Purpose This article introduces the new 5-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) health status measure. Methods EQ-5D currently measures health using three levels of severity in five dimensions. A EuroQol Group task ...force was established to find ways of improving the instrument's sensitivity and reducing ceiling effects by increasing the number of severity levels. The study was performed in the United Kingdom and Spain. Severity labels for 5 levels in each dimension were identified using response scaling. Focus groups were used to investigate the face and content validity of the new versions, including hypothetical health states generated from those versions. Results Selecting labels at approximately the 25th, 50th, and 75th centiles produced two alternative 5-level versions. Focus group work showed a slight preference for the wording 'slight-moderate-severe' problems, with anchors of 'no problems' and 'unable to do' in the EQ-5D functional dimensions. Similar wording was used in the Pain/Discomfort and Anxiety/Depression dimensions. Hypothetical health states were well understood though participants stressed the need for the internal coherence of health states. Conclusions A 5-level version of the EQ-5D has been developed by the EuroQol Group. Further testing is required to determine whether the new version improves sensitivity and reduces ceiling effects.
Working together Poteete, Amy R; Janssen, Marco A; Ostrom, Elinor
2010., 20100412, 2010, 2010-04-12, 20100101
eBook
Advances in the social sciences have emerged through a variety of research methods: field-based research, laboratory and field experiments, and agent-based models. However, which research method or ...approach is best suited to a particular inquiry is frequently debated and discussed.Working Togetherexamines how different methods have promoted various theoretical developments related to collective action and the commons, and demonstrates the importance of cross-fertilization involving multimethod research across traditional boundaries. The authors look at why cross-fertilization is difficult to achieve, and they show ways to overcome these challenges through collaboration.
The authors provide numerous examples of collaborative, multimethod research related to collective action and the commons. They examine the pros and cons of case studies, meta-analyses, large-N field research, experiments and modeling, and empirically grounded agent-based models, and they consider how these methods contribute to research on collective action for the management of natural resources. Using their findings, the authors outline a revised theory of collective action that includes three elements: individual decision making, microsituational conditions, and features of the broader social-ecological context.
Acknowledging the academic incentives that influence and constrain how research is conducted,Working Togetherreworks the theory of collective action and offers practical solutions for researchers and students across a spectrum of disciplines.
Introduction
The prevalence and clinical significance of weight regain after bariatric surgery remains largely unclear due to the lack of a standardized definition of significant weight regain. The ...development of a clinically relevant definition of weight regain requires a better understanding of its clinical significance.
Objectives
To assess rates of weight regain 5 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG), applying six definitions and investigating their association with clinical outcomes.
Methods
Patients were followed up until 5 years after surgery and weight regain was calculated. Regression techniques were used to assess the association of weight regain with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the presence of comorbidities.
Results
A total of 868 patients participated in the study, with a mean age of 46.6 (± 10.4) years, of which 79% were female. The average preoperative BMI was 44.8 (± 5.9) kg/m
2
and the total maximum weight loss was 32% (± 8%). Eighty-seven percent experienced any regain. Significant weight regain rates ranged from 16 to 37% depending on the definition. Three weight regain definitions were associated with deterioration in physical HRQoL (
p
< 0.05), while associations between definitions of weight regain and the presence of comorbidities 5 years after surgery were not significant.
Conclusion
These results indicate that identifying one single categorical definition of clinically significant weight regain is difficult. Additional research into the clinical significance of weight regain is needed to inform the development of a standardized definition that includes all dimensions of surgery success: weight, HRQoL, and comorbidity remission.
The sluggish kinetics of hydrogen oxidation/evolution reaction (HOR/HER) is one of the major barriers for the breakthrough of alkaline membrane fuel cells. In particular, the effects of different ...cations on the HOR/HER kinetics are poorly understood to date. In this work, the catalytic HOR/HER activity on polycrystalline platinum (poly-Pt) and high surface area carbon-supported platinum nanoparticles (HSAC-Pt) in various alkaline 0.1 M electrolyte solutions (MOH, M = Li+, Na+ and K+) at different temperatures was studied using rotating disc electrode (RDE) technique. Our results show the increase of the HOR/HER activity for Pt in the order of K+ < Na+ < Li+. The improved kinetics are attributed to the water arrangement controlled by the monovalent cations resulting in non-covalent interactions of the hydrated cations and the adsorbed hydrogen. We assume that these non-covalent interactions cause the superior HOR/HER activity on the Pt surface in presence of LiOH.
Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a natural hyperbolic material, in which the dielectric constants are the same in the basal plane (ε(t) ≡ ε(x) = ε(y)) but have opposite signs (ε(t)ε(z) < 0) in the ...normal plane (ε(z)). Owing to this property, finite-thickness slabs of h-BN act as multimode waveguides for the propagation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons--collective modes that originate from the coupling between photons and electric dipoles in phonons. However, control of these hyperbolic phonon polaritons modes has remained challenging, mostly because their electrodynamic properties are dictated by the crystal lattice of h-BN. Here we show, by direct nano-infrared imaging, that these hyperbolic polaritons can be effectively modulated in a van der Waals heterostructure composed of monolayer graphene on h-BN. Tunability originates from the hybridization of surface plasmon polaritons in graphene with hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN, so that the eigenmodes of the graphene/h-BN heterostructure are hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons. The hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons in graphene/h-BN suffer little from ohmic losses, making their propagation length 1.5-2.0 times greater than that of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN. The hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons possess the combined virtues of surface plasmon polaritons in graphene and hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN. Therefore, graphene/h-BN can be classified as an electromagnetic metamaterial as the resulting properties of these devices are not present in its constituent elements alone.
To assess the risks associated with cyanobacterial blooms, the persistence and fate processes of cyanotoxins and other bioactive cyanobacterial metabolites need to be evaluated. Here, we investigated ...the reaction with photochemically produced singlet oxygen (1O2) for 30 cyanopeptides synthesized by Dolichospermum flos aquae, including 9 anabaenopeptins, 18 microcystins, 2 cyanopeptolins, and 1 cyclamide. All compounds were stable in UVA light alone but in the presence of a photosensitizer we observed compound-specific degradation. A strong pH effect on the decay was observed for 18 cyanopeptides that all contained tyrosine or structurally related moieties. We can attribute this effect to the reaction with 1O2 and triplet sensitizer that preferentially react with the deprotonated form of tyrosine moieties. The contribution of 1O2 to indirect phototransformation ranged from 12 to 39% and second-order rate constants for 9 tyrosine-containing cyanopeptides were assessed. Including the pH dependence of the reaction and system-independent second-order rate constants with 1O2 will improve the estimation of half-lives for multiclass cyanopeptide in surface waters. Our data further indicates that naturally occurring triplet sensitizers are likely to oxidize deprotonated tyrosine moieties of cyanopeptides and the specific reactivity and its pH dependence needs to be investigated in future studies.
Humans and nonhuman primates are vulnerable to age- and menopause-related decline in working memory, a cognitive function reliant on the energy-demanding recurrent excitation of neurons within ...Brodmann’s Area 46 of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Here, we tested the hypothesis that the number and morphology (straight, curved, or donut-shaped) of mitochondria in dlPFC presynaptic boutons are altered with aging and menopause in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and that these metrics correlate with delayed response (DR) accuracy, a well-characterized measure of dlPFC-dependent working memory. Although presynaptic bouton density or size was not significantly different across groups distinguished by age or menses status, DR accuracy correlated positively with the number of total and straight mitochondria per dlPFC bouton. In contrast, DR accuracy correlated inversely with the frequency of boutons containing donut-shaped mitochondria, which exhibited smaller active zone areas and fewer docked synaptic vesicles than those with straight or curved mitochondria. We then examined the effects of estrogen administration to test whether a treatment known to improve working memory influences mitochondrial morphology. Aged ovariectomized monkeys treated with vehicle displayed significant working memory impairment and a concomitant 44% increase in presynaptic donut-shaped mitochondria, both of which were reversed with cyclic estradiol treatment. Together, our data suggest that hormone replacement therapy may benefit cognitive aging, in part by promoting mitochondrial and synaptic health in the dlPFC.
Glassy Dynamics in Chiral Fluids Debets, Vincent E; Löwen, Hartmut; Janssen, Liesbeth M C
Physical review letters,
02/2023, Volume:
130, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Chiral active matter is enjoying a rapid increase of interest, spurred by the rich variety of asymmetries that can be attained in, e.g., the shape or self-propulsion mechanism of active particles. ...Though this has already led to the observance of so-called chiral crystals, active chiral glasses remain largely unexplored. A possible reason for this could be the naive expectation that interactions dominate the glassy dynamics and the details of the active motion become increasingly less relevant. Here, we show that quite the opposite is true by studying the glassy dynamics of interacting chiral active Brownian particles. We demonstrate that when our chiral fluid is pushed to glassy conditions, it exhibits highly nontrivial dynamics, especially compared to a standard linear active fluid such as common active Brownian particles. Despite the added complexity, we are still able to present a full rationalization for all identified dynamical regimes. Most notably, we introduce a new "hammering" mechanism, unique to rapidly spinning particles in high-density conditions, that can fluidize a chiral active solid.
The kinetic solvent isotope effect (KSIE) is typically utilized in environmental photochemistry to elucidate whether a compound is susceptible to photooxidation by singlet oxygen (1O2), due to its ...known difference in lifetime in water (H2O) versus heavy water (D2O). Here, the overall indirect photodegradation rates of diarylamines in the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were enhanced in D2O to a greater extent than expected based on their reactivity with 1O2. For each diarylamine, the relative contribution of reaction with 1O2 to the observed KSIE was determined from high resolution data of 1O2 lifetimes by time-resolved infrared luminescence spectroscopy. The additional enhancement in D2O beyond reaction with 1O2 contributed significantly to the observed KSIE for diarylamines (8–65%) and diclofenac (100%). The enhancement was ascribed to slower reduction of transient radical species of the diarylamines due to H/D exchange at DOM’s phenolic antioxidant moieties. A slower second-order reaction rate constant with a model antioxidant was verified for mefenamic acid radicals using transient absorption spectroscopy. Changes in lifetime and reactivity with triplet sensitizers were not responsible for the additional KSIE. Other pollutants with quenchable radical intermediates may also be susceptible to such an additional KSIE, which has to be considered when using the KSIE as a diagnostic tool.
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