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The purpose of this case was to report the impact of early use of high-volume hemofiltration on a previously healthy male admitted after sustaining a high-voltage electrical injury. Initial labs revealed acute kidney injury secondary to rhabdomyolysis with myoglobinuria. The patient required fasciotomies to the three affected extremities and a right above the elbow amputation. Aggressive fluid resuscitation failed to maintain urine output above 20 mL/h. By 24 h, the patient had a 12.8 L positive fluid balance. High-volume hemofiltration was initiated at 60 mL/kg/h using a system with a high cut-off filter for acute kidney injury and volume management. Urine myoglobin was negative by day 3 and serum myoglobin decreased to 221.46 nmol/L. He was extubated on day 5, achieved euvolemia on day 6, and high-volume hemofiltration was discontinued on day 13 with subsequent full renal recovery. He underwent several staged surgeries for burn wound excision and grafting, and the left lower extremity was salvaged. His length of stay was prolonged due to multiple social barriers, but free of sepsis and pneumonia. Early initiation of high-volume hemofiltration with a high cut-off filter helped to expedite removal of acute kidney injury and enable more effective volume management to minimize complications of high-voltage electrical injury and its treatment and likely improve outcomes.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a core role in maintaining immune tolerance, homeostasis, and host health. High-resolution analysis of the Treg proteome is required to identify enriched biological processes and pathways distinct to this important immune cell lineage. We present a comprehensive proteomic dataset of Tregs paired with conventional CD4+ (Conv CD4+) T cells in healthy individuals. Tregs and Conv CD4+ T cells were sorted to high purity using dual magnetic bead-based and flow cytometry-based methodologies. Proteins were trypsin-digested and analysed using label-free data-dependent acquisition mass spectrometry (DDA-MS) followed by label free quantitation (LFQ) proteomics analysis using MaxQuant software. Approximately 4,000 T cell proteins were identified with a 1% false discovery rate, of which approximately 2,800 proteins were consistently identified and quantified in all the samples. Finally, flow cytometry with a monoclonal antibody was used to validate the elevated abundance of the protein phosphatase CD148 in Tregs. This proteomic dataset serves as a reference point for future mechanistic and clinical T cell immunology and identifies receptors, processes, and pathways distinct to Tregs. Collectively, these data will lead to a better understanding of Treg immunophysiology and potentially reveal novel leads for therapeutics seeking Treg regulation.

Summary Negative emissions technologies will play a critical role in limiting global warming to sustainable levels. Electrocatalytic and/or photocatalytic CO2 reduction will likely play an important role in this field moving forward, but efficient, selective catalyst materials are needed to enable the widespread adoption of these processes. The rational design of such materials is highly challenging, however, due to the complexity of the reactions involved as well as the large number of structural variables which can influence behavior at heterogeneous interfaces. Currently, there is a significant disconnect between the complexity of materials systems that can be handled experimentally and those that can be modeled theoretically with appropriate rigor and bridging these gaps would greatly accelerate advancements in the field of Negative Emissions Science (NES). Here, we present a perspective on how these gaps between materials design/synthesis, characterization, and theory can be resolved, enabling the rational development of improved materials for CO2 conversion and other NES applications., Graphical abstract, Catalysis; Electrochemistry; Materials science; Materials synthesis; Computational materials science

COVID-19 in the UK has been characterised by periods of exponential growth and decline, as different non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are brought into play. During the early uncontrolled phase of the outbreak (March 2020) there was a period of prolonged exponential growth with epidemiological observations such as hospitalisation doubling every 3–4 days. The enforcement of strict lockdown measures led to a noticeable decline in all epidemic quantities that slowed during the summer as control measures were relaxed. From August 2020, infections, hospitalisations and deaths began rising once more and various NPIs were applied locally throughout the UK in response. Controlling any rise in infection is a compromise between public health and societal costs, with more stringent NPIs reducing cases but damaging the economy and restricting freedoms. Typically, NPI imposition is made in response to the epidemiological state, are of indefinite length and are often imposed at short notice, greatly increasing the negative impact. An alternative approach is to consider planned, limited duration periods of strict NPIs aiming to purposefully reduce prevalence before such emergency NPIs are required. These “precautionary breaks” may offer a means of keeping control of the epidemic, while their fixed duration and the forewarning may limit their societal impact. Here, using simple analysis and age-structured models matched to the UK SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, we investigate the action of precautionary breaks. In particular we consider their impact on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as the total number of predicted hospitalisations and deaths caused by COVID-19 disease. We find that precautionary breaks provide the biggest gains when the growth rate is low, but offer a much needed brake on increasing infection when the growth rate is higher, potentially allowing other measures to regain control.

Background Around 40% of school leavers in the UK attend university and individual universities generally host thousands of students each academic year. Bringing together these student communities during the COVID-19 pandemic may require strong interventions to control transmission. Prior modelling analysis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within universities that use compartmental modelling approaches suggest that outbreaks are almost inevitable. Methods We constructed a network-based model to capture the interactions of a student population in different settings (housing, social and study). For a single academic term of a representative campus-based university, we ran a susceptible-latent-infectious-recovered type epidemic process, parameterised according to available estimates for SARS-CoV-2. We investigated the impact of: adherence to (or effectiveness of) isolation and test and trace measures; single-room isolation of cases; supplementary mass testing. Results Incorporating uncertainty in the asymptomatic fraction of cases and their associated infectivity, in the absence of interventions our model estimated that 69% (55% - 75%) of the student population could be infected during the autumn term. With full adherence to test, trace and isolate measures, we found lower cumulative infection estimates of 19% (5% - 39%). Irrespective of the adherence to isolation measures, on average a higher proportion of students resident on-campus became infected than off-campus. Room isolation generated minimal benefits. A one-off instance of mass testing would not drastically reduce the term-long case load, though if performed a couple of weeks before the end-of-term it could reduce the expected end-of-term prevalence. Regular testing, together with high adherence to isolation, test and trace measures, could reduce the proportion infected during the term by more than 50% compared to having no mass testing. Conclusions Our findings suggest SARS-CoV-2 may readily transmit in a university setting if there is limited adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions and/or there are delays in receiving test results. Following isolation guidance and effective contact tracing curbed transmission and reduced the expected time an adhering student would spend in isolation. Additionally, widespread adherence throughout the term suppresses the amount of unwitting asymptomatic transmission to family and community members in the students’ domicile regions after term ends.

The order Piroplasmida contains a diverse group of intracellular parasites, many of which can cause significant disease in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Two piroplasm species have been reported from raccoons (Procyon lotor), Babesia lotori (Babesia sensu stricto clade) and a species related to Babesia microti (called B. microti-like sp.). The goal of this study was to investigate prevalence, distribution, and diversity of Babesia in raccoons. We tested raccoons from selected regions in the United States and Canada for the presence of Babesia sensu stricto and Babesia microti-like sp. piroplasms. Infections of Babesia microti-like sp. were found in nearly all locations sampled, often with high prevalence, while Babesia sensu stricto infections had higher prevalence in the Southeastern United States (20–45% prevalence). Co-infections with both Babesia sp. were common. Sequencing of the partial 18S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes led to the discovery of two new Babesia species, both found in several locations in the eastern and western United States. One novel Babesia sensu stricto sp. was most similar to Babesia gibsoni while the other Babesia species was present in the ‘western piroplasm’ group and was related to Babesia conradae. Phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 sequences indicated possible eastern and western genetic variants for the three Babesia sensu stricto species. Additional analyses are needed to characterize these novel species; however, this study indicates there are now at least four species of piroplasms infecting raccoons in the United States and Canada (Babesia microti-like sp., Babesia lotori, a novel Babesia sensu stricto sp., a novel western Babesia sp.) and a possible fifth species (Babesia sensu stricto) in raccoons in Japan., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • Raccoons in all locations tested were infected with piroplasms. • Babesia microti-like sp. was commonly found in raccoons throughout North America. • Babesia sensu stricto spp. were less common throughout North America. • Four, possibly five, distinct species of piroplasms in raccoons. • Possible spatial genetic variation within the two raccoon piroplasm species.

Objective The endogenous estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) promotes metabolic homeostasis in premenopausal women. In a mouse model of post-menopausal metabolic syndrome, we reported that estrogens increased energy expenditure, thus preventing estrogen deficiency-induced adiposity. Estrogens' prevention of fat accumulation was associated with increased serum concentrations of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), suggesting that FGF21 participates in estrogens' promotion of energy expenditure. Methods We studied the effect of E2 on FGF21 production and the role of FGF21 in E2 stimulation of energy expenditure and prevention of adiposity, using female estrogen receptor (ER)- and FGF21-deficient mice fed a normal chow and a cohort of ovariectomized women from the French E3N prospective cohort study. Results E2 acting on the hepatocyte ERα increases hepatic expression and production of FGF21 in female mice. In vivo activation of ERα increases the transcription of Fgf21 via an estrogen response element outside the promoter of Fgf21. Treatment with E2 increases oxygen consumption and energy expenditure and prevents whole body fat accumulation in ovariectomized female WT mice. The effect of E2 on energy expenditure is not observed in FGF21-deficient mice. While E2 treatment still prevents fat accumulation in FGF21-deficient mice, this effect is decreased compared to WT mice. In an observational cohort of ovariectomized women, E2 treatment was associated with lower serum FGF21 concentrations, which may reflect a healthier metabolic profile. Conclusions In female mice, E2 action on the hepatocyte ERα increases Fgf21 transcription and FGF21 production, thus promoting energy expenditure and partially decreasing fat accumulation., Highlights • Activation of the hepatocyte ERα increases FGF21 production in female mice. • ERα increases Fgf21 transcription in vivo via an estrogen response element. • Estrogen stimulation of energy expenditure is lost in female FGF21-deficient mice. • In women, estrogen treatment is associated with lower serum FGF21 concentrations.

Optically-pumped magnetometers (OPMs) offer the potential for a step change in magnetoencephalography (MEG) enabling wearable systems that: provide improved data quality; accommodate any subject group; allow data capture during movement and offer a reduction in costs. However, OPM-MEG is still a nascent technology and, to realise its potential, it must be shown to facilitate key neuroscientific measurements, such as the characterisation of human brain networks. Networks, and the connectivities that underlie them, have become a core area of neuroscientific investigation, and their importance is underscored by many demonstrations of their perturbation in brain disorders. Consequently, a demonstration of network measurements via OPM-MEG would be a significant step forward. Here, we aimed to show that a wearable 50-channel OPM-MEG system enables characterisation of the electrophysiological connectome. To this end, we characterise connectivity in the resting state and during a simple visuo-motor task, using both OPM-MEG and a state-of-the-art 275-channel cryogenic MEG device. Our results show that connectome matrices from OPM and cryogenic systems exhibit an extremely high degree of similarity, with correlation values >70 %. This value is not measurably different to the correlation observed between connectomes measured in different subject groups, on a single scanner. In addition, similar differences in connectivity between individuals (scanned multiple times) were observed in cryogenic and OPM-MEG data, again demonstrating the fidelity of OPM-MEG data. This demonstration shows that a nascent OPM-MEG system offers results similar to a cryogenic device, even despite having ∼5 times fewer sensors. This adds weight to the argument that OPMs will ultimately supersede cryogenic sensors for MEG measurement.

This work was supported by a research grant to K.J.H. from FCT, Portugal (PTDC/CS-ANT/121124/2010) and from MEXT, Japan (CCSN/PWS-U04). We are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and research into our closest living relatives, the great apes, must keep pace with the rate that our species is driving change. While a goal of many studies is to understand how great apes behave in natural contexts, the impact of human activities must increasingly be taken into account. This is both a challenge and an opportunity, which can importantly inform research in three diverse fields: cognition, human evolution, and conservation. No long-term great ape research site is wholly unaffected by human influence, but research at those that are especially affected by human activity is particularly important for ensuring that our great ape kin survive the Anthropocene. Postprint

Drugs/medicines are part of most common clinical interventions. The terms drug and medicines are synonymously used in this chapter. Promoting the rational use of drugs is a priority for pharmacists. This is done not only by proper dispensing but pharmacists also participate in prescribing and drug administration processes with other healthcare professionals and consumers. These involvements are at both clinical and administrative levels. Being part of the drug and therapeutics committee, a pharmacist develops, implements, and monitors formulary systems. Drug use evaluation and other practice research methods support such clinical decision-making processes. Standards of practice and education evolve with frameworks such as pharmaceutical care, medication therapy management, Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes, pharmacists' patient care process, and entrustable professional activities.

This chapter focuses on the direct effects of systemic hormones on the skeleton. Parathyroid hormone increases bone formation and resorption by acting through receptors expressed in cells of the osteoblastic lineage, and exerts catabolic or anabolic effects depending on the mechanism of elevation (continuous or intermittent). The sex steroids, androgens and estrogens, protect the growing and mature skeleton through receptors expressed in osteoblasts, as well as in osteoclasts, by maintaining the balance between bone formation and resorption. Glucocorticoids, when present in excess due to endogenous elevation or to administration as immunosuppressant therapy, have deleterious effects on bone resulting from acceleration of bone resorption, inhibition of bone formation, and increased bone fragility. Other hormones, such as thyroid hormone, growth hormone, insulin, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and leptin affect bone development and homeostasis of the mature skeleton by acting on bone cells of both mesenchymal and hematopoietic lineages.

Summary The nature and anatomic location of the protective memory CD8 + T cell subset induced by intranasal vaccination remain poorly understood. We developed a vaccination model to assess the anatomic location of protective memory CD8 + T cells and their role in lower airway infections. Memory CD8 + T cells elicited by local intranasal, but not systemic, vaccination with an engineered non-replicative CD8 + T cell-targeted antigen confer enhanced protection to a lethal respiratory viral challenge. This protection depends on a distinct CXCR3 LO resident memory CD8 + T (Trm) cell population that preferentially localizes to the pulmonary interstitium. Because they are positioned close to the mucosa, where infection occurs, interstitial Trm cells act before inflammation can recruit circulating memory CD8 + T cells into the lung tissue. This results in a local protective immune response as early as 1 day post-infection. Hence, vaccine strategies that induce lung interstitial Trm cells may confer better protection against respiratory pathogens.

This data article describes serum glycoprotein biomarker discovery and qualification datasets generated using lectin magnetic bead array (LeMBA) – mass spectrometry techniques, “Serum glycoprotein biomarker discovery and qualification pipeline reveals novel diagnostic biomarker candidates for esophageal adenocarcinoma” [1]. Serum samples collected from healthy, metaplastic Barrett׳s esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) individuals were profiled for glycoprotein subsets via differential lectin binding. The biomarker discovery proteomics dataset consisting of 20 individual lectin pull-downs for 29 serum samples with a spiked-in internal standard chicken ovalbumin protein has been deposited in the PRIDE partner repository of the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the data set identifier PRIDE: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/projects/PXD002442. Annotated MS/MS spectra for the peptide identifications can be viewed using MS-Viewer (〈http://prospector2.ucsf.edu/prospector/cgi-bin/msform.cgi?form=msviewer〉) using search key “jn7qafftux”. The qualification dataset contained 6-lectin pulldown-coupled multiple reaction monitoring-mass spectrometry (MRM-MS) data for 41 protein candidates, from 60 serum samples. This dataset is available as a supplemental files with the original publication [1]. Keywords: Proteomics, Glycoprotein, Biomarker, Esophageal adenocarcinoma, Barrett׳s esophagus

There is considerable and ongoing debate as to the harm inflicted on bees by exposure to agricultural pesticides. In part, the lack of consensus reflects a shortage of information on field-realistic levels of exposure. Here, we quantify concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides in the pollen of oilseed rape, and in pollen of wildflowers growing near arable fields. We then compare this to concentrations of these pesticides found in pollen collected by honey bees and in pollen and adult bees sampled from bumble bee colonies placed on arable farms. We also compared this with levels found in bumble bee colonies placed in urban areas. Pollen of oilseed rape was heavily contaminated with a broad range of pesticides, as was the pollen of wildflowers growing nearby. Consequently, pollen collected by both bee species also contained a wide range of pesticides, notably including the fungicides carbendazim, boscalid, flusilazole, metconazole, tebuconazole and trifloxystrobin and the neonicotinoids thiamethoxam, thiacloprid and imidacloprid. In bumble bees, the fungicides carbendazim, boscalid, tebuconazole, flusilazole and metconazole were present at concentrations up to 73 nanogram/gram (ng/g). It is notable that pollen collected by bumble bees in rural areas contained high levels of the neonicotinoids thiamethoxam (mean 18 ng/g) and thiacloprid (mean 2.9 ng/g), along with a range of fungicides, some of which are known to act synergistically with neonicotinoids. Pesticide exposure of bumble bee colonies in urban areas was much lower than in rural areas. Understanding the effects of simultaneous exposure of bees to complex mixtures of pesticides remains a major challenge. Keywords: Neonicotinoids, Fungicides, Pollen, Bumble bees, Honey bees

OBJECTIVE: to examine the current level of understanding held by midwives\ud regarding the NICE physical activity guidelines in the UK, and to investigate the\ud physical activity guidance given to women during pregnancy.\ud DESIGN: an 11 question online survey comprising of a mixture of closed and open\ud ended questions.\ud SETTING: data reflects participants sampled across the United Kingdom.\ud PARTICIPANTS: fifty-nine midwives completed the online survey MEASUREMENTS AND\ud FINDINGS: an electronic survey was used to explore the midwives understanding of \ud physical activity guidelines during pregnancy, and the advice they offered to\ud women in their care. Qualitative content analysis was used to gain a more\ud in-depth understanding of midwife knowledge. Two per cent of midwives correctly\ud identified the physical activity guidelines, with 44% giving partially correct\ud responses, 25% giving incorrect responses and 29% unsure of what the guidelines\ud are. Despite the low level of correct responses, 59% of respondents reported they\ud were confident or very confident in answering questions regarding physical\ud activity. Only 4% of respondents reported having access to continual professional\ud development (CPD) in the area of PA guidance.\ud KEY CONCLUSIONS: there appears to be a misplaced confidence amongst midwives in\ud their knowledge of the NICE PA guidelines for pregnancy.\ud IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: as physical inactivity can be detrimental for the\ud health of both mother and baby, there is a clear need for better dissemination of\ud the current and future NICE physical activity guidelines in primary health care\ud settings. The current study determined a substantial lack of CPD in the area of\ud PA guidance, which may be a contributing factor to the lack of knowledge of the\ud guidelines. As such, increasing CPD may in turn improve the accuracy of the\ud advice given to pregnant women and consequently benefit the health of both mother\ud and baby.

Network connectivity is an integral feature of human brain function, and characterising its maturational trajectory is a critical step towards understanding healthy and atypical neurodevelopment. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate both stationary (i.e. time averaged) and rapidly modulating (dynamic) electrophysiological connectivity, in participants aged from mid-childhood to early adulthood (youngest participant 9 years old; oldest participant 25 years old). Stationary functional connectivity (measured via inter-regional coordination of neural oscillations) increased with age in the alpha and beta frequency bands, particularly in bilateral parietal and temporo-parietal connections. Our dynamic analysis (also applied to alpha/beta oscillations) revealed the spatiotemporal signatures of 8 dynamic networks; these modulate on a ∼100 ms time scale, and temporal stability in attentional networks was found to increase with age. Significant overlap was found between age-modulated dynamic networks and inter-regional oscillatory coordination, implying that altered network dynamics underlie age related changes in functional connectivity. Our results provide novel insights into brain network electrophysiology, and lay a foundation for future work in childhood disorders.

Objectives Several plaque and lesion characteristics have been associated with an increased risk for procedural stroke during or shortly after carotid artery stenting (CAS). While technical advancements in stent design and cerebral protection devices (CPD) may help reduce the procedural stroke risk, and anatomy remains important, tailoring stenting procedures according to plaque and lesion characteristics might be a useful strategy in reducing stroke associated with CAS. In this descriptive report of the ongoing Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial-2 (ACST-2), it was assessed whether choice for stent and use or type of CPD was influenced by plaque and lesion characteristics. Materials and methods Trial patients who underwent CAS between 2008 and 2015 were included in this study. Chi-square statistics were used to study the effects of plaque echolucency, ipsilateral preocclusive disease (90–99%), and contralateral high-grade stenosis (>50%) or occlusion of the carotid artery on interventionalists' choice for stent and CPD. Differences in treatment preference between specialties were also analysed. Results In this study, 831 patients from 88 ACST-2 centres were included. Almost all procedures were performed by either interventional radiologists (50%) or vascular surgeons (45%). Plaque echolucency, ipsilateral preocclusive disease (90–99%), and significant contralateral stenosis (>50%) or occlusion did not affect the choice of stent or either the use of cerebral protection and type of CPD employed (i.e., filter/flow reversal). Vascular surgeons used a CPD significantly more often than interventional radiologists (98.6% vs. 76.3%; p < .001), but this choice did not appear to be dependent on patient characteristics. Conclusions In ACST-2, plaque characteristics and severity of stenosis did not primarily determine interventionalists' choice of stent or use or type of CPD, suggesting that other factors, such as vascular anatomy or personal and centre preference, may be more important. Stent and CPD use was highly heterogeneous among participating European centres.

In this chapter a number of simple interaction energies for linear objects are determined, such as for a single atom with a plane, and for spherical objects such as for a sphere interacting with a plane graphene sheet. Our principal concern is the evaluation of the Lennard-Jones potential function interaction energy between atoms, molecules and nanostructures. When calculating the interaction energy between molecules containing a number of atoms, the pairwise interactions may be summed to derive a total interaction energy that is given by a double summation over all the atoms in each molecule. Here we assume that all the atoms are smeared over ideal lines or surfaces representing the molecules in order to replace the explicit summations with line or surface integrals, and the task of calculating the interaction energy is then made considerably easier. It turns out that many of the molecules and nanostructures can be modelled by the basic geometric objects of points, straight lines, flat planes, spheres, and right circular cylinders, and therefore integrals over these surfaces are needed and the purpose of this chapter is to address these integrals in a systematic way to facilitate the evaluation of ideal Lennard-Jones interactions.

In this chapter mathematical preliminaries for various standard functions used throughout the book are presented, such as the gamma and beta functions, the hypergeometric function, and the associated Legendre functions. The essential modelling content of the book is the use of the continuum assumption for atomic surface densities and the replacement of double summations with double surface integrals involving atomic potential functions. For certain surfaces these integrals can often be evaluated in terms of well-known analytical functions, but generally these integrations are highly nontrivial. The mathematical perspective here is that many of the integrals can be identified from integral representations of the various hypergeometric functions including Appell’s hypergeometric function. These formulae are important since they often lead to evaluating the integral in terms of other special functions, such as Legendre polynomials, and through algebraic packages such as MAPLE and MATLAB the hypergeometric functions can be readily evaluated numerically. This chapter ensures that the reader is fully conversant with the major properties of all the special functions needed to undertake this process including the Dirac delta function, the Heaviside unit function, the gamma and beta functions, and the hypergeometric functions.

In general, particles tend to organise themselves into their most stable structures, which are the minimum energy configurations and this is also true at the atomic level. When two atoms are far apart an attractive force pulls them closer to each other, but if they are too close a repulsive force pushes them away. There exists a certain separation distance where the two atoms are most likely to be, namely where the interaction energy between them is at a minimum. This distance is termed the equilibrium distance. Ideally, atoms prefer to be apart by a distance equivalent to their equilibrium distance, as do molecules and other nanostructures. This chapter focuses on the determination of stable equilibrium configurations for nested carbon nanostructures. A nested structure refers to a structure that comprises both inner and outer components. We begin by examining the simple case where the inner structure is simply a single atom. Then we extend the analysis to more complicated structures, including fullerene@fullerene (carbon onion), fullerene@nanotube, nanotube@nanotube, and carbon onion@nanotube. We note that the convention X@Y denotes a nested structure for which molecule X is nested inside molecule Y. In the final parts of this chapter we look at the interaction of many body systems. For example, the case of a nested atom or molecule either inside a uniform concentric ring or a nanotube bundle.

Micromechanical oscillators, or resonators struggle to reach frequencies in the gigahertz range. However, nanoscale oscillators are able to reach these high frequencies and have therefore attracted much attention. The first such oscillator involved multiwalled nanotubes, in which the sliding of the inner-shell inside the outer-shell of a multiwalled carbon nanotube generated frequencies up to several gigahertz. Nano-oscillators can also be generated using other carbon nanomaterials; such as with a C60 fullerene and nanotube, double-walled nanotubes, and nanotube nanobundles. In this chapter, we examine the oscillatory behaviour of various nano-oscillators using the continuum approximation arising from the assumption that the discrete atoms can be smeared across each surface. This chapter utilises calculations for the suction force that are described in Chapter 5.

Introduction: The impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on income is unclear. We sought to determine whether CKD severity, serious adverse events, and CKD progression affected household income. Methods: Analyses were undertaken in a prospective cohort of adults with moderate-to-severe CKD in the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP), with household income information available at baseline screening and study end. Logistic regressions, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and prior diseases at baseline, estimated associations during the 5-year follow-up, among (i) baseline CKD severity, (ii) incident nonfatal serious adverse events (vascular or cancer), and (iii) CKD treatment modality (predialysis, dialysis, or transplanted) at study end and the outcome “fall into relative poverty.” This was defined as household income

Chapter 1 develops the essential elementary ideas necessary to exploit the simple geometry, mechanics, and special function theory, to formulate applied mathematical models in nanotechnology. The first chapter provides an introduction to the physical background including the bonding, the discoveries, the geometric structures, and the practical uses of the various carbon nanostructures; including nanotubes, fullerenes, cones, nanopeapods, and nano-onions. The idea of mathematically modelling such structures through their atomic surface densities coupled with the van der Waals and Leonard Jones potentials is then introduced.

The ideal drug carrier, or ‘magic bullet’, is envisaged as a transporter of drugs or other molecular cargo to a specific site in the body, which then unloads the cargo in a controlled manner. Although this notion sounds like science fiction, the advent of nanotechnology means that it is rapidly becoming scientific fact. Despite the prominence of carbon nanotubes in the broader area of nanotechnology, the field of nanotube biotechnology is in its infancy, and there is still much work that needs to occur before specific products can be marketed. Here mathematical modelling is employed to determine the encapsulation of drug molecules into nanotubes.

Nanopeapods, hollow carbon nanotubes filled with C 60 fullerenes, were first observed in 1998. These structures have subsequently led to reports of different types of fullerene nanopeapods. These nanopeapods possess the potential to be superconducting nanowires, but could also be utilised as nanocarriers for drug delivery. Unlike C 60 fullerenes, nanopeapods constructed from ellipsoidal fullerenes such as C 70 and C 80 can exhibit many different orientations inside the nanotubes. This feature enables ellipsoidal based nanopeapods the capacity to control the electronic properties of the system by controlling the orientation of the fullerene. A fullerene can enter a nanotube either directly through the tubes’ open end, around the edge of the tubes’ open end or through a defect in the tube wall. In this chapter, we examine these possible encapsulation mechanisms and their respective interaction energies. Furthermore, we examine the possible packing configurations of fullerene chains inside the nanotube.

Periods of skeletal growth, especially during adolescence, are critical to acquiring maximal peak bone mass to reduce risk of osteoporosis later in life. Linear growth exceeds bone consolidation, creating a vulnerable period of low bone density that increases risk of fracture. Following dietary recommendations for dairy products or equivalent sources of calcium is prudent for meeting bone nutrient requirements. Vitamin D status of most adolescents is adequate for calcium utilization.

A new formula for the geometric parameters of carbon nanotubes is presented. The precise atomic locations are concerned where this is an important issue, namely small radii carbon nanotubes, which necessarily have large curvature. Here an exact polyhedral model for the structure of carbon nanotubes is detailed, which is derived solely from the three geometric postulates: (i) All bonds are equal in length.

This chapter outlines the concepts of an acceptance condition and the suction energy to predict whether a carbon nanostructure, such as a fullerene, would be accepted into the interior of a carbon nanotube by van der Waals forces alone. The issue of suction of particles into containers is fundamental, particularly for applications where drugs or genes are encapsulated into nanocarriers for targeted delivery to tumour cells. The suction energy is defined as the total work performed by the van der Waals interactions on a molecule entering a carbon nanotube. In certain cases, the van der Waals force becomes repulsive as the molecule crosses the tube opening. In these cases, the acceptance energy is defined as the total work performed by van der Waals interactions on the molecule entering the nanotube, up until the point that the van der Waals force once again becomes attractive. In particular, this chapter provides explicit expressions for the acceptance condition and the suction force for the three problems, which are a fullerene entering a carbon nanotube, a nanotube entering another carbon nanotube forming a double-walled carbon nanotube and a nanotube entering the empty centre of the bundle of carbon nanotubes.

In this chapter we detail two different discrete numerical methods for determining the physical attributes for the joint region connecting two carbon-based nanostructures. Both approaches assume some ideal joined structure and then calculate a residual function based on the actual joint structure’s variation from this ideal that is then minimised using conventional optimisation. The first approach assumes the atoms are fixed in their original location (in either one nanostructure or the other) and the residual comprises the variation from the ideal carbon–carbon bond length. The second approach allows the edge-most atoms in the participating structures a degree of movement and fixes all bond lengths to be precisely the carbon–carbon bond length and then computes a residual based on the variation from the ideal bond angle. Both approaches are then used to predict the physical characteristics of carbon nanotube elbows that are then used to predict carbon nanotori constructed using these elbows. Both approaches are also employed on other joining problems such as a nanotube–graphene sheet joint and nanotube–fullerene joint.

In this chapter we employ the calculus of variations to predict the joint region connecting two carbon nanostructures. There is some evidence that graphene behaves like an ideal elastic material and somewhat like the Euler Elastica. Therefore we assume that certain joint curves may be those that satisfy end-point conditions and isoperimetric constraints while minimising the curvature squared. Using this approach we reexamine some of the problems from the previous chapter, namely the joining of a nanotube to a graphene sheet and also to a fullerene. We also study the joining of two fullerenes to each other that leads to a caged molecule shaped somewhat like a peanut.

Aberrant glycosylation of proteins is a hallmark of tumorigenesis and could provide diagnostic value in cancer detection. Human saliva is an ideal source of glycoproteins due to the relatively high proportion of glycosylated proteins in the salivary proteome. Moreover, saliva collection is noninvasive and technically straightforward, and the sample collection and storage is relatively easy. Although differential glycosylation of proteins can be indicative of disease states, identification of differential glycosylation from clinical samples is not trivial. To facilitate salivary glycoprotein biomarker discovery, we optimized a method for differential glycoprotein enrichment from human saliva based on lectin magnetic bead arrays (saLeMBA). Selected lectins from distinct reactivity groups were used in the saLeMBA platform to enrich salivary glycoproteins from healthy volunteer saliva. The technical reproducibility of saLeMBA was analyzed with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify the glycosylated proteins enriched by each lectin. Our saLeMBA platform enabled robust glycoprotein enrichment in a glycoprotein- and lectin-specific manner consistent with known protein-specific glycan profiles. We demonstrated that saLeMBA is a reliable method to enrich and detect glycoproteins present in human saliva.

We discuss two adult siblings who presented with symptoms of myalgia and rhabdomyolysis following exercise with myoglobinuria; genetic testing confirmed carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency and resulted in institution of appropriate crisis management and dietary advice. We explore the phenotypic variability of this commonest fatty oxidation defect that remains under-diagnosed in the adult population and provide clues for early recognition and diagnosis., Highlights • CPT II deficiency should be considered as an important differential diagnosis in individuals presenting with recurrent or even single attacks of muscle weakness. • If the clinical history includes ‘unexplained’ rhabdomyolysis, clinicians should have a low threshold to perform plasma acylcarnitine analysis as a first line investigation, especially in the context of elevated CK. • Confirmatory diagnosis is by identification of disease-causing variants in CPT2 through targeted testing. • It is important that these individuals have specialist dietary advice and annual monitoring.