Summary
Background
Knowledge about determinants of quality of life (QoL) in eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoO) patients helps to identify patients at risk of experiencing poor QoL and to tailor ...therapeutic interventions accordingly.
Aim
To evaluate the impact of symptom severity, endoscopic and histological activity on EoE‐specific QoL in adult EoE patients.
Methods
Ninety‐eight adult EoE patients were prospectively included (64% male, median age 39 years). Patients completed two validated instruments to assess EoE‐specific QoL (EoO‐QoL‐A) and symptom severity (adult EoE activity index patient‐reported outcome) and then underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy sampling. Physicians reported standardised information on EoE‐associated endoscopic and histological alterations. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the relationship between QoL and symptom severity. Linear regression and analysis of variance was used to quantify the extent to which variations in severity of EoE symptoms, endoscopic and histological findings explain variations in QoL.
Results
Quality of life strongly correlated with symptom severity (r = 0.610, P < 0.001). While the variation in severity of symptoms, endoscopic and histological findings alone explained 38%, 35% and 22% of the variability in EoE‐related QoL, respectively, these together explained 60% of variation. Symptom severity explained 18–35% of the variation in each of the five QoL subscale scores.
Conclusions
Eosinophilic oesophagitis symptom severity and biological disease activity determine QoL in adult patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis. Therefore, reduction in both eosinophilic oesophagitis symptoms as well as biological disease activity is essential for improvement of QoL in adult patients. Clinicaltrials.gov number, NCT00939263.
In prior work we studied the adsorption of triglycine on zeolite Y under reference conditions. This study aims to solve the question of which adsorbent properties and process conditions influence the ...adsorption triglycine from an aqueous solution by zeolite Y. Relevant zeolite parameters to study are: the amount of acidic sites (Si/Al
2 ratio), counter ion, micropore structure. Process conditions that may influence triglycine adsorption are pH, other components such as sugars, amino acids and salts, and temperature. Adsorption of triglycine on zeolite HY is dominated by ionic interaction. The capacity and selectivity of zeolite HY for triglycine can be changed by choosing different Si/Al
2 ratios or changing the counter ion. The presence of cations and basic anions in solutions reduces triglycine adsorption. Fructose and glycine have no significant influence on triglycine adsorption. Temperature only has a slight influence. The pore structure of zeolite Y is not a critical factor for triglycine adsorption, provided pores are accessible to triglycine and in the micropore range (<2
nm). While this allows other zeolites than zeolite Y to be applied, the presence of the supercage structure of zeolite Y is beneficial to obtain better adsorption of triglycine in its neutral form.
Cross-sectional survey OBJECTIVES: To describe computer and Internet use (other than for work or study) among people with long-standing spinal cord injury (SCI), examine associations between ...demographic and lesion characteristics and Internet use, and examine associations between Internet use and mental health, participation, and life satisfaction.
Community, The Netherlands METHODS: Participants were 265 individuals living with SCI for at least 10 years, who were 18-35 at the onset of SCI, aged 28-65 at the time of the study and wheelchair-user. Scales for General and Health-related Internet use were developed.
Nearly all (97.7%) participants had Internet access and 98.4% of those used it daily or weekly. Of those with tetraplegia, 47.4% had assistive devices for computer use. General Internet use, such as following news and online banking, was very frequent. Websites with information on general health or accessibility were typically visited a few times a year. Three-quarters never visited websites of other individuals with SCI or foreign websites with information on SCI. General Internet use was associated with male gender, younger age, and higher education. Participants with tetraplegia scored higher on Health-related Internet use compared to participants with paraplegia. Health-related Internet use was associated with worse participation, but not with the other psychosocial variables.
Internet has become part of daily life of people with SCI in the Netherlands. However, only one association between Internet use and indicators of psychosocial functioning was found. Possible underuse of adaptive devices and of SCI-specific websites warrant further investigation.
Desk studies were carried out to calculate the feasibility of hydrogen gas production by (hyper)thermophilic organisms in high rate bioreactors. One of the main problems to deal with is the ...requirement of a hydrogen gas pressure lower than
20,000
Pa
. Only under these conditions carbohydrates are converted into hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide and acetic acid. These conditions can be created by stripping the hydrogen gas with steam produced by evaporation of water at a large surface area created by packing material in an anaerobic trickling filter. The steam production occurs at 70°C and an absolute pressure of
0.5
bar
. In these reactors gas is the continuous phase and the substrate solution is continuously trickled over the packing material, which also supports biofilms of (hyper)thermophilic bacteria. In this way hydrogen producing biomass, the liquor with substrate and the gas phase are within millimetres reach of each other. To compensate for the heat loss by water evaporation, a part of the water and heat is recovered after gas compression. The remaining is recovered from steam produced by the fuel cell in which the hydrogen gas is converted into electricity.
To study disability-management self-efficacy (DMSE) and its correlates in a large sample of Dutch people with long-standing spinal cord injury (SCI). DMSE is the confidence that people with SCI may ...have in their ability to manage the consequences of their condition with respect to the various domains in their life. Research questions were: (1) What is the level of DMSE in Dutch people with long-standing SCI?; (2) Is DMSE associated with demographic and lesion characteristics?; and (3) Is DMSE associated with participation and life satisfaction if these associations are adjusted for demographic and lesion characteristics and mood?
Eligible people were identified from all eight rehabilitation centers with a specialty in SCI rehabilitation in the Netherlands (N=261). Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. DMSE was measured using the University of Washington Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (UW-SES-6). Correlation and linear regression analyses were used.
Levels of UW-SES-6 scores were largely independent of demographic and lesion characteristics. UW-SES-6 scores were bivariately moderately to strongly associated with mood (0.47), participation (0.39-0.51) and life satisfaction (0.46). In the regression analyses, UW-SES-6 scores still explained a significant amount of variance of participation (standardized β 0.31-0.33) and life satisfaction (standardized β 0.21) when controlling for demographic and lesion characteristics and mood, and explained an additional 3.2-8.1% of the variance of participation and life satisfaction.
DMSE is a psychological resource associated with higher levels of participation and life satisfaction after SCI. The UW-SES-6 is a brief and easy to use measure of this psychological resource.
Purpose: To gain insight into determinants of physical activity in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury or lower limb amputation, from the perspective of both wheelchair users and rehabilitation ...professionals.
Methods: Seven focus groups were conducted: five with wheelchair users (n = 25) and two with rehabilitation professionals (n = 11). The transcripts were analysed using a sequential coding strategy, in which the reported determinants of physical activity were categorized using the Physical Activity for people with a Disability (PAD) model.
Results: Reported personal determinants of physical activity were age, general health status, stage of life, demotivation due to difficulty burning calories, available time and energy, balance in daily life, attitude, and history of a physically active lifestyle. Reported environmental determinants were professional guidance, inconvenient exercise times, accessibility of facilities, costs, transportation difficulties, equipment difficulties, and social support.
Conclusions: Important, changeable determinants of physical activity that might be influenced in future lifestyle interventions for wheelchair users are: balance in daily life leading to more time and energy to exercise, attitude towards physical activity, professional guidance, accessibility of facilities (providing information on how and where to find accessible facilities), and social support (learning how to get this).
Implications for rehabilitation
A physically active lifestyle improves everyday functioning, and decreases disability and the risk of secondary health problems in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury or lower limb amputation.
After inpatient rehabilitation, it is difficult for wheelchair users to maintain or further enhance their physical activity, a lifestyle intervention can help them in this.
To be effective, lifestyle interventions should address important, changeable determinants of physical activity.
Important, changeable determinants of physical activity reported by wheelchair users and rehabilitation professionals are: balance in daily life leading to more time and energy to exercise, attitude towards physical activity, professional guidance, accessibility of facilities, and social support.
Starburst galaxies at the peak of cosmic star formation are among the most extreme star-forming engines in the Universe, producing stars over about 100 million years (ref. 2). The star-formation ...rates of these galaxies, which exceed 100 solar masses per year, require large reservoirs of cold molecular gas to be delivered to their cores, despite strong feedback from stars or active galactic nuclei. Consequently, starburst galaxies are ideal for studying the interplay between this feedback and the growth of a galaxy. The methylidyne cation, CH
, is a most useful molecule for such studies because it cannot form in cold gas without suprathermal energy input, so its presence indicates dissipation of mechanical energy or strong ultraviolet irradiation. Here we report the detection of CH
(J = 1-0) emission and absorption lines in the spectra of six lensed starburst galaxies at redshifts near 2.5. This line has such a high critical density for excitation that it is emitted only in very dense gas, and is absorbed in low-density gas. We find that the CH
emission lines, which are broader than 1,000 kilometres per second, originate in dense shock waves powered by hot galactic winds. The CH
absorption lines reveal highly turbulent reservoirs of cool (about 100 kelvin), low-density gas, extending far (more than 10 kiloparsecs) outside the starburst galaxies (which have radii of less than 1 kiloparsec). We show that the galactic winds sustain turbulence in the 10-kiloparsec-scale environments of the galaxies, processing these environments into multiphase, gravitationally bound reservoirs. However, the mass outflow rates are found to be insufficient to balance the star-formation rates. Another mass input is therefore required for these reservoirs, which could be provided by ongoing mergers or cold-stream accretion. Our results suggest that galactic feedback, coupled jointly to turbulence and gravity, extends the starburst phase of a galaxy instead of quenching it.
Panchromatic observations of the best candidate hyperluminous infrared galaxies from the widest Herschel extragalactic imaging survey have led to the discovery of at least four intrinsically luminous ...z = 2.41 galaxies across an approximately 100 kpc region-a cluster of starbursting protoellipticals. Via subarcsecond interferometric imaging we have measured accurate gas and star formation surface densities. The two brightest galaxies span ~3 kpc FWHM in submillimeter/radio continuum and CO J = 4-3, and double that in CO J = 1-0. The broad CO line is due partly to the multitude of constituent galaxies and partly to large rotational velocities in two counter-rotating gas disks-a scenario predicted to lead to the most intense starbursts, which will therefore come in pairs. The disks have M sub(dyn) of several x 10 super(11) M sub(middot in circle) and gas fractions of ~40%. Velocity dispersions are modest so the disks are unstable, potentially on scales commensurate with their radii: these galaxies are undergoing extreme bursts of star formation, not confined to their nuclei, at close to the Eddington limit. Their specific star formation rates place them gap 5x above the main sequence, which supposedly comprises large gas disks like these. Their high star formation efficiencies are difficult to reconcile with a simple volumetric star formation law. N-body and dark matter simulations suggest that this system is the progenitor of a B(inary)-type gap 10 super(14.6)-M sub(mid dot in circle) cluster.
ABSTRACT Until recently, only a handful of dusty, star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) were known at z > 4, most of them significantly amplified by gravitational lensing. Here, we have increased the number ...of such DSFGs substantially, selecting galaxies from the uniquely wide 250, 350, and 500 m Herschel-ATLAS imaging survey on the basis of their extremely red far-infrared colors and faint 350 and 500 m flux densities, based on which, they are expected to be largely unlensed, luminous, rare, and very distant. The addition of ground-based continuum photometry at longer wavelengths from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment allows us to identify the dust peak in their spectral energy distributions (SEDs), with which we can better constrain their redshifts. We select the SED templates that are best able to determine photometric redshifts using a sample of 69 high-redshift, lensed DSFGs, then perform checks to assess the impact of the CMB on our technique, and to quantify the systematic uncertainty associated with our photometric redshifts, = 0.14 (1 + z), using a sample of 25 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts, each consistent with our color selection. For Herschel-selected ultrared galaxies with typical colors of S500/S250 ∼ 2.2 and S500/S350 ∼ 1.3 and flux densities, S500 ∼ 50 mJy, we determine a median redshift, , an interquartile redshift range, 3.30-4.27, with a median rest-frame 8-1000 m luminosity, , of 1.3 × 1013 L . A third of the galaxies lie at z > 4, suggesting a space density, z > 4, of 6 × 10−7 Mpc−3. Our sample contains the most luminous known star-forming galaxies, and the most overdense cluster of starbursting proto-ellipticals found to date.
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