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Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), one of the diarrheagenic E. coli , is the most common cause of diarrhea in developing country and in travelers to those areas. In this study, Caenorhabditis elegans was used as an alternative model host to evaluate ETEC infections. The ETEC strain ETEC1, which was isolated from a patient with diarrhea, possessed enterotoxins STh, LT1, and EAST1 and colonization factors CS2 and CS3. Live ETEC1 shortened the life span and body size of C. elegans in association with increased expression of enterotoxin genes and intestinal colonization. In contrast, heat-killed ETEC1 did not affect the life span of C. elegans. Caenorhabditis elegans infected with ETEC1 showed upregulated expression of genes related to insulin-like peptides and host defense responses. These results suggest that ETEC1 exhibits pathogenicity through intestinal colonization and enterotoxin production in C. elegans. This system is useful as an ETEC infection model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangshao cultural site is a representative site of the late Neolithic period, and many stone tools and cultural relics materials are unearthed. Among them, the folk cultural sites such as stoves, square foundations, and red clay pots have a considerable proportion, more than 80%, which is of farreaching significance for exploring the evolution of folk stoves. Taking the ancient stove site of Yangshao culture as the research object, this paper carries out a comprehensive analysis of the stove unearthed at the site of the Yangshao cultural stove and successively studies its classification and evolution to facilitate the evolution of domestic folk stoves and provides reasoble historical and cultural support. Studies have shown that the Yangshao culture stove site has distinctive characteristics and is highly representative, and at the same time, it is also the prototype of the stove in the earliest period. Whether it is for the modern stove, it has a positive impact. It is found that there are more table stoves, followed by ground stoves and the least pit stoves in Yangshao culture stoves. In some stove sites, the ground stove was reformed based on a pit stove and gradually evolved into a platform stove. In the 1: 1 reduction experiment, the pit furnace has the slowest heating speed and higher heat dissipation rate, followed by the ground furnace, and last is the bench furnace. This shows that the residents in the Yangshao area in the late Neolithic Age mastered the design method of the stove and improved the stove with experience to improve the burning rate of wood and the oxygen supply rate of the stove pit. In addition, the appearance of Table-type stoves also changed the shape of cooking utensils at that time, expanded the range of cooking food, and even prolonged the life of residents in the Yangshao area. Therefore, the Yangshao cultural stove site is significant to the archaeological study of food culture and life span in the late Neolithic Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed at empirically exploring how the expenditure of public health and the effectiveness of government impacted the productivity of labour in West Africa. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study used data from 1980 to 2022 generated by the World Bank and adopted multiple regression, mediation and correlation analysis. Additionally, the co-integration test of Johansen and the residual-based test using the Engel-Granger approach were used. Findings: Expenditures on the health of the public and the effectiveness of government indicated some positive but insignificant impacts on labour productivity in the short run. At the same time, the expenditure on public health indicated a long-term, significant and adverse impact on labour productivity in Nigeria, Togo, Guinea, Senegal and Mali. Conclusion: The present study explored how expenditure on public health and the effectiveness of the government impacted the productivity of labour in West Africa. Apparently, the level of public health expenditure and government effectiveness are yet to positively impact the productivity of labour. Practical Implications: These results presented the critical role of public health expenditure and government effectiveness in enhancing the productivity of labour. Therefore, the study suggests that the government invest significantly in healthcare services in order to promote and safeguard the health of the people. Contribution to the Literature: This study offers an innovative perspective on labour productivity by highlighting the crucial roles played by governments in public health investment for productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridges are key parts of transportation networks and hence, their post-hazard condition is vital for the recovery of the regions affected by natural hazards. However, the fact that they are often subjected to more than one destructive natural hazard during their life span resulting in accumulated damage that may influence their capacity has attracted relatively little research interest, while almost no design standards take it into consideration. The multiple hazard events may be successive single events, separated by considerable time intervals (e.g. an earthquake followed by a flood event), combined or cascading multiple-hazard events (e.g, landslide after an earthquake), or even simultaneous events. The main objective of this study is to propose an effective framework for the development of multiple-hazard fragility curves of bridges considering the effect of subsequent events and taking into account different possible damage scenarios of the bridge critical components, i.e. piers, bearings and the abutment-backfill systems. In this framework, the effect of the damage level of the critical components and their interdependence on the fragility assessment for multiple events is examined and compared with the bridge fragility for single events. A pilot case study is also included in the present work, aiming to highlight the effect of the initial damage state on the final fragility estimate of a typical riverine bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The US life expectancy has been stagnating in recent decades, and along with this, the time trends of life span variation have shown stagnation and even increases with respect to historical levels. OBJECTIVE: We aim to disentangle contributions from subnational levels (US regions) to national changes in life expectancy and life span variation in 2010-2019 and 2019-2020. METHODS: A decomposition of the change in the national life expectancy and life disparity into the contribution of changing mortality and population structure among subnational regions is presented. The US Census regions are the Midwest, Northeast, South, and West. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2019, the South substantially contributed to the life span variation increase due to increasing mortality contributions. The old-age survival improvements across all regions further contributed to increasing life span variation at the national level. Different population growth patterns across regions, especially at older ages, are a further source of change in national life span variation and life expectancy. From 2019 to 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in life span variation and a decrease in life expectancy across all regions were observed. CONTRIBUTION: We present continuous-time decompositions for changes in life expectancy and life span variation. When decomposing subnational contributions to national changes, we also demonstrate the role of the composition effect through subnational-national growth differences. This paper quantifies and highlights the specific contributions of regions and age groups to the national mortality increase in the United States between 2010 and 2019, as well as between 2019 and 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary function of a network system is to gather information from the observation region and transmit it to the base station. The network life span and congestion are the two major concerns in wireless networks. To enhance the lifespan of the sensor system; multi-hopping has been proved as best in class. Congestion is an important factor to be taken, where multiple nodes forward data to one another in the process of communication. Hence to overcome the issue of congestion in WSN, we proposed a congestion detection and mitigation method along with the multi-hop concept. In this technique, we have considered different routes among communication units that were classified on distance, relative attainment rate (RAR) and node storage occupancy. A utility function (U) has been proposed and calculated using the above illustrated factors for every node that acts as a neighbour to the transmitting node. The Neighbour node with the highest U-valued will be considered as the packet forwarding node's next hop. In this manner, congestion-free nodes are selected for data transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several technologies provide cellular connectivity to transmit data to end devices (EDs) in the indoor environment. These technologies have short-range; complex network architecture; short lifespan; and high power consumption. In this paper, LoRa is utilized to design the Building Internet of Things (BIoT) system for electronic shelf labels (ESL) to provide long-range connectivity. To minify the transmission losses, the concurrent data exploits data parallelism for updating transmission parameters at the network server (NS) for non-interruptive communication between the centroid gateways (GWs) and allocated EDs. The EDs are deployed by K-means at different locations in each cluster based on spreading factor (SF) and data rate (DR) to avoid data congestion and intra-SF interference for the SF and hybrid (DR/SF) models. The varying bandwidths (BWs) and duty cycles (DCs) enhance the lifespan of the EDs, while the Bayesian game parameter selection (BGPS) method minimizes the power losses among the EDs. The one-slope estimates medium losses; the adjusted R-square predicts variance; and Pearson finds a correlation among the measured values. The hybrid model improves the network's performance to a spiraling average efficiency of 90.48 % and 89.64 %, with network saturation of 10.185 % and 10.337 % for pure and slotted ALOHA, respectively. The overall results illustrate a packet loss ratio (PLR) of 20.11 % for the SF model and 4.861 % for the hybrid model. The energy dissipation plunged to 0.06032 J per day, prolonging the EDs' life span to 14265.34 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an increased interest in nongame fishes such as buffalofishes (Catostomidae, Ictiobus), there is a need for better foundational data on their life history. Bigmouth Buffalo I. cyprinellus, for example, have been found to live for more than a century. Age estimates for other sucker species have similarly suggested long life spans, but validation studies as reference points are often lacking. We conducted a 3‐year study on Smallmouth Buffalo I. bubalus in Oklahoma to validate annual increments on three hard part structures (otoliths [lapilli], pectoral fin rays, and opercula) typically used for age estimation. We marked wild fish with oxytetracycline (OTC) injection and stocked those fish into a hatchery pond to create a population of fish with known times since marking. Furthermore, reproduction in the pond allowed us to validate annulus formation in young fish. We analyzed 117 fish and found that otoliths were more reliable, precise, and accurate than the other two structures for detecting OTC marks and counting annuli. Age estimates, from 1 to 61 years, were greatest when otoliths were used, with 99% of estimates corresponding to known time since marking or known age. Otoliths appear to be the only reliable structure for accurately estimating the age of Smallmouth Buffalo within 1 year of actual age, and their use indicates that this species can live for more than six decades in Oklahoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteocytes act as bone mechanosensors, regulators of osteoblast/osteoclast activity and mineral homeostasis, however, knowledge about their functional/morphological changes throughout life is limited. We used quantitative backscattered electron imaging (qBEI) to investigate osteocyte lacunae sections (OLS) as a 2D-surrogate characterizing the osteocytes. OLS characteristics, the density of mineralized osteocyte lacunae (i.e., micropetrotic osteocytes, md.OLS-Density in nb/mm2) and the average degree of mineralization (Ca Mean in weight% calcium) of cortex and spongiosa were analyzed in transiliac biopsy samples from healthy individuals under 30 (n=59) and over 30 years (n=50) (i.e., before and after the age of peak bone mass, respectively). We found several differences in OLS-characteristics: 1). Inter-individually between the age groups: OLS-Density and OLS-Porosity were reduced by about 20% in older individuals in spongiosa and in cortex versus younger probands (both, p < 0.001). 2). Intra-individually between bone compartments: OLS-Density was higher in the cortex, +18.4%, p < 0.001 for younger and +7.6%, p < 0.05 for older individuals. Strikingly, the most frequent OLS nearest-neighbor distance was about 30 µm in both age groups and at both bone sites revealing a preferential organization of osteocytes in clusters. OLS-Density was negatively correlated with Ca Mean in both spongiosa and cortex (both, p < 0.001). Few mineralized OLS were found in young individuals along with an increase of md.OLS-Density with age. In summary, this transiliac bone sample analysis of 200000 OLS from 109 healthy individuals throughout lifespan reveals several age-related differences in OLS characteristics. Moreover, our study provides reference data from healthy individuals for different ages to be used for diagnosis of bone abnormalities in diseases. Osteocytes are bone cells embedded in lacunae within the mineralized bone matrix and have a key role in the bone metabolism and the mineral homeostasis. Not easily accessible, we used quantitative backscattered electron imaging to determine precisely number and shape descriptors of the osteocyte lacunae in 2D. We analyzed transiliac biopsy samples from 109 individuals with age distributed from 2 to 95 years. Compact cortical bone showed constantly higher lacunar density than cancellous bone but the lacunar density in both bone tissue decreased with age before the peak bone mass age at 30 years and stabilized or even increased after this age. This extensive study provides osteocyte lacunae reference data from healthy individuals usable for bone pathology diagnosis. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Climatología is the property of Revista de Climatologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Downy mildew disease, which is caused by Peronospora aestivalis (Mastigomycotina: Peronosporaceae) and the spotted alfalfa aphid Therioaphis trifolii (Hemiptera: Aphididae), affects Medicago sativa (alfalfa) production. P. aestivalis and T. trifolii frequently occur together under natural conditions. In this study, alfalfa- P. aestivalis - T. trifolii were used as the research objects to explore the effects of different degrees of P. aestivalis infection on the growth and reproduction of T. trifolii , and the life table of T. trifolii population was constructed based on the fecundity parameters. The results revealed that alfalfa downy mildew infection had a significant effect on T. trifolii population. T. trifolii fed on mildly infected alfalfa plants exhibited the longest life span (18.9 d) and the highest number of nymphs (30.6) compared to those fed on alfalfa in other treatments. In terms of population life table parameters, the intrinsic rate of increase (0.626) and finite rate of increase (1.869) of T. trifolii fed on moderately infected alfalfa were the highest, and the generation time (8.310) and population doubling time (1.108) were the shortest, indicating that moderately infected alfalfa are conducive to T. trifolii population development. This study provides insights into the effects of alfalfa downy mildew on the main reproductive parameters and population of T. trifolii on M. sativa. • Therioaphis trifolii and Peronospora aestivalis often occur on alfalfa leaves at the same time. • The occurrence of Peronospora aestivalis can effectively affect the growth and development of Therioaphis trifolii. • There were differences in the growth and development of Therioaphis trifolii under different degrees of infection. • Feeding on moderately infected alfalfa is more beneficial to the reproduction of Therioaphis trifolii population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the intersection of place-based reading practices of rural workingclass males and reading practices in school. Life story interviews have been conducted with six men in different ages (age 19-63) living in a rural region in Sweden, focusing on their reflections on their own relation to reading across a life span from the standpoint of the present. The analysis shows that there is a unique combination of factors at work when rural working-class men culturally re-appropriate written culture in ways that are sympathetic, and socially acceptable to a manual working-class culture. These factors include the processes of oralising and manualising and are often related to things learned in specific ancestral heartlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a crucial manufacturing process for custom-made metal workpieces. Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a rising technology that can cut back material usage and manufacturing time due to its higher deposition rate. This research aims to develop an efficient 3D thermal model to simulate the WAAM process and correlate the temperature with deposition quality. A moving heat source based on Goldac's double ellipsoidal model was designed using the DFLUX subroutine. The element birth technique has been used to activate the various layers. The developed model is validated with experimentally observed temperature, and a good correlation is obtained. The effect of power and scan speed on the WAAM process has been studied to develop a relationship between maximum temperature, liquid lifetime, and porosity. An X-ray was done to check the porosity of the additively manufactured specimen. At higher power and lower scan speed, the liquid lifetime was observed to be increased along with the increase in depth of the molten pool leading to the formation of porosity. In other cases, at lower power and higher scan speed, the liquid lifetime was observed to be decreased along with the decrease in depth of the molten pool. The higher scan speeds resulted in higher cooling rates, which caused a lack of fusion between the layers of the product. In this case, a ball-shaped melt deposit was observed due to a lower deposition rate due to lower power. • A thermal model is developed to simulate WAAM and is validated with the experimentally observed temperature. • The element birth technique has been used to activate the various layers during the process. • A correlation between maximum temperature, liquid lifetime, and porosity is established. • Temperature contour and liquid lifespan can predict the formation of porosity during the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tschimganine inhibits growth and extends the chronological lifespan in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We synthesized a Tschimganine analog, Mochimganine, which extends the lifespan similar to Tschimganine but exhibits a significantly weaker growth inhibition effect. Based on the comparative analysis of these compounds, we propose that Tschimganine has at least 2 targets: one extends the lifespan and the other inhibits growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term adhoc network refers to a network that is created spontaneously, self-powered and infrastructure less networks. The energy in adhoc network does a crucial role in lengthening the network life span. The energy saving techniques in adhoc networks help to overcome the problem of link breakage. adhoc networks are generally used for specific scenarios, such as Earth Quakes, Military, Wild Life Monitoring, under water surveillance monitoring and disaster management. In this type of scenario, adhoc network nodes are located normally far away from each other and each node is independent in network and individually powered by batteries. So, Battery is the major constraint of this type of adhoc network. In an adhoc network, communication between nodes is possible by one another through forwarding packets and finding the paths to the destination by itself. Path selection in an adhoc network keeps in consideration energy usage, to increase the duration of the network. The selection of the optimal path can increase the duration of the network, if the highest leftover energy parameter is used to choose a path and a path with less hop count, the possibility of increase in network lifetime is more. The path selection is performed using the adhoc routing protocols and the AODV protocol has already been proven by researchers that it is appropriate for use in an adhoc network to increase battery efficiency and to lengthen the network life span. But, the AODV protocol has many disadvantages while determining the optimal path due to the reason, such as AODV protocol always tends to choose the shortest path without calculating the intermediary node residual energy, and then this leads to link breakage in the path. To overcome this drawback of the AODV protocol, we have designed a newly modified protocol called the Optimized Residual Energy Selection Adhoc On Demand Distance Vector (ORES-AODV) protocol, which selects the optimal path by calculating the average of maximum residual energy and by finding the average energy overhead of the intermediate nodes in the path and the mobility of the nodes are compared using mobility models. This protocol is 7% efficient than the other protocols proposed by taking AODV as the base protocol. Another Adhoc Network, the Wireless Sensor Network, has seen tremendous research in several years to solve the energy dissipation problem. To address the issue of energy waste in Wireless Sensor Networks, a new protocol called Modified Mobile-sinks-based Energy-efficient Clustering Algorithm (M-MECA) is introduced, which is based on mobile sink and clustering. The proposed protocol is compared with other protocols and the protocol developed is 6% efficient as evaluated with other protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence linking nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) air pollution to life span of high-vulnerability older adults is extensively scarce in low- and middle-income countries. This study seeks to quantify mortality risk, excess deaths, and loss of life expectancy (LLE) associated with long-term exposure to NO 2 among elderly individuals in China. A nationwide dynamic cohort of 20352 respondents ≥65 years old were enrolled from the China Longitudinal Health and Longevity Survey during 2005–2018. Residential exposures to NO 2 and co-pollutants were assessed by well-validated spatiotemporal prediction models. A Cox regression model with time-dependent covariates was utilized to quantify the association of all-cause mortality with NO 2 exposure, controlling for confounders such as demographics, lifestyle, health status, and ambient temperature. NO 2 -attributable deaths and LLE were evaluated for the years 2010 and 2020 based on the pooled NO 2 -mortality relation derived from multi-national cohort investigations. Decomposition analyses were conducted to dissociate net shift in NO 2 -related deaths between 2010 and 2020 into four primary contributing factors. A total of 14313 deaths were recorded during follow-up of approximately 100 hundred person-years (median 3.6 years). We observed an approximately linear relationship (nonlinear P = 0.882) of NO 2 exposure with all-cause death across a broad range from 6.6 to 95.7 μg/m3. Every 10-μg/m3 rise in yearly average NO 2 concentration was linked to a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.045 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.031–1.059). In the updated meta-analysis of this study and 9 existing cohorts, we estimated a pooled HR of 1.043 (95% CI: 1.023–1.063) for each 10-μg/m3 growth in NO 2. Reaching a 10-μg/m3 counterfactual target of NO 2 concentration in China could avoid 0.33 (95% empirical CI: 0.19–0.49) million premature deaths and an LLE of 0.40 (95% empirical CI: 0.23–0.59) years in 2010, which greatly dropped to 0.24 (95% empirical CI: 0.14–0.36) million deaths and 0.21 (95% empirical CI: 0.12–0.31) years of LLE in 2020. The net fall in NO 2 -attributable deaths (–26.8%) between 2010 and 2020 was primarily driven by the declines in both NO 2 concentration (–41.6%) and mortality rate (–27.1%) under population growth (+41.0%) and age structure transition (+0.9%). Our findings provide national evidence for increased risk of premature death and loss of life expectancy attributed to later-life NO 2 exposure among the elderly in China. In an accelerated aging society, strengthened clean air actions should be formulated to minimize the health burden and regional inequality in NO 2 -attributable mortality. • Linear NO 2 -mortality association was observed in elders aged 80 years and over. • Meta-analysis estimated a 4.3% excess risk of death for each 10-μg/m3 rise in NO 2. • Reaching NO 2 target of 10 μg/m3 in 2020 could extend life expectancy by 0.21 years. • Decrease in NO 2 -related deaths during 2010–2020 was primarily driven by declined NO 2 concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dinbilimleri Journal is the property of Dinbilimleri Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Current evidence suggests a need for a care model that supports the prevention of secondary health conditions in people with spinal cord injury. Multiple complex factors influence the prevention of secondary health conditions. There is a need for holistic and systems-based prevention approaches, which target multiple levels. Objective: To identify the services and interventions needed to prevent secondary health conditions throughout the life span of people with spinal cord injury. Method: We used a descriptive qualitative approach. Data was collected using focus group discussions with professionals in the rehabilitation field. The recorded group discussions were transcribed verbatim, and content analysis was conducted. Results: Four focus group discussions were conducted. Four themes emerged from the analyses: patient-centred care, access to resources, promotion of health, and skilled healthcare workers. Conclusions: The suggested services and interventions needed to prevent secondary health conditions target the individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), health providers, health systems care approach and other sectors outside the health system. These services and interventions will inform the development of a preventive care model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doctors have always wondering the new technology and improvement in the up gradation of the current technology; Dental Procedures and Surgery is always critical as it is the major operation which everybody experiences once in the entire life span. To resolve the complexity of the dental surgery on Implant device like brackets, this device is developed to pre-define the angular disposition based on structure of the teeth and also location and direction where to implant the bracket for braces and help to locate the exact position on the teeth were the surgery is to be executed were parts can mounted at a perfect angle in the human mouth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the Cauchy problem for a modified Euler-Poisson system (mEP) in one dimension. We first establish the local well-posedness of this system, and then show that a finite maximal life span for a solution necessarily implies wave breaking. Some sufficient conditions on the initial data that lead to finite time wave-breaking of solutions are given. In addition, we provide a persistence result for solutions of the mEP system in weighted Lp-spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Dalian University of Technology / Dalian Ligong Daxue Xuebao is the property of Journal of Dalian University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) algorithm has various demerits like picking of cluster head during each round which depletes energy of the node, non consideration of residual energy to name a few. Due to this, researchers are focusing on ways to boost the LEACH algorithm and making it more efficient for practical use. To address the issues of LEACH like the non uniformity of the amount of cluster heads and disregard of the unconsumed power of the nodes, this paper proposes an enhanced algorithm called ESO-LEACH. In this work, meta-heuristic particle swarm enhancement is utilized for initially clustering the sensor nodes. The concept of advanced nodes and enhanced set of rules for CH election is used to minimize the random nature of the algorithm in the proposed ESO-LEACH. Python-based recreation outputs show that ESO-LEACH outflanks conventional LEACH, and enhances the network's life span. The python based results obtained for the proposed ESO-LEACH algorithm and by performing its comparison with an existing LEACH algorithm shows that lifespan of network using ESO-LEACH is coming out to be almost double than the lifespan of network using LEACH protocol which indicates that the enhanced proposed algorithm is successful in extending network lifespan adequately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of different canal tapers and access cavity designs on the life span of endodontically treated mandibular first molars using the finite element method. Finite element analysis was performed on simulated models with 3 access cavity designs (traditional, conservative, and truss). The mesial canals were prepared to either constant tapers of 25/.04 and 25/.06 or a variable taper corresponding to the cumulative canal preparation shapes of TruNatomy Prime (Dentsply Sirona, Charlotte, NC) and ProTaper Gold F2 (Dentsply Sirona). The distal canals in all models had a 40/.04 preparation. Using occlusal fingerprint analysis, all models were subjected to cyclic occlusal loading until model failure. The number of cycles until failure, the location of failure, stress distribution patterns, and the maximum von Mises stresses were assessed. The traditional access models showed a lower life span than the conservative and truss models regardless of the canal taper, whereas there was not a notable difference in the conservative and truss models. The stresses migrated apically along the root surface and remarkably on the mesial aspect of the mesial root and the furcation area's outer surface. After root canal preparation with different tapers, there were no evident changes in the pattern and magnitude of the stresses distributed along the root surface. The life span of the tooth is affected more significantly by the access cavity design than the root canal preparation taper. Because stress patterns migrate apically rather than concentrate in the pericervical area, crack initiation and propagation might occur anywhere on the root surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The learning effectiveness of video lectures has been extensively studied by the scientific community, but research on their cost-effectiveness and sustainable production is still very scarce. To shed light on these aspects, this study has measured the useful life span and cost-effectiveness of a large catalog of video lectures produced for undergraduate courses at a Spanish university. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis has been performed to identify factors linked to video longevity. The analysis accounted for variables such as the video production style (screencast, slideshow, chalk and talk, talking head, and onlocation film) and others such as the instructional purpose and field of knowledge. The teachers involved in video production and integration have been surveyed to discover causes of video obsolescence. In addition, using life span and production cost data, the cost-effectiveness of each production style over time was estimated. The results suggest that production style affects video longevity, and in particular, dynamic visuals are more related to longer life spans compared with static contents. Screencast stands out as the most cost-effective production style, having the best ratio of life span to production effort. Some practical suggestions are provided for producing video lectures with higher longevity expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Although adults with schizophrenia have an increased risk of suicide, sample size limitations of previous research have hindered characterizations of suicide risk across the life span.Objective: To describe suicide mortality rates and correlates among adults with schizophrenia across the life span and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for suicide compared with the general US population.Design, Setting, and Participants: Five national retrospective longitudinal cohorts of patients with schizophrenia in the Medicare program from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2016, were identified by age: 18 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 years or older. Death record information was obtained from the National Death Index. The total cohort included 668 836 Medicare patients with schizophrenia, 2 997 308 years of follow-up, and 2218 suicide deaths. Data were analyzed from September 30, 2020, to March 10, 2021.Main Outcomes and Measures: For each age group, suicide mortality rates per 100 000 person-years and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% CIs of suicide were determined. Suicide SMRs were estimated for the total cohort and by sex and age cohorts standardized to the general US population by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.Results: The study population of adults 18 years and older included 668 836 Medicare recipients with schizophrenia (52.5% men, 47.5% women). The total suicide rate per 100 000 person-years was 74.00, which is 4.5 times higher than that for the general US population (SMR, 4.54; 95% CI, 4.35-4.73) and included a rate of 88.96 for men and 56.33 for women, which are 3.4 (SMR, 3.39; 95% CI, 3.22-3.57) and 8.2 (SMR, 8.16; 95% CI, 7.60-8.75) times higher, respectively, than the rates for the general US population. Suicide rates were significantly higher for men (aHR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.29-1.61) and those with depressive (aHR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.17-1.50), anxiety (aHR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.30), drug use (aHR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.36-1.76), and sleep disorders (aHR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.39), suicidal ideation (aHR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.22-1.63), and suicide attempts or self-injury (aHR, 2.48; 95% CI, 2.06-2.98). The adjusted hazards of suicide were lower for Hispanic patients (aHR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.54-0.80) or Black patients (aHR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.24-0.35) than White patients. The suicide rate declined with age, from 141.95 (SMR, 10.19; 95% CI, 9.29-11.18) for patients aged 18 to 34 years to 24.01 (SMR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.32-1.77) for patients 65 years or older. The corresponding declines per 100 000 person-years were from 153.80 (18-34 years of age) to 34.17 (65 years or older) for men and from 115.70 (18-34 years of age) to 18.66 (65 years or older) for women. In the group aged 18 to 34 years, the adjusted hazards of suicide risk were significantly increased for patients with suicide attempt or self-injury (aHR, 2.57; 95% CI, 18.20-2.04) and with comorbid drug use disorders (aHR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.17-1.88), but not with comorbid depressive disorders (aHR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.38-1.26) during the year before the start of follow-up.Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of adult Medicare patients with schizophrenia, suicide risk was elevated, with the highest absolute and relative risk among young adults. These patterns support suicide prevention efforts with a focus on young adults with schizophrenia, especially those with suicidal symptoms and substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing planetary demands of clean energy, solar photovoltaic system electricity generation has become mandatory in today's world. At the same time, when we look towards photovoltaic waste volume in India, it is estimated to burst forth to 200,000 by 2030 and around 1.8 million tons by 2050. Therefore, there is a dire need to scale up the PV recycle method from lab to full-fledged industry. Most of the developed countries such as China, UK, Japan, etc. have ensued their PV scarp management policies but in context to Indian prospective, it is yet to be established. The paper focuses on the effective remedy of environmental and socio-economic impact arising during the life span fulfilment of c-Si, CdTe, CdS and CIS. Over here, a sustainable novel policy framework is put forward to potentially tackle the above-mentioned problem which is still to be adopted by the Indian Government for further implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article aims to explore and discuss dispute resolutions among the ethnic Simalungun in Indonesia. The problem is focused on the pentagonal relationship in social structures. The theoretical basis refers to Radcliffe-Brown structural-functionalism. The data was collected through observation and in-depth interviews. The observed disputes occurred in four different villages of Haranggaol, Purbatongah, Rayahuluan, and Merekraya. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 families involved in the dispute. The focus of disputes includes cultivation boundaries, inheritance rights, theft, and elopement. The descriptive-qualitative approach is used to analyze problems. The study found that the pentagonal relationship of the Lima Saodoran structures has roles and functions that span the entire life process. The novelty of the study is that the structure of Boru, Boru ni Boru, and Sanina are central figures acting as peacemakers to mediate disputes. The study concludes that the quality of the pentagonal relationship in a resolution lies in the retrospection of functions according to the primordial position of the structure. The quality of a stable pentagonal relation impacts the stability of the structure, whereas dysfunction has an impact on structural collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A part's mechanical life span significantly depends on its microstructure, residual stress state and material hardness. Current research shows that the mechanical surface-strengthening process of deep-rolling is a suitable method for the alteration of surface and subsurface properties with the aim of increasing strength and life span of highly stressed components. Further increase in the mechanical life span can be reached using the turning process temperature while deep-rolling. For this purpose, a turn-rolling tool has been developed. Especially concerning soft machining operations, the induced process temperatures lead to higher degrees of plastic deformation in the subsurface of the material. This results in lower surface roughness, higher hardness and an optimal residual stress state. Furthermore, the turn-rolling process leads to positive properties regarding the part's microstructure because of the increased elastic and plastic deformations in the subsurface thanks to the combination of thermo-mechanical interactions within the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceptance of NAND flash memories in the electronic world, due to its non-volatility, high density, low power consumption, small size and fast access speed is hopeful. Due to the limitations in life span and wear levelling, this memory needs special attention in its management techniques compared to the conventional techniques used in hard disks. In this paper, an efficient page replacement algorithm is proposed for NAND flash based memory systems. The proposed algorithm focuses on decision making policies based on the relative reference ratio of pages in memory. The size adjustable eviction window and the relative reference based shadow list management technique proposed by the algorithm contribute much to the efficiency in page replacement procedure. The simulation tool based experiments conducted shows that the proposed algorithm performs superior to the well-known flash based page replacement algorithms with regard to page hit ratio and memory read/write operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The part life span significantly depends on microstructure and the residual stress state. The current state of research shows that the mechanical surface strengthening process deep-rolling is a suitable method for alteration of surface and subsurface properties to increase strength and life span of highly stressed components. A further increase in the life span can be reached by using the process temperature of the turning process to enhance the influences of deep rolling. For this purpose, a turn-rolling tool was developed. Especially concerning soft machining operations, the induced process temperatures can lead to higher compressive residual stresses, and finally, to higher part life spans. For this, it is necessary to consider the influence of heat on the component caused by the turning process. Therefore, a novel approach to the design of process parameters and tool geometries for turn-rolling based on 3D FEM simulations was developed in this work. Based on this approach, it was shown that depending on process parameters and tool microgeometry, the component temperature can be specifically influenced near the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lifetime sports, such as tennis, provide opportunities for participation throughout the lifespan and has been linked with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. The objective of this study was to consider the influence of chronic tennis participation on various parameters of health. Members of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) completed a survey consisting of questions from International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Satisfaction With Life Survey (SWLS), and specific tennis participation questions. Descriptive characteristics were calculated for all variables and a chi-squared analysis was used to compare prevalence of health variables of this sample and recent BRFSS data. Compared to the BRFSS greater proportion of study participants 45yrs and older frequently reported being in good or better health (Χ²=7.946, p = 0.005); lower obesity rates (Χ²=19.92, p = 0.0001); and a lower prevalence of heart disease than those of similar age who completed BRFSS (Χ²= 8.759, p = 0.003). This study highlights the importance of activities that continue throughout the lifespan such as tennis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation of post-synaptic receptors plays an important role in determining synaptic strength and plasticity. The Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (nmj) has been used extensively as a model to understand some of these processes. In this context, we are interested in the role of Drosophila Monensin sensitivity protein 1 (DMon1) in regulating glutamate receptor (GluRIIA) levels at the nmj. DMon1 is an evolutionarily conserved protein which, in complex with calcium caffeine zinc sensitivity1 (CCZ1), regulates the conversion of early endosomes to late endosomes through recruitment of Rab7. C-terminal deletion mutants of Dmon1 (Dmon1D181) exhibit lethality. The escapers have a short life span and exhibit severe motor defects. At the nmj, these mutants show defects in synaptic morphology and a strong increase in GluRIIA levels. The mechanism by which Dmon1 regulates GluRIIA is unclear. In this study, we have characterized an EMS mutant referred to as pog1 and demonstrate it to be an allele of Dmon1. Further, we have examined the role of rab7 in regulating GluRIIA. We show that similar to Dmon1, knock-down of rab7 using RNAi in neurons, but not muscles, leads to an increase in GluRIIA. Loss of one copy each of Dmon1 and rab7 leads to a synergistic increase in receptor expression. Further, overexpression of an activated Rab7 can rescue the GluRIIA phenotype observed in Dmon1D181 mutants. Together, these results highlight a neuronal role for Rab7 in GluRIIA regulation and underscore the importance of the endo-lysosomal pathway in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translanguaging claims to advance social justice as a transformative pedagogy. This paper analyses a tension which developed over the life span of a European research project which aimed to improve the educational experience for Eastern European Roma pupils through teachers' employment of a translanguaging pedagogy. Roma are ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous, but as a minority group face continued racism, whilst Roma pupils face educational exclusion. The voices of Roma parents, pupils and activists and academics alerted us to potential threats in utilising translanguaging as a political act for transformation in education. They revealed a central tension between recognition of linguistic pluralism for emancipation at school level (with possibilities for policy level changes at local or national levels) and unifying endeavours for collective action towards equality and human rights at a (trans)national level. To understand this tension we reframed it in light of the postmodernist positioning of translanguaging, and critiques of the de-politicizing tendencies of postmodernism. In proposing a way forward for research and pedagogy, we carve a path between pluralism and collectivism by placing translanguaging pedagogy and associated research into Nancy Fraser's integrative model of recognition and redistribution for transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture plays an important role in the life span of human being not only for their survival but for the better economic growth of the country too. Precision agriculture is the new trending term in the field of technology whose main motive is to reduce the workload of the farmers and increase the productivity of the farms by using technologies like I.O.T, WSNs, Remote Sensing, Drone surveillance and many more. In this paper, we show the work done by our cost effective and reliable device whose aim is to irrigate fields only when there is a need of water and to provide information about detection of any intrusion in agricultural fields. The information is sent to the farmers by using cloud application. The performance of our system is measured in terms of intrusion detection and moisture of soil for irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study was to examine the effect of family planning based on the methods of contraceptives on women life span (female life expectancy), using the secondary data collected from the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Lagos Bureau of Statistics (LBS) and World Bank Statistical database. Analytically, regression model was employed in this study. The data, being a time series data was tested for stationarity using the augmented Dickey-Fuller test and the test indicates that the data were stationary. The results obtained indicate that the method of contraceptives and age are statistically significant for predicting women life span. The coefficient of determination in the regression output also revealed that 93.37% (0.9337) of the total variation in life expectancy was accounted for by the use of contraceptive (injectable, Oral, pills and IUCD) and age with other variables in the expectancy. This study concludes that that the independent variables explain the dependent variable substantially and recommends the need to provide aggressively family planning education, so that people can understand the use, cope with it, take control and develop survival skills. The analyses were done in Minitab and E-views statistical packages to estimate the parameters of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of transgenic insect-resistant Bt cotton Zhongkangza 5 and Lumianyan 23 and Bt + CpTI cotton sGK958 and Zhongmiansuo 45 on Tetranychus cinnabarinus growth and reproduction were compared with those of nontransgenic cotton (K836) under laboratory conditions. Developmental times of different T. cinnabarinus stages fed on transgenic Bt and Bt + CpTI cotton differed significantly from those fed on K836. Pre-oviposition (1.44 d) and oviposition (12.71 d) periods and female life span (14.11 d) were longer on K836 than on transgenic cotton. Maximum fecundity was 75.61 eggs per female on K836, while minimum fecundity was 54.68 eggs per female on sGK958. Net reproductive rate was highest with 55.00 female offspring on K836, whereas the lowest was 37.219 female offspring on Zhongkangza 5. The highest intrinsic rate of increase was 0.454 day−1 on K836, whereas the lowest was 0.246 day−1 on Zhongkangza 5. The highest finite rate of increase was 1.575 day−1 on K836, whereas the lowest was 1.278 day−1 on Zhongkangza 5. The shortest population doubling time was 1.526 d on K836, while the longest was 2.823 d on Zhongkangza 5. Thus, transgenic cotton inhibited T. cinnabarinus development and reproduction, indicating transgenic cotton could prevent damage by T. cinnabarinus or other pests. • The life spans of T. cinnabarinus feeding on transgenic cottons were shortened than CK. • The fecundities of T. cinnabarinus feeding on transgenic cottons were decreased significantly than CK. • The intrinsic rate of T. cinnabarinus feeding on transgenic cottons were lower than CK. • Feeding on transgenic cotton inhibited the development and reproduction of T. cinnabarinus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ankle-complex proprioception progressed from a lower level in childhood to its highest in young adulthood. • Ankle-complex proprioceptive sensitivity reached its peak later than the auditory and visual acuity peak. • The least sensitive ankle-complex proprioceptive ability was found in people older than 75 years of age. • From young to old adulthood, ankle-complex proprioception was negatively correlated with age. Ankle complex proprioceptive ability, needed in active human movement, may change from childhood to elderly adulthood; however, its development across all life stages has remained unexamined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the across-the-lifespan trend for proprioceptive ability of the ankle complex during active ankle inversion movement. The right ankles of 118 healthy right-handed participants in 6 groups were assessed: children (6–8 years old), adolescents (13–15 years old), young adults (18–25 years old), middle-aged adults (35–50 years old), old adults (60–74 years old), and very old adults (75–90 years old). While the participants were standing, their ankle complex proprioception was measured using the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus. There was no significant interaction between the effects of age group and gender on ankle proprioceptive acuity (F (5, 106) = 0.593, p = 0.705, η2 p = 0.027). Simple main effects analysis showed that there was a significant main effect for age group (F (5, 106) = 22.521, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.515) but no significant main effect for gender (F (1,106) = 2.283 , p = 0.134, η 2 p = 0.021) between the female (0.723 ± 0.092, mean ± SD) and the male (0.712 ± 0.083) participants. The age-group factor was associated with a significant linear downward trend in scores (F (1, 106) = 10.584, p = 0.002, η 2 p = 0.091) and a strong quadratic trend component (F (1,106) = 100.701, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.480), producing an asymmetric inverted-U function. The test method of the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus is sensitive to age differences in ankle complex proprioception. For proprioception of the ankle complex, young adults had significantly better scores than children, adolescents, old adults, and very old adults. The middle-aged group had levels of ankle proprioceptive acuity similar to those of the young adults. The scores for males and females were not significantly different. Examination of the range of the scores in each age group highlights the possible level that ankle complex movement proprioceptive rehabilitation can reach, especially for those 75–90 years of age. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the protection systems of power distribution networks, surge arresters are critical for protecting the grid against overvoltages caused by lightning. This equipment is subject to high voltages and currents during its operation, which degrades its expected lifetime. In general, the replacement of surge arresters is based on corrective maintenance procedures, which exposes the electrical system to failures since the protective characteristics of the arresters have already degraded. In this context, we seek to develop a new method for estimating the life span of surge arresters and a set of criteria for their preventive replacement. The method consists of assessing the correlation between fault occurrences in a distribution system with the occurrence of lightning in the concession area of a power utility company. In addition, the method assesses the correlation between the fault and lightning occurrences and data related to the degradation of such devices obtained by experimental and field tests in new surge arresters to estimate their life span and to implement a decision-making support system for their preventive substitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population size and survival are crucial factors to understand population dynamics of a given species, especially those that have long life spans and delayed sexual maturity, such as Pteropodidae bats. We studied the population size and apparent survival of individuals at a day roost site of an endemic cave-dwelling Malagasy fruit bat, Rousettus madagascariensis, in relation with age and sex. 1,801 individuals were captured and tagged over the course of four years in the Grotte des Chauves-souris, Réserve Spéciale d'Ankarana, northern Madagascar. The Cormack-Jolly-Seber model and the POPAN model in the program MARK were used to analyze mark-recapture data and to estimate apparent individual survival and population size. The apparent survival of individuals ranged from 0.46 to 0.60, but exhibited significant variability associated with age, sex, and time. Apparent survival is lower in adults compared to sub-adults (Φadult = 0.49; Φsub-adult = 0.63). For adults, the apparent survival of males was higher (Φmale = 0.50; Φfemale = 0.47), and conversely for sub-adults, it was in favor of females (Φmale = 0.55; Φfemale = 0.70). Population size ranged from 1,245 (CI: 268–3,050) to 5,868 (CI: 3,520–10,601) and was significantly higher during the wet season as compared to the dry season. The survival rate in this population is strongly influenced by mortality and secondarily by dispersal. We found that the apparent survival of individuals has a positive impact on population growth but less than birth rate. Thus, the health and sustainability of the population relies heavily on individual survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Organic selenium compounds have several pharmacological activities already described, as anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities, which have been attributed to their antioxidant effects. Because they are promising in pharmacology, the synthesis of these compounds has increased significantly. As many new molecules are synthesized the use of a simple model like Caenorhabditis elegans is highly advantageous for initial evaluation of the toxicity and therapeutic potential of these molecules. The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and antioxidant capacity of a series of selenotriazoles compounds in C. elegans. The animals were exposed to the compounds in liquid medium for only 30 min at the first larval stage (L1). The compounds had no toxic effects at the concentrations tested. Treatment with selenotriazoles (10 μM) partially reversed the stress induced by the pesticide paraquat (1 mM). Se-Tz Ia compound partially increased the survival of worms treated with H 2 O 2 (0.5 mM). The compounds also increased the longevity of mev-1 mutants, which have a reduced life span by the production of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the mitochondria caused by a mutation in complex II of the electron transport chain. In addition, the compounds reduced the levels of ROS determined by the fluorescent probe DCF-DA as well as also reduced catalase enzyme activity in these animals. Based on the results found, it is possible to conclude that the compounds have antioxidant activity mainly in oxidative stress condition generated by a mitochondrial dysfunction in C. elegans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Epinephelus areolatus and Siganus canaliculatus are two species of fisheries importance associated with vegetated habitats, which are in turn threatened by human activities such as land filling. We tested their associations with vegetated habitats in the Arabian Gulf and examined essential life history traits to infer their vulnerability to the degradation of vegetated habitats. Epinephelus areolatus is found to be more abundant at deeper offshore vegetated habitats, while S. canaliculatus has higher abundance at shallow nearshore habitats. Epinephelus areolatus exhibits a longer life span, lower growth coefficient, larger size at 50% maturity, lower natural mortality, and protogynous sexual pattern, compared to Siganus canaliculatus. Accordingly, Epinephelus areolatus is expected to be more vulnerable to habitat degradation and environmental fluctuations. Different preferences in using vegetated habitats and degrees of vulnerability to habitat degradation for these two species could be further integrated to set priorities for management and conservation plans. Highlights • We examined the associations to vegetated habitats and the vulnerability to habitat degradation for these two species. • The abundance of both Epinephelus areolatus and Siganus canaliculatus were associated with vegetated habitats. • E. areolatus is predicted to be more vulnerable to habitat degradation based on life history traits. • The sustainability of S. canaliculatus could be affected by the degradation of nearshore vegetated habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Deviation from normal adolescent brain development precedes manifestations of many major psychiatric symptoms. Such altered developmental trajectories in adolescents may be linked to genetic risk for psychopathology.Objective: To identify genetic variants associated with adolescent brain structure and explore psychopathologic relevance of such associations.Design, Setting, and Participants: Voxelwise genome-wide association study in a cohort of healthy adolescents aged 14 years and validation of the findings using 4 independent samples across the life span with allele-specific expression analysis of top hits. Group comparison of the identified gene-brain association among patients with schizophrenia, unaffected siblings, and healthy control individuals. This was a population-based, multicenter study combined with a clinical sample that included participants from the IMAGEN cohort, Saguenay Youth Study, Three-City Study, and Lieber Institute for Brain Development sample cohorts and UK biobank who were assessed for both brain imaging and genetic sequencing. Clinical samples included patients with schizophrenia and unaffected siblings of patients from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development study. Data were analyzed between October 2015 and April 2018.Main Outcomes and Measures: Gray matter volume was assessed by neuroimaging and genetic variants were genotyped by Illumina BeadChip.Results: The discovery sample included 1721 adolescents (873 girls [50.7%]), with a mean (SD) age of 14.44 (0.41) years. The replication samples consisted of 8690 healthy adults (4497 women [51.8%]) from 4 independent studies across the life span. A nonsynonymous genetic variant (minor T allele of rs13107325 in SLC39A8, a gene implicated in schizophrenia) was associated with greater gray matter volume of the putamen (variance explained of 4.21% in the left hemisphere; 8.66; 95% CI, 6.59-10.81; P = 5.35 × 10-18; and 4.44% in the right hemisphere; t = 8.90; 95% CI, 6.75-11.19; P = 6.80 × 10-19) and also with a lower gene expression of SLC39A8 specifically in the putamen (t127 = -3.87; P = 1.70 × 10-4). The identified association was validated in samples across the life span but was significantly weakened in both patients with schizophrenia (z = -3.05; P = .002; n = 157) and unaffected siblings (z = -2.08; P = .04; n = 149).Conclusions and Relevance: Our results show that a missense mutation in gene SLC39A8 is associated with larger gray matter volume in the putamen and that this association is significantly weakened in schizophrenia. These results may suggest a role for aberrant ion transport in the etiology of psychosis and provide a target for preemptive developmental interventions aimed at restoring the functional effect of this mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the average lifespan lengthens worldwide, and the older adult population increases, the number of elderly patients with uterine cervical cancer is increasing. Because intensive and invasive treatments, including surgery, are frequently unacceptable in elderly patients, cancer treatments for these patients must be carefully considered. Elderly patients have undergone radiation therapy as less-invasive curative treatment, and it has been shown to be safe and effective for local control of cervical cancer in this population, even among patients aged ≥80 years treated with curative radiation doses. Although concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer, it is unclear whether the addition of chemotherapy to radiation therapy prolongs survival in elderly patients. Elderly patients treated with curative radiation therapy for cervical cancer might develop more therapy-related gastrointestinal and hematological toxicities and insufficiency fractures compared with younger patients. However, advanced techniques of radiation therapy (eg, intensity-modulated radiation therapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy with photons, charged-particle radiation therapy with protons and carbon ions in external-beam radiation therapy, and image-guided adaptive brachytherapy) can minimize radiation-induced toxicities and thus make curative treatment safer and more effective for elderly patients with uterine cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the large-scale production and use of plastic products, the global plastic pollution problem is becoming more and more serious. The plasticizer di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is widely used in the production of plastics, has caused great concern for the health of the population. Exposure of organisms to DEHP can cause a variety of health damage, of which reproductive system damage is an important part. At present, there are still few studies on DEHP in reproductive aging, and it is of great significance to explore the role of DEHP in promoting reproductive aging and its underlying mechanism. In this study, the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was used to preliminarily explore the mechanism of DEHP-induced female reproductive senescence. The results showed that DEHP reduced the number of offspring and gonad area of C. elegans , resulting in shortened reproductive and life span, abnormal phenotypes in somatic gonad structure including the Emo phenotype, the BOW phenotype, a twisted gonad arm, and atrophied oocytes. Biochemical studies showed that DEHP promoted oxidative stress and autophagy in C. elegans. Further, we found the decreased number of offspring, malformed somatic gonad structure, oxidative damage and autophagy induced by DEHP in parental worms can be inheritance to the not directly exposed offspring. [Display omitted] • DEHP exposure induces reproductive toxicity and reproductive aging in C. elegans. • DEHP exposure promotes oxidative stress and autophagy in C. elegans. • The reproductive toxicity and reproductive aging induced by DEHP shows heritable across generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]