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Aim: To investigate how the aetiology of very preterm birth/very low birth weight is associated with mortality and later neurodevelopmental outcomes. Methods: Very preterm/very low‐birth weight singletons were categorised based on the aetiology of preterm birth: spontaneous preterm birth (n = 47, 28.1%), preterm premature rupture of membranes (n = 56, 33.5%) or placental vascular pathology (n = 64, 38.3%). Mortality, cerebral palsy, severe cognitive impairment by 11 years of age (<2SD) and mean full‐scale intelligence quotient at 11 years were studied in association with birth aetiology. Results: There was no difference in mortality or rate of cerebral palsy according to birth aetiologies. The rate of severe cognitive impairment was lower (4.9% vs. 15.3%) in the preterm premature rupture of the membrane group in comparison to the placental vascular pathology group (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.03–0.9, adjusted for gestational age). At 11 years, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean full‐scale intelligence quotient. Conclusion: Placental vascular pathology, as the aetiology of very preterm birth/very low birth weight, is associated with a higher rate of severe cognitive impairments in comparison to preterm premature rupture of membranes, although there was no difference in the mean full‐scale intelligence quotient at 11 years. The aetiology of very preterm birth/very low birth weight was not associated with mortality or the rate of cerebral palsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dyspnoea, a commonly reported symptom among patients with cancer, necessitates the need for appropriate non-pharmacological interventions for its management and suitable assessment scales. Aims: To explore the nursing interventions and assessment scales for managing dyspnoea in patients with cancer receiving palliative care. Methods: Systematic review. Five databases (CINAHL Complete, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched, and seven studies were identified. Only studies that comprised randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental settings were included. Findings: Nursing interventions, that support a patient's physical breathing and mental functioning, are effective in managing dyspnoea. It is crucial to use both subjective and physical assessment methods to accurately measure the outcomes of these interventions. Conclusion: These interventions have been proven to be effective, with outcomes centred on changes in physiological measurements and patients' subjective expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Valid estimates of premorbid cognitive functioning (PMIQ) are crucial for the assessment of older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. We investigated the relationship between the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery's (NIHTB-CB) Oral Reading Recognition (ORR) subtest and Wechsler Test of Adult Reading scores (WTAR, convergent validity). We also compared ORR to NIHTB-CB Flanker scores, where null relationships were expected (discriminant validity). Methods: The WTAR and NIHTB-CB were administered to 130 cognitively normal (CN) and 113 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Participants were community-dwelling, older Black and White adults, ages 55–88 years. Data analysis used uncorrected standard scores and Bayesian bivariate correlations. Supplemental materials include intraclass correlations. Results: ORR and WTAR scores were strongly positively associated, while ORR and Flanker scores were unrelated. This pattern held when restricting analyses to the two cognitive status groups, the two racial groups, and the four race-by-diagnosis subgroups. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity and support NIHTB-CB ORR scores as valid estimates of scores on a PMIQ measure in older Black and White adults with and without MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to study the prognostic value of myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) and myocardial external efficiency (MEE) from 11C‐acetate positron emission tomography (PET) in cardiac amyloidosis (CA) patients. Methods and results: Forty‐eight CA patients, both transthyretin (ATTR) and immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis, and 20 controls were included. All subjects were examined with 11C‐acetate PET and echocardiography. MVO2, forward stroke volume (FSV), and left ventricular mass (LVM) were derived from 11C‐acetate PET and used to calculate MEE. CA patients were followed for survival and the prognostic impact of clinical, echocardiographic, and 11C‐acetate PET parameters was analysed. MVO2 and MEE were reduced in CA compared with controls, but without significant difference between deceased and surviving CA patients. The ratio of 11C‐acetate PET‐derived FSV and LVM was also reduced in CA and significantly lowered in deceased patients compared with survivors. In univariate analysis, New York Heart Association class, N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide, and the 11C‐acetate PET parameters FSV/LVM and MEE were the strongest prognostic factors. Of the 11C‐acetate PET parameters, FSV/LVM was the strongest survival predictor with hazard ratio of 0.56 per 0.1 mL/g (95% confidence interval 0.39–0.81, P = 0.002) and independently prognostic in a multivariate model. MEE significantly separated deceased from surviving CA patients with the cut‐off of 15.7% (P = 0.032). Survival was significantly shorter with FSV/LVM below 0.27 mL/g (P < 0.001), also when separating AL‐ and ATTR‐CA. Conclusions: Reduced MEE was associated with shorter survival in CA patients, but FSV/LVM was the strongest survival predictor and the only independently prognostic 11C‐acetate PET parameter in multivariate analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background We developed multifactorial models for predicting incident dementia and brain pathology in the oldest old using the Vantaa 85+ cohort. Methods We included participants without dementia at baseline and at least 2 years of follow-up (N = 245) for dementia prediction or with autopsy data (N = 163) for pathology. A supervised machine learning method was used for model development, considering sociodemographic, cognitive, clinical, vascular, and lifestyle factors, as well as APOE genotype. Neuropathological assessments included β-amyloid, neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), macro- and microscopic infarcts, α-synuclein pathology, hippocampal sclerosis, and TDP-43. Results Prediction model performance was evaluated using AUC for 10 × 10-fold cross-validation. Overall AUCs were 0.73 for dementia, 0.64–0.68 for Alzheimer’s disease (AD)- or amyloid-related pathologies, 0.72 for macroinfarcts, and 0.61 for microinfarcts. Predictors for dementia were different from those in previous reports of younger populations; for example, age, sex, and vascular and lifestyle factors were not predictive. Predictors for dementia versus pathology were also different, because cognition and education predicted dementia but not AD- or amyloid-related pathologies. APOE genotype was most consistently present across all models. APOE alleles had a different impact: ε4 did not predict dementia, but it did predict all AD- or amyloid-related pathologies; ε2 predicted dementia, but it was protective against amyloid and neuropathological AD; and ε3ε3 was protective against dementia, neurofibrillary tangles, and CAA. Very few other factors were predictive of pathology. Conclusions Differences between predictors for dementia in younger old versus oldest old populations, as well as for dementia versus pathology, should be considered more carefully in future studies.

The aim was to evaluate the herpes simplex virus (HSV) seroprevalence and seroconversion among 285 pregnant women and their 120 male spouses in Finland during a six-year follow-up (FU) between 1998–2008. We also studied the effect of sexual habits, pregnancy, and other demographic factors on the acquisition of HSV infection. Combined HSV-1 and HSV-2-IgG antibodies were assessed in the first baseline serum samples with an indirect enzyme immunoassay method. The individuals with seronegative or borderline HSV serology at baseline were additionally tested using their latest FU serum sample available. The overall HSV seroprevalence during the FU was 58.9% (168/285) among the women and 53.3% (64/120) among their spouses. The seroconversion rate was 11.4% (15/132) and 12.5% (8/64) among women and their spouses, respectively. Both spouses were HSV seropositive in 39.2% (47/120). To determine the HSV-2 seroprevalence, we also tested all HSV-seropositive participants using HSV-2-specific antigen. HSV-2 seropositivity was detected in 10.9% (44/405) of the participants. The age (p = 0.006) and history of genital warts (p = 0.006) of the women were associated with combined HSV-1 and/or HSV-2 seropositivity, while a younger age was related to HSV seroconversion (p = 0.023). Among the male spouses, HSV seropositivity was associated with the practice of oral sex (p = 0.033). To conclude, women of childbearing age acquire primary HSV infections and the presence of HSV in oral epithelium is common among HSV-seropositive individuals.

The zinc in the fayalite slag of copper smelters, in which Zn-containing raw materials are used, is mainly found to be in oxidic phases, such as glassy iron silicate. During the slag water granulation process, the molten slag is heated, whereby the granulated slag achieves varying granulation temperatures. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to characterize and assess the leaching behavior of a synthesized Fe-saturated (FeX,Zn(1−X))2SiO4 system to understand the dependance of the zinc leaching behavior on the parameters of the ZnO content (1–10 wt.%) and granulation temperature (1300 or 1400 °C). It was found that the Zn leaching increased with the increasing Zn content and granulation temperature, using both batch and static pH leaching methods. Zn leaching was further increased at pH 5 using diluted nitric acid under oxidation conditions. Among the oxides in the samples—fayalite, spinel, and glass—glass was found to contribute to Zn leaching, owing to its weathering during pH-titration.

Abstract Aim The aim of the present study was to assess beta cell function based on an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in participants with single islet autoantibody or an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IvGTT) in participants with multiple islet autoantibodies. Materials and methods Healthy participants in Sweden and Finland, between 2 and 49.99 years of age previously identified as positive for a single (n = 30) autoantibody to either insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet antigen‐2, zinc transporter 8 or islet cell antibodies or multiple autoantibodies (n = 46), were included. Participants positive for a single autoantibody underwent a 6‐point OGTT while participants positive for multiple autoantibodies underwent an IvGTT. Glucose, insulin and C‐peptide were measured from OGTT and IvGTT samples. Results All participants positive for a single autoantibody had a normal glucose tolerance test with 120 minutes glucose below 7.70 mmol/L and HbA1c values within the normal range (

Abstract One of the representative auroral emission lines that radiates from F-region heights and is measurable on the ground is the 777.4 nm line from excited atomic oxygen. This line has been adopted, along with another E-region emission line, for example 427.8 nm, to estimate the mean energy and total energy flux of precipitating auroral electrons. The influence of emissions from part of the molecular nitrogen band, which mainly radiate from E-region heights, should be carefully evaluated because it might overlap the 777.4 nm atomic oxygen line in the spectrum. We performed statistical analysis of auroral spectrograph measurements that were obtained during the winter of 2016–2017 in Tromsø, Norway, to derive the ratio of the intensity of the 777.4 nm atomic oxygen line to that of the net measurement through a typically used optical filter with a full width at half maximum of a few nm. The ratio had a negative trend against geomagnetic activity, with a primary distribution of 0.5–0.7 and a minimum value of 0.3 for the most active auroral condition in this study. This result suggests that the 30–50% emission intensities measured through the optical filter may be from the molecular nitrogen band.

Aim To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of 0.2% polyhexamethilene biguanide (PHMB) in root canal models infected with Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus epidermidis. PHMB was compared in these tests with 2.5% NaOCl and 0.2% CHX. Methods Prepared models of 50 human root canals (n=50) were immerged in mixed, four- weeks old culture that consisted of E .faecalis, S. epidermidis and C. albicans. Roots were randomly divided into three groups: one with 30 (n=30) and two with 10 (n=10) samples. Samples were treated with polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) (0.2%), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (2.5%) and chlorhexidine (CHX) (0.2%), respectively. Root dentin was sampled before and after the tretment with these solutions. Colony- forming units (CFU) were counted to asses the antimicrobial effects of three solutions on viability of selected microrganisms in specimens before and after the treatment.T-test was used for comparison of results between specimens before and after the treatment, while Newman-Keuls test was used for pairwise comparison at p=0.05. Results The PHMB was significantly more efficient in reducing the number of all three tested microorganisms. NaOCl and CHX made only statistically significant (p

Abstract The plasmas (electrons and ions) in the inner magnetosphere have wide energy ranges from electron volts to mega-electron volts (MeV). These plasmas rotate around the Earth longitudinally due to the gradient and curvature of the geomagnetic field and by the co-rotation motion with timescales from several tens of hours to less than 10 min. They interact with plasma waves at frequencies of mHz to kHz mainly in the equatorial plane of the magnetosphere, obtain energies up to MeV, and are lost into the ionosphere. In order to provide the global distribution and quantitative evaluation of the dynamical variation of these plasmas and waves in the inner magnetosphere, the PWING project (study of dynamical variation of particles and waves in the inner magnetosphere using ground-based network observations, http://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/dimr/PWING/ ) has been carried out since April 2016. This paper describes the stations and instrumentation of the PWING project. We operate all-sky airglow/aurora imagers, 64-Hz sampling induction magnetometers, 40-kHz sampling loop antennas, and 64-Hz sampling riometers at eight stations at subauroral latitudes (~ 60° geomagnetic latitude) in the northern hemisphere, as well as 100-Hz sampling EMCCD cameras at three stations. These stations are distributed longitudinally in Canada, Iceland, Finland, Russia, and Alaska to obtain the longitudinal distribution of plasmas and waves in the inner magnetosphere. This PWING longitudinal network has been developed as a part of the ERG (Arase)-ground coordinated observation network. The ERG (Arase) satellite was launched on December 20, 2016, and has been in full operation since March 2017. We will combine these ground network observations with the ERG (Arase) satellite and global modeling studies. These comprehensive datasets will contribute to the investigation of dynamical variation of particles and waves in the inner magnetosphere, which is one of the most important research topics in recent space physics, and the outcome of our research will improve safe and secure use of geospace around the Earth.

Abstract Background Quantitative measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF) is of increasing interest in the clinical assessment of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). 15O-water positron emission tomography (PET) is considered the gold standard for non-invasive MBF measurements. However, calculation of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) is not possible from standard 15O-water uptake images. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the possibility of calculating LV volumes and LVEF from cardiac-gated parametric blood volume (V B) 15O-water images and from first pass (FP) images. Sixteen patients with mitral or aortic regurgitation underwent an eight-gate dynamic cardiac-gated 15O-water PET/CT scan and cardiac MRI. V B and FP images were generated for each gate. Calculations of end-systolic volume (ESV), end-diastolic volume (EDV), stroke volume (SV) and LVEF were performed with automatic segmentation of V B and FP images, using commercially available software. LV volumes and LVEF were calculated with surface-, count-, and volume-based methods, and the results were compared with gold standard MRI. Results Using V B images, high correlations between PET and MRI ESV (r = 0.89, p 0.86, p