Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common medical complication of pregnancy. Women with GDM are at elevated risk for numerous matemal health complications, and their infants are at ...elevated risk for death and morbidity. Management of GDM has traditionally been through diet and close monitoring of glucose levels, with initiation of insulin therapy when diet alone fails to maintain euglycemia. Recently, however, it has been suggested that alternative treatment modalities, such as exercise, may overcome a peripheral resistance to insulin, thus preventing GDM or controlling hyperglycemia in women with GDM. In this study, conducted from October 1995 to July 1996, the authors used a population-based birth registry to determine whether exercise has a preventive role in the development of GDM in women living in central New York State. They used contingency tables and chi-square statistics to examine bivariate differences among maternal and demographic variables and the occurrence of GDM. When stratified by prepregnancy body mass index category, exercise was associated with reduced rates of GDM only among women with a body mass index greater than 33 (odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.2–3.1). The effect of exercise in obese women was further complicated by insurance status. When the data were stratified by insurance status, it appeared that women of higher socioeconomic status who were obese and did not exercise were at a significantly elevated risk of GDM compared with their counterparts of lower socioeconomic status. The results of this study suggest that for some women exercise may play a role in reducing the risk that they will develop GDM during pregnancy.
We describe the treatment of new hydrogels with nine different chemical compositions by femtosecond laser writing. The phase change induced in the wavefront when passing through the written areas was ...measured in all of these materials. The induced phase change is negative, which is attributed to the higher presence of water in the written regions and confirmed via Raman spectroscopy. The largest induced change in a single layer at 100 mm/s was −3.69 waves at 543 nm. These results show a strong dependence of the phase change on the concentration of some components and their molar ratio. We propose that some components are essential for the nonlinear energy absorption (“dopants”), while other components (“quenchers”) are essential in redirecting the absorbed energy to cause chemical reactions that profoundly change the polymer structure.
Objective
The kainic acid (KA)‐induced status epilepticus (SE) model in rats is a well‐defined model of epileptogenesis. This model closely recapitulates many of the clinical and pathological ...characteristics of human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) that arise following SE or another neurological insult. Spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) in TLE can present after a latent period following a neurological insult (traumatic brain injury, SE event, viral infection, etc.). Moreover, this model is suitable for preclinical studies to evaluate the long‐term process of epileptogenesis and screen putative disease‐modifying/antiepileptogenic agents. The burden of human TLE is highly variable, similar to the post‐KA SE rat model. In this regard, this model may have broad translational relevance. This report thus details the pharmacological characterization and methodological refinement of a moderate‐throughput drug screening program using the post‐KA‐induced SE model of epileptogenesis in male Sprague Dawley rats to identify potential agents that may prevent or modify the burden of SRS. Specifically, we sought to demonstrate whether our protocol could prevent the development of SRS or lead to a reduced frequency/severity of SRS.
Methods
Rats were administered either everolimus (2–3 mg/kg po) beginning 1, 2, or 24 h after SE onset, or phenobarbital (60 mg/kg ip) beginning 1 h after SE onset. All treatments were administered once/day for 5–7 days. Rats in all studies (n = 12/treatment dose/study) were then monitored intermittently by video‐electroencephalography (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, 2 weeks on epochs) to determine latency to onset of SRS and disease burden.
Results
Although no adverse side effects were observed in our studies, no treatment significantly modified disease or prevented the presentation of SRS by 6 weeks after SE onset.
Significance
Neither phenobarbital nor everolimus administered at several time points after SE onset prevented the development of SRS. Nonetheless, we demonstrate a practical and moderate‐throughput screen for potential antiepileptogenic agents in a rat model of TLE.
Low back pain (LBP) and knee osteoarthritis (OA) are major contributors to disability worldwide. These conditions result in a significant burden at both individual and societal levels. Engagement in ...regular physical activity and exercise programs are known to improve physical function in both chronic LBP and knee OA populations. For people residing in rural areas, musculoskeletal conditions are often more frequent and disabling compared to urban populations, which could be the result of reduced access to appropriate health services and resources in rural settings. EHealth is an innovative solution to help provide equitable access to treatment for people with musculoskeletal pain living in rural settings.
We will conduct a randomised clinical trial investigating the effects of an eHealth intervention compared to usual care, for people with chronic non-specific LBP or knee OA in rural Australia. We will recruit 156 participants with non-specific chronic LBP or knee OA. Following the completion of baseline questionnaires, participants will be randomly allocated to either the eHealth intervention group, involving a tailored physical activity and progressive resistance exercise program remotely delivered by a physiotherapist (n = 78), or usual care (n = 78) involving referral to a range of care practices in the community. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months post-randomisation. The primary outcome will be physical function assessed by the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). Secondary outcomes include pain intensity, physical activity levels, activity limitations, quality of life, pain coping. We will also collect process evaluation data such as recruitment rate, attendance and adherence, follow-up rate, participants' opinions and any barriers encountered throughout the trial.
The findings from this trial will establish the effectiveness of eHealth-delivered interventions that are known to be beneficial for people with LBP and knee OA when delivered in person. As a result, this trial will help to inform health care policy and clinical practice in Australia and beyond for those living in non-urban areas.
This study was prospectively registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12618001494224 ) registered 09.05.2018.
Seismic interferometry is a recently developed theory that allows for the recovery of a medium's impulse response between two points should randomly distributed sources of white noise, or ...equivalently, a multiply scattered equipartioned wavefield, be present throughout the medium. We exploit the extremely scattering nature of volcanic media and seismic illumination from impulsive Strombolian eruptions to extract single‐station body wave Green's tensors at an unusually dense array of stations on Erebus volcano, Antarctica. We optimally rotate these Green's tensors for each notable arrival and back project them to construct a 3‐dimensional scattering map of the magma‐filled volcano conduit system, also corroborated by an independent active source tomography experiment using the same station distribution. This approach not only favors highly scattering media, contrarily to most conventional methods, but its passive nature (i.e., non‐anthropogenic sources) allows for studies of structural temporal variability, and possible extension into real‐time monitoring of active volcanoes.
Key Points
High resolution scattering image of an active volcano
Body seismic interferometry applied to eruption coda
Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal that can also cause invasive infection. Reports suggest that nasal cocolonization occurs rarely, but the resources required to sequence multiple colonies have ...precluded its large-scale investigation. A staged protocol was developed to maximize detection of mixed-spa-type colonization while minimizing laboratory resources using 3,197 S. aureus-positive samples from a longitudinal study of healthy individuals in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Initial typing of pooled material from each sample identified a single unambiguous strain in 89.6% of samples. Twelve single-colony isolates were typed from samples producing ambiguous initial results. All samples could be resolved into one or more spa types using the protocol. Cocolonization point prevalence was 3.4 to 5.8% over 24 months of follow-up in 360 recruitment-positives. However, 18% were cocolonized at least once, most only transiently. Cocolonizing spa types were completely unrelated in 56% of samples. Of 272 recruitment-positives returning ≥12 swabs, 166 (61%) carried S. aureus continuously but only 106 (39%) carried the same single spa type without any cocolonization; 31 (11%) switched spa type and 29 (11%) had transient cocarriage. S. aureus colonization is dynamic even in long-term carriers. New unrelated cocolonizing strains could increase invasive disease risk, and ongoing within-host evolution could increase invasive potential, possibilities that future studies should explore.
Pain is highly prevalent in health care settings; however, disparities continue to exist in pain care treatment. Few studies have investigated if differences exist based on patient-related ...characteristics associated with aging. The objective of this study was to determine if there are differences in acute pain care for older vs younger patients. This was a multicenter, retrospective, cross-sectional observation study of 5 emergency departments across the United States evaluating the 2 most commonly presenting pain conditions for older adults, abdominal and fracture pain. Multivariable adjusted hierarchical modeling was completed. A total of 6,948 visits were reviewed. Older (⩾ 65 years) and oldest (⩾ 85 years) were less likely to receive analgesics compared to younger patients (<65 years), yet older patients had greater reductions in final pain scores. When evaluating pain treatment and final pain scores, differences appeared to be based on type of pain. Older patients with abdominal pain were less likely to receive pain medications, while older patients with fracture were more likely to receive analgesics and opioids compared to younger patients. Differences in pain care for older patients appear to be driven by the type of presenting pain.
•Novel integration of III:V concentrator photovoltaic cells-thermoelectric modules.•Optimized thermoelectric module geometry for cell temperature sensing and cooling.•New III:V triple-junction cell ...six-parameter one-diode equivalent model developed.•The model fitted experimental current–voltage data with a low 4.44% mean error.•High combined primary & secondary optical intensity gain coefficient 0.92 obtained.
Lattice-matched monolithic triple-junction Concentrator Photovoltaic cells (InGa(0.495)P/GaIn(0.012)As/Ge) were electrically and thermally interfaced to two Thermoelectric Peltier module designs. An electrical and thermal model of the hybrid receivers was modelled in COMSOL Multiphysics software v5.3 to optimize cell cooling whilst increasing photon energy conversion efficiency. The receivers were measured for current–voltage characteristics with the cell only (with sylguard encapsulant), under single secondary optical element at x2.5 optical concentration, and under Fresnel lens primary optical element concentration between x313 and x480. Measurements were taken in solar simulators at Cardiff and Jaén Universities, and on-sun with dual-axis tracking at Jaén University. The hybrid receivers were electrically, thermally and theoretically investigated. The electrical performance data for the cells under variable irradiance and cell temperature conditions were measured using the integrated thermoelectric module as both a temperature sensor and as a solid-state heat pump. The performance of six hybrid devices were evaluated within two 3-receiver strings under primary optical concentration with measured acceptance angles of 1.00° and 0.89°, similar to commercially sourced Concentrator Photovoltaic modules. A six-parameter one-diode equivalent electrical model was developed for the multi-junction cells under both primary and secondary optical concentration. This was applied to extract six model parameters with the experimental current–voltage curves of type A receiver at 1, 3 and 500 concentration ratios. Standard test conditions (1000 W/m2, 25 °C and Air Mass 1.5 Global spectrum) were assumed based on trust-region-reflective least squares algorithm in MATLAB. The model fitted the experimental current–voltage curves satisfactorily with a mean error of 4.44%. The combined primary and secondary optical intensity gain coefficient is as high as 0.92, in comparison with 0.50–0.86 for crossed compound parabolic concentrators. The determined values of diode reverse saturation current, combined series resistance and shunt resistance were similar to those of monocrystalline PV cell/modules in our previous publications. The model may be applicable to performance prediction of multi-junction CPV cells in the future.
PDF
