatidae). During follow-up surveys in early 2022, additional individuals of
C. chinensis
were also found on the fruitbodies of other fungi growing in the immediate vicinity of the site where the population of the species was initially observed on
A. xantha
. A list of all Ciidae detected on the UPK campus is provided, and the spectrum of host-fungi of
C. chinensis
is discussed.
At the time of the current COVID-19 pandemic, on a daily basis, we encountered patients suffering from various manifestations of this infection. The most common are respiratory symptoms. Many of the ...patients require acute hospital care, and a smaller group of them are hospitalized in intensive care units. A subset of these critically ill patients demonstrates clinically remarkable hypercoagulability and thus a predisposition to venous and arterial thromboembolism, manifested by thrombotic events ranging from acute pulmonary embolism and splanchnic vascular ischemia to extremity ischemia. The article describes a case of a patient with COVID-19 pneumonia complicated by massive bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract due to ischemic enterocolitis in connection with COVID-19 infection.
We show that assemblies comprising anchored polymers with a gradual variation of grafting densities on solid substrates can be generated by first covering the substrate with a molecular gradient of ...the polymerization initiator, followed by polymerization from the substrate-bound initiator centers (“grafting from”). We apply this technique to prepare grafting density gradients of poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) on flat silica substrates. We demonstrate that using the grafting density gradient geometry, the mushroom-to-brush transition can be accessed on a single sample. This transition is detected by monitoring the dependence of the thickness of the grafted PAAm in a good solvent using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Wettability experiments performed on the gradient PAAm substrate provide complementary information about the nature of the mushroom-to-brush transition.
Studie se zaměřuje na vybrané problémy metodologie srovnávacího výzkumu v pedagogice s cílem přispět do debaty o metodologické kvalitě komparativního výzkumu. Snahou autora je pokusit se provést ...čtenáře procesem vědeckého srovnávání v pedagogice založeném na problémovém přístupu. Vedle stručných teoretických a historických východisek studie, které tvoří základnu pro autorovy další úvahy, jsou v textu uvedeny některé principy pedagogické komparatistiky. Ty autor opírá o současné pojetí srovnávací pedagogiky, její výzkumné pole a vybrané druhy komparativního výzkumu. Následně jsou stručně představeny jednotlivé kroky komparativní vědecké metody. Závěrečné odstavce jsou věnovány úvahám o roli deskriptivních a případově orientovaných studií v komparativním pedagogickém výzkumu, a to zejména z pohledu metodologie problémově orientovaného přístupu.
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