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The multinucleon transfer (MNT) reaction approach was successfully employed for the first time to measure the isomeric ratios (IRs) of 211Po isomer (25/2+) and its ground state (9/2+) at the IGISOL facility using a 945 MeV 136Xe beam impinged on 209Bi and natPb targets. The dominant production of isomers compared to the corresponding ground states was consistently revealed in the α-decay spectra. Deduced IR of 211Po populated through the 136Xe+natPb reaction was found to have an enhancement of ≈1.8-times than that observed for the 136Xe+209Bi. State-of-the-art Langevin-type model calculations have been utilized to estimate the spin distribution of an MNT residue. The computations qualitatively corroborate with the considerable increase in the IRs of 211Po produced from 136Xe+natPb compared to 136Xe+209Bi. Theoretical investigations indicate a weak dependence of target spin on the IRs. The enhancement of the 211Po isomer in the 136Xe+natPb over 136Xe+209Bi can be attributed to the different proton (p)-transfer production routes. Estimations demonstrate an increment in the angular momentum transfer, favorable for isomer production, with increasing projectile energy. Comparative analysis reveals the two entrance channel parameters, projectile mass and p-transfer channels, strongly influencing the population of the high-spin isomer of 211Po (25/2+). This letter reports the first experimental and theoretical study on the IRs of nuclei formed from two different p-transfer channels via two independent MNT reactions.

BackgroundAlthough many young Chinese women migrate to urban regions for better opportunities, little is known about the prevalence and awareness of having high blood pressure (HBP) in this population. This study investigated the prevalence, awareness, and factors associated with HBP among young female migrant workers in Central South China.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to identify HBP (2017 ACC/AHA guidelines) among female migrant workers aged 18-45 years in Central South China. Demographics, anthropometric measurements, hypertension-related lifestyle, awareness of HBP, and blood pressure were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with HBP (blood pressure ≥ 130/80 mmHg).ResultsOverall, 232 female migrants participated in the study (mean age 34.4; standard deviation: 6.4 years). The prevalence of HBP was 27.2% (95% CI [21.6-33.2]), and 88.9% of the participants were unaware of their HBP status. Having rural medical insurance (odds ratio [OR] = 20.7; 95% confidence interval 95% CI [2.1-204.8]), awareness of having HBP (OR = 5.1; 95% CI [1.4-18.5]), physical inactivity (OR = 2.9; 95% CI [1.1-7.9]), and being overweight/obese (OR = 2.7; 95% CI [1.3-6.1]) were independently associated with HBP.ConclusionsThis study revealed a high prevalence of HBP among young Chinese female migrant workers, as well as a high frequency of being unaware of their condition and some associated factors (rural medical insurance, awareness of having HBP, physical inactivity, and overweight/obesity). The uncontrolled HBP among young Chinese female migrant workers suggested that health education needs further promotion in such a population.

BackgroundUtilization of basic public health services (BPHS) allows for disease prevention and management and is an essential component for protecting health. Disparities in utilization exist between rural-to-urban migrants and their local counterparts in China. This study sought to determine the frequency of BPHS utilization and whether social support, discrimination, and sociodemographic features were risk factors for low BPHS utilization by Chinese female migrants.MethodsData were derived from a survey of female rural-to-urban migrants at nine work sites in Changsha, China. The association between social support, discrimination, sociodemographic factors and BPHS utilization was obtained using Chi-square and logistic regression analysis.ResultsBetween December 2017 and April 2018, 307 female participants completed the survey. A total of 24.7% reported having had health education, 26.1% had breast and cervical cancer screening, 27.2% had established a health care record, and 40.9% had received basic contraceptive services. Two factors were associated with the reduced likelihood of BPHS utilization: Length of migration and health record establishment (OR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.31, 0.92) and years of education and basic contraceptive service use (OR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.20, 0.67). The remaining six factors were associated with an increased likelihood of BPHS utilization: Living circumstances and health record establishment (OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.17, 3.80), health education (OR = 2.71; 95% CI = 1.51, 4.87) and cancer screening (OR = 2.38; 95% CI = 1.30, 4.36). Utilization of social support was associated with health record establishment (OR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.44), basic contraceptive service use (OR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.42) and cancer screening (OR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.10, 1.51). Objective social support was associated with health education utilization (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.26), while subjective social support was associated with basic contraceptive service use (OR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.05, 1.18) and cancer screening (OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.17). Family location was associated with basic contraceptive service use (OR = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.12, 3.44) and migration time in Changsha was associated with basic contraceptive service use (OR = 2.24; 95% CI = 1.18, 4.27).ConclusionsOverall, there was low utilization rate for four BPHS by Chinese female migrants, and social support appears to be an important factor in this setting. Government, community, and workplace education efforts for enhancing BPHS utilization among female rural-to-urban migrants are recommended.

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention on the importance of understanding and mitigating the airborne transmission of pathogens in indoor environments. This study investigated the aerosol distribution in different indoor venues with varying ventilation concepts, including displacement, mixed, and natural ventilation. A measurement system was developed to investigate venue-specific aerosol distribution patterns using a sodium chloride solution as a tracer. To analyse the spatial dispersion of aerosols, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted in addition to experimental investigations. The investigations indicated the lowest aerosol load for the venue with displacement ventilation and the highest for the naturally ventilated venue. The measurement system developed in this study provides a useful tool for assessing the effectiveness of ventilation measures in reducing airborne transmission of pathogens in indoor environments. It also proved its wide range of applications, as it can be used in variously sized and shaped indoor environments, with or without an audience.

A nuclear spectroscopy experiment was conducted to study α-decay chains stemming from isotopes of flerovium (element Z=114). An upgraded TASISpec decay station was placed behind the gas-filled separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. The fusion-evaporation reactions ^{48}Ca+^{242}Pu and ^{48}Ca+^{244}Pu provided a total of 32 flerovium-candidate decay chains, of which two and eleven were firmly assigned to ^{286}Fl and ^{288}Fl, respectively. A prompt coincidence between a 9.60(1)-MeV α particle event and a 0.36(1)-MeV conversion electron marked the first observation of an excited state in an even-even isotope of the heaviest man-made elements, namely ^{282}Cn. Spectroscopy of ^{288}Fl decay chains fixed Q_{α}=10.06(1)  MeV. In one case, a Q_{α}=9.46(1)-MeV decay from ^{284}Cn into ^{280}Ds was observed, with ^{280}Ds fissioning after only 518  μs. The impact of these findings, aggregated with existing data on decay chains of ^{286,288}Fl, on the size of an anticipated shell gap at proton number Z=114 is discussed in light of predictions from two beyond-mean-field calculations, which take into account triaxial deformation.

A nuclear spectroscopy experiment was conducted to study α-decay chains stemming from isotopes of flerovium (element Z=114). An upgraded TASISpec decay station was placed behind the gas-filled separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. The fusion-evaporation reactions ^{48}Ca+^{242}Pu and ^{48}Ca+^{244}Pu provided a total of 32 flerovium-candidate decay chains, of which two and eleven were firmly assigned to ^{286}Fl and ^{288}Fl, respectively. A prompt coincidence between a 9.60(1)-MeV α particle event and a 0.36(1)-MeV conversion electron marked the first observation of an excited state in an even-even isotope of the heaviest man-made elements, namely ^{282}Cn. Spectroscopy of ^{288}Fl decay chains fixed Q_{α}=10.06(1)  MeV. In one case, a Q_{α}=9.46(1)-MeV decay from ^{284}Cn into ^{280}Ds was observed, with ^{280}Ds fissioning after only 518  μs. The impact of these findings, aggregated with existing data on decay chains of ^{286,288}Fl, on the size of an anticipated shell gap at proton number Z=114 is discussed in light of predictions from two beyond-mean-field calculations, which take into account triaxial deformation.

An upgraded TASISpec setup, with the addition of a veto DSSD and the new Compex detector-germanium array, has been employed with the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung Darmstadt, to study flerovium (element 114) decay chains. The detector upgrades along with development of new analytical techniques have improved the sensitivity of the TASISpec setup for measuring α-photon coincidences. These improvements have been assessed with test reactions. The reaction 48Ca+206,207Pb was used for verification of experimental parameters such as transmission to implantation DSSD and target-segment to α-decay correlations. The reaction 48Ca+ nat Hf was used to produce several short-lived nuclei with multiple-α decay chains to investigate pile-up event deconvolution.

We have measured for the first time simultaneously both the mean charge states and stopping powers of (35–280) MeV/u 208Pb ions in gases and solids with an accuracy of 1%. The existence at lower energies and disappearance at higher of density effects in the charge-state distribution and the corresponding stopping power are directly confirmed and comparisons with widely used theories and simulations for heavy ions demonstrate strong deviations of up to 27%. However, an unprecedented prediction power of better than 3% has been achieved for the energy loss when the measured mean charge-states are implemented in the Lindhard-Sørensen theory. Our present benchmark data contribute to an improved understanding of the basic atomic collision processes and to numerous applications in nuclear physics. Extending the GANIL data [1] to higher accuracy and energies, we can now answer at which velocities the Bohr-Lindhard density effect in stopping will vanish.

OBJECTIVES:Depression has been associated with numerous adverse health conditions. This study sought to determine the frequency of significant depressive symptoms and whether or not acculturative stress, discrimination, and reproductive health conditions were risk factors for significant depressive symptoms in migrant working women in China. STUDY DESIGN:The design of this study is cross-sectional. METHODS:Data were derived from a survey of female migrant workers at three employment sites in Changsha, China. The associations between acculturative stress, discrimination, reproductive health, and risk for significant depressive symptoms were obtained using F-tests for mean differences, correlations, ordinary least squares regression, and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS:Between March and June 2017, 232 eligible female participants completed the survey among whom the median age was 34.36 years (standard error 0.43) and 25.58% reported significant depressive symptoms. Significant depressive symptoms were associated with higher education (F-test, P = .006), all four acculturative stress factors (r = 0.15 to r = 0.29), both institutional and interpersonal discrimination (r = 0.29, r = 0.35), age (r = - 0.13), and self-rated health (r = - 0.19). In multivariate regression analysis of depression scale scores, interpersonal discrimination was the strongest predictor (beta = 0.238, P = .002) among the nine factors identified in bivariate analysis. None of the other predictors (age, self-rated health, education, acculturative stress, and institutional discrimination) showed significant associations with the depression scale. Similar results were obtained for a multivariate logistic regression analysis of a clinically important threshold for depression (

Maize (Zea mays), as a staple food and an important industrial raw material, has been widely cultivated for centuries especially by smallholder farmers. Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND) is a serious disease infecting maize, which caused devastating damage in the African region recently. MLND is induced by co-infection of maize chlorotic mottle virus and one of several cereal-infecting viruses in the Potyviridae family, with the symptoms ranging from chlorotic mottle to plant death at different infection stages. Integrated pest management for MLND needs strengthening detection, focusing on prevention and effective control. Early detection system of MLND has been successfully established by serological methods, nucleic acid-based methods, next-generation sequencing, etc. The practices, such as using certified seeds, sanitary measures, crop rotation, tolerant or resistant varieties etc., have been considered as the effective, economical and eco-friendly way to prevent and control MLND.

The formation of thrombi is still a challenge when it comes to ventricular assist devices (VADs). This can be caused by the subsequent deposition of proteins and platelets on foreign surfaces. In VADs, the blood contacting components are mainly made of titanium alloys due to hemocompatible properties and corrosion resistance. However, surfaces where mechanical contact of the rotor and the stator occur like bearing areas of axial VADs require high wear resistance due to the greater potential of scratches. Therefore, an in vitro test bench to optically investigate the deposition of fluorescent labelled platelets on the protein layer of different surfaces is hereby presented, aiming to investigate the potential for thrombi formation of five different inorganic hard material coatings on titanium. The coating materials included Titanium Nitride (TiN), Titanium Niobium Nitride (TiNbN), Diamond-Like Carbon (Ionbond-Medthin-43 (DLCI) and Oerlikon Balimed A (DLCO)) and Wolfram Carbid Oerlikon Balimed C (WC). Uncoated titanium (Ti) was investigated as reference. Heparinized human whole blood was incubated with Mepacrine (fluorescent dye) and then pumped through a flow chamber with defined shear rate conditions over the samples. The adhered platelets were visualized via inverted fluorescence microscopy. The analyzation of the green values and the binary image of the generated fluorescent picture offers conclusions about the platelet accumulation and the percentage of the covered surface area, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant lower potential for platelet deposition for TiN compared to Ti and no significant differences for the rest. It can be concluded that none of these coatings have a higher potential for platelet deposition than Ti and therefore point towards suitability for blood contacting components.

The digestive tract constitutes an important interface between an animal’s internal and external environment. In insects, available gut transcriptome studies are mostly exploratory or look at changes upon infection or upon exposure to xenobiotics, mainly performed in species belonging to holometabolan orders, such as Diptera, Lepidoptera or Coleoptera. By contrast, studies focusing on gene expression changes after food uptake and during digestion are underrepresented. We have therefore compared the gene expression profiles in the midgut of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, between three different time points after feeding, i.e., 24 h (no active digestion), 10 min (the initial stage of feeding), and 2 h (active food digestion). The observed gene expression profiles were consistent with the polyphagous herbivorous lifestyle of this hemimetabolan (orthopteran) species. Our study reveals the upregulation of 576 genes 2 h post-feeding. These are mostly predicted to be associated with digestive physiology, such as genes encoding putative digestive enzymes or nutrient transporters, as well as genes putatively involved in immunity or in xenobiotic metabolism. The 10 min time point represented an intermediate condition, suggesting that the S. gregaria midgut can react rapidly at the transcriptional level to the presence of food. Additionally, our study demonstrated the critical importance of two transcripts that exhibited a significant upregulation 2 h post-feeding: the vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase and the sterol transporter Niemann-Pick 1b protein, which upon RNAi-induced knockdown resulted in a marked increase in mortality. Their vital role and accessibility via the midgut lumen may make the encoded proteins promising insecticidal target candidates, considering that the desert locust is infamous for its huge migrating swarms that can devastate the agricultural production in large areas of Northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. In conclusion, the transcriptome datasets presented here will provide a useful and promising resource for studying the midgut physiology of S. gregaria, a socio-economically important pest species.

Abstract The question of how nucleosides might have formed as essential precursor molecules on the early Earth is one of the many challenges associated with the origin of life. In this context, the prebiotic synthesis of pyrimidine nucleosides is controversially discussed. For the pyrimidines, two at first glance contradictory prebiotically plausible reaction pathways have been proposed, based on either oxazole or isoxazole chemistry. This study shows that these two reaction sequences can be merged under prebiotically reasonable conditions, suggesting that both pathways could have co‐existed and possibly interacted. The key precursor 3‐aminoisoxazole was found to react with the key intermediate of the oxazole route (ribo‐2‐(methylthio)oxazoline), to form a ribo‐isoxazole‐oxazoline hybrid structure, which collapses upon reductive N−O bond cleavage to give the nucleoside cytidine. The data suggest that different, interacting prebiotically plausible chemical pathways may have created the key molecules of life on the early Earth.

The heaviest currently known nuclei, which have up to 118 protons, have been produced in Ca48 induced reactions with actinide targets. Among them, the element tennessine (Ts), which has 117 protons, has been synthesized by fusing Ca48 with the radioactive target Bk249, which has a half-life of 327 d. The experiment was performed at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA. Two long and two short α decay chains were observed. The long chains were attributed to the decay of Ts294. The possible origin of the short-decay chains is discussed in comparison with the known experimental data. They are found to fit with the decay chain patterns attributed to Ts293. The present experimental results confirm the previous findings at the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator on the decay chains originating from the nuclei assigned to Ts.

The heaviest currently known nuclei, which have up to 118 protons, have been produced in Ca48 induced reactions with actinide targets. Among them, the element tennessine (Ts), which has 117 protons, has been synthesized by fusing Ca48 with the radioactive target Bk249, which has a half-life of 327 d. The experiment was performed at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA. Two long and two short α decay chains were observed. The long chains were attributed to the decay of Ts294. The possible origin of the short-decay chains is discussed in comparison with the known experimental data. They are found to fit with the decay chain patterns attributed to Ts293. The present experimental results confirm the previous findings at the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator on the decay chains originating from the nuclei assigned to Ts.

BACKGROUND: The perceived risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can motivate individuals to adopt preventive health behaviors. Compared with fathers, mothers of young children often experience unique risk factors for developing T2DM: pregnancy-related weight gain, lifestyle changes related to child care, and the increased incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus. Understanding how actual risk factors affect the perceived risk of developing T2DM can foster effective diabetes prevention interventions for this population. The aims of this study were to describe the risk, perceived and actual, of developing T2DM and to explore the influencing factors of perceived risk for Chinese mothers of preschool children in China. METHODS: A multisite, cross-sectional survey was conducted and included 176 mothers (mean age of 31.19 years old) of preschool children (aged 3-7 years old) from four preschools in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province, China. The overall perceived risk of developing T2DM was measured by one item Your own personal health risk is at almost no risk, slight risk, moderate risk or high risk from diabetes from the Risk Perception Survey for Developing Diabetes (RPS-DD). PRS-DD and the Chinese version of the Canadian Diabetes Risk Assessment Questionnaire (CHINARISK) were used to assess perceived risk related worry, personal control, optimistic bias, and diabetes risk knowledge and actual risk of T2DM. Mothers also reported their height, weight, and waist circumference followed by the NIH protocol. Pearson correlation and stepwise multivariate linear regression were used to explore how the actual risk factors affected the perceived risk of developing diabetes (RPS-DD)). RESULTS: Nearly 90% of mothers perceived almost no/slight risk for developing diabetes. Nearly half of the mothers had parents or siblings with diabetes. Roughly 70% of the mothers did not eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and more than 50% did not exercise at least 30 minutes a day. In the five stepwise multivariate linear regression models, young mothers (95% CI .400-1.311) and those with a family history of diabetes (95% CI -0.74- .000) were founded a higher overall perceived risk. Mothers who reported more sedentary time (95% CI -0.029- -0.008) and less physical activity had less personal control (95% CI -0.354- -0.046). Mothers with more sedentary time had more worries about developing T2DM(95% CI 0.008-0.035) . Mothers who were older (95% CI -0.440-0.055) or had more physical activities (95% CI 0.003-0.048) had more optimistic bias of not developing T2DM. Mothers who had a higher education level (95% CI .354-1.422) and a family history of diabetes (95% CI .029-2.231) had more diabetes risk knowledge of developing T2DM. CONCLUSION: This study found that Chinese mothers of preschool children in urban areas reported low perceived risk of developing T2DM, although they have actual risk factors. These women did not associate anthropometric, health history, or health behavior factors with the risk of developing T2DM. Anthropometrics and risk factors associated with behavioral risk factors may be the focus of diabetes prevention programs.

Introduction: In the past 20 years there has been a significant decline in the number of inpatient psychiatric beds in the United States, while the number of patients seeking psychiatric treatment in the emergency department (ED) has increased over the same time period. Given the increase in demand for psychiatric services and decrease in availability of inpatient treatment the ED is becoming the de facto place of treatment for the majority of psychiatric crises. Psychiatric patients experience longer lengths of stay (LOS) when compared to non-psychiatric patients, especially when transfer to another facility is required. Therefore, improvements in the efficiency of evaluation, treatment and disposition of psychiatric patients benefit both patients and the EDs that care for them. Methods: To improve throughput and reduce wait times in the ED at our Level I trauma center located in the Upstate region of South Carolina, we implemented several improvements. We then tracked pre- and post-intervention metrics, including LOS and the time from ED consultation order to the completion of psychiatric consultant documentation. The intervention consisted of several protocols with various checkpoints for required documentation necessary for progression through overall mental health evaluation and treatment. In addition, structured psychiatrist and social worker evaluation-note templates were standardized to improve documentation accuracy, consistency, efficiency and overall patient safety. A separate tracking system is monitored by a dedicated psychiatric advanced practice provider to ensure compliance on note completion and order set utilization. The time from ED consult order to completion of psychiatric consultant documentation and mean LOS (in hours +/-standard deviation [SD]) were measured for six months before (10/2016 to 03/2017) and eight months after (4/2017 to 11/2017) institution of these protocols. We then compared pre- and post-intervention measures using Student’s t-test (p

Measured binary quasifission mass spectra in reactions with actinide nuclides show a large peak in yield near the doubly-magic 208Pb. This has generally been attributed to the enhanced binding energy of 208Pb causing a valley in the potential energy surface, attracting quasifission trajectories. To investigate this interpretation, binary quasifission mass spectra and cross-sections have been measured at near-barrier energies for reactions of 50Ti with actinide nuclides from 238U to 249Cf. Cross-sections have also been deduced for sequential fission (a projectile-like nucleus and two fragments from fission of the complementary target-like nucleus). Binary cross-sections fall from ∼70% of calculated capture cross-sections for 238U to only ∼40% for 249Cf, with a compensating increase in sequential fission cross-sections. The data are consistent with the 208Pb peak originating largely from sequential fission of heavier fragments produced in more mass-asymmetric primary quasifission events. These are increasingly suppressed as the heavy quasifission fragment mass increases above 208Pb. The important role of sequential fission calls for re-interpretation of quasifission characteristics and dynamics in superheavy element synthesis reactions.

Short-lived α-decaying nuclei "northeast" of Pb208 in the chart of nuclides were studied using the reaction Ca48+Am243 with the decay station TASISpec at TASCA, GSI Darmstadt. Decay energies and times from pile-up events were extracted with a tailor-made pulse-shape analysis routine and specific α-decay chains were identified in a correlation analysis. Decay chains starting with the even-even Ra220 and its odd-A neighbors, Fr219, and Ra221,219, with a focus on the Ra219→Rn215 decay, were studied by means of α-γ spectroscopy. A revised α-decay scheme of Ra219 is proposed, including a new decay branch from a previously not considered isomeric state at 17 keV excitation energy. Conclusions on nuclear structure are drawn from the experimental data, aided by Geant4 simulations and a discussion on theoretical calculations.

Short-lived α-decaying nuclei "northeast" of Pb208 in the chart of nuclides were studied using the reaction Ca48+Am243 with the decay station TASISpec at TASCA, GSI Darmstadt. Decay energies and times from pile-up events were extracted with a tailor-made pulse-shape analysis routine and specific α-decay chains were identified in a correlation analysis. Decay chains starting with the even-even Ra220 and its odd-A neighbors, Fr219, and Ra221,219, with a focus on the Ra219→Rn215 decay, were studied by means of α-γ spectroscopy. A revised α-decay scheme of Ra219 is proposed, including a new decay branch from a previously not considered isomeric state at 17 keV excitation energy. Conclusions on nuclear structure are drawn from the experimental data, aided by Geant4 simulations and a discussion on theoretical calculations.

The isotopic distribution of nuclei produced in the 50Ti + 249Cf reaction has been studied at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at GSI Darmstadt, which separates ions according to differences in magnetic rigidity. The bombardment was performed at an energy around the Bass barrier and with the TASCA magnetic fields set for collecting fusion-evaporation reaction products. Fifty-three isotopes located “north-east” of 208Pb were identified as recoiling products formed in non-fusion channels of the reaction. These recoils were implanted with energies in two distinct ranges; besides one with higher energy, a significant low-energy contribution was identified. The latter observation was not expected to occur according to kinematics of the known types of reactions, namely quasi-elastic, multi-nucleon transfer, deep-inelastic collisions or quasifission. The present observations are discussed within the framework of two-body kinematics passing through the formation of a composite system.

The isotopic distribution of nuclei produced in the 50Ti + 249Cf reaction has been studied at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at GSI Darmstadt, which separates ions according to differences in magnetic rigidity. The bombardment was performed at an energy around the Bass barrier and with the TASCA magnetic fields set for collecting fusion-evaporation reaction products. Fifty-three isotopes located “north-east” of 208Pb were identified as recoiling products formed in non-fusion channels of the reaction. These recoils were implanted with energies in two distinct ranges; besides one with higher energy, a significant low-energy contribution was identified. The latter observation was not expected to occur according to kinematics of the known types of reactions, namely quasi-elastic, multi-nucleon transfer, deep-inelastic collisions or quasifission. The present observations are discussed within the framework of two-body kinematics passing through the formation of a composite system.

Abstract Background Since autologous veins are unavailable when needed in more than 20% of cases in vascular surgery, the production of personalized biological vascular grafts for implantation has become crucial. Surface modification of decellularized xenogeneic grafts with vascular cells to achieve physiological luminal coverage and eventually thromboresistance is an important prerequisite for implantation. However, ex vivo thrombogenicity testing remains a neglected area in the field of tissue engineering of vascular grafts due to a multifold of reasons. Methods After seeding decellularized bovine carotid arteries with human endothelial progenitor cells and umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells, luminal endothelial cell coverage (LECC) was correlated with glucose and lactate levels on the cell supernatant. Then a closed loop whole blood perfusion system was designed. Recellularized grafts with a LECC > 50% and decellularized vascular grafts were perfused with human whole blood for 2 h. Hemolysis and complete blood count evaluation was performed on an hourly basis, followed by histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Results While whole blood perfusion of decellularized grafts significantly reduced platelet counts, platelet depletion from blood resulting from binding to re-endothelialized grafts was insignificant (p = 0.7284). Moreover, macroscopic evaluation revealed thrombus formation only in the lumen of unseeded grafts and histological characterization revealed lack of CD41 positive platelets in recellularized grafts, thus confirming their thromboresistance. Conclusion In the present study we were able to demonstrate the effect of surface modification of vascular grafts in their thromboresistance in an ex vivo whole blood perfusion system. To our knowledge, this is the first study to expose engineered vascular grafts to human whole blood, recirculating at high flow rates, immediately after seeding.

Abstract Background Due to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Belgian government set out a range of measures to prevent the spread of the virus. One measure included closing all non-food shops, including vape shops. Methods A retrospective online questionnaire was used to investigate the impact of closing the vape shops on the vaping and/or smoking behavior of current vapers. Results The sample (n = 202) reached consisted of 70% exclusive vapers, 29% dual users and 1% no-product users. Over half (55%, 112/202) of participants needed to buy e-liquid during the lockdown, with a small majority being able to buy e-liquids – mostly with their usual nicotine concentrations, flavor or brand –, but as much as 39% (44/112) of them ran out of e-liquid. Those buying e-liquid mainly did so by making purchases via foreign online webshops. A similar pattern was observed with respect to purchasing hardware, with about half (47%, 95/202) of participants reporting hardware availability and with a small majority (53%, 107/202) reporting hardware unavailability. Of those indicating that hardware was not available, 38% (41/107) ran out of a properly functioning e-cigarette. A non-trivial minority had to consume e-liquids with another nicotine concentration, flavor or brand than usual. One seventh of exclusive vapers before lockdown relapsed partly or completely to smoking during the lockdown. The main reasons for changing vaping and/or smoking behavior included the unavailability of e-liquid with nicotine, the unavailability of hardware, and stress/worries about COVID-19. Conclusions The majority of vapers succeeded in maintaining their vaping behavior as usual, highly likely due to (illegally) buying consumables online. Nevertheless, for a minority the lockdown period resulted in unintended consequences and these vapers relapsed (completely) to smoking. Even during periods of lockdown, smokers and vapers should be able to purchase low(er)-risk alternatives to smoking, for example e-cigarettes.

Abstract Background Approximately 1000 protein encoding genes common for vertebrates are still unannotated in avian genomes. Are these genes evolutionary lost or are they not yet found for technical reasons? Using genome landscapes as a tool to visualize large-scale regional effects of genome evolution, we reexamined this question. Results On basis of gene annotation in non-avian vertebrate genomes, we established a list of 15,135 common vertebrate genes. Of these, 1026 were not found in any of eight examined bird genomes. Visualizing regional genome effects by our sliding window approach showed that the majority of these "missing" genes can be clustered to 14 regions of the human reference genome. In these clusters, an additional 1517 genes (often gene fragments) were underrepresented in bird genomes. The clusters of “missing” genes coincided with regions of very high GC content, particularly in avian genomes, making them “hidden” because of incomplete sequencing. Moreover, proteins encoded by genes in these sequencing refractory regions showed signs of accelerated protein evolution. As a proof of principle for this idea we experimentally characterized the mRNA and protein products of four "hidden" bird genes that are crucial for energy homeostasis in skeletal muscle: ALDOA, ENO3, PYGM and SLC2A4. Conclusions A least part of the “missing” genes in bird genomes can be attributed to an artifact caused by the difficulty to sequence regions with extreme GC% (“hidden” genes). Biologically, these “hidden” genes are of interest as they encode proteins that evolve more rapidly than the genome wide average. Finally we show that four of these “hidden” genes encode key proteins for energy metabolism in flight muscle.

Abstract Background Utilization of basic public health services (BPHS) allows for disease prevention and management and is an essential component for protecting health. Disparities in utilization exist between rural-to-urban migrants and their local counterparts in China. This study sought to determine the frequency of BPHS utilization and whether social support, discrimination, and sociodemographic features were risk factors for low BPHS utilization by Chinese female migrants. Methods Data were derived from a survey of female rural-to-urban migrants at nine work sites in Changsha, China. The association between social support, discrimination, sociodemographic factors and BPHS utilization was obtained using Chi-square and logistic regression analysis. Results Between December 2017 and April 2018, 307 female participants completed the survey. A total of 24.7% reported having had health education, 26.1% had breast and cervical cancer screening, 27.2% had established a health care record, and 40.9% had received basic contraceptive services. Two factors were associated with the reduced likelihood of BPHS utilization: Length of migration and health record establishment (OR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.31, 0.92) and years of education and basic contraceptive service use (OR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.20, 0.67). The remaining six factors were associated with an increased likelihood of BPHS utilization: Living circumstances and health record establishment (OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.17, 3.80), health education (OR = 2.71; 95% CI = 1.51, 4.87) and cancer screening (OR = 2.38; 95% CI = 1.30, 4.36). Utilization of social support was associated with health record establishment (OR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.44), basic contraceptive service use (OR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.42) and cancer screening (OR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.10, 1.51). Objective social support was associated with health education utilization (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.26), while subjective social support was associated with basic contraceptive service use (OR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.05, 1.18) and cancer screening (OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.17). Family location was associated with basic contraceptive service use (OR = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.12, 3.44) and migration time in Changsha was associated with basic contraceptive service use (OR = 2.24; 95% CI = 1.18, 4.27). Conclusions Overall, there was low utilization rate for four BPHS by Chinese female migrants, and social support appears to be an important factor in this setting. Government, community, and workplace education efforts for enhancing BPHS utilization among female rural-to-urban migrants are recommended.

The decay of the 13/2+ isomeric state in 183Hg was observed for the first time following the α decay of the 13/2+ isomer in 187Pb produced in the 142Nd(50Cr, 2p3n) reaction. Using α−γ delayed coincidence measurements, the half-life of this isomer was measured to be 290(30) μs. This isomer is proposed to deexcite by an unobserved low-energy M2 transition to the known 9/2− member of a strongly prolate-deformed 7/2−[514] band, followed by a 105-keV M1 transition to the bandhead. A lower limit of B(M2) ≥ 0.018 W.u. was deduced for the unobserved transition. The presumed retardation is proposed to be due to the notable shape change between the initial, nearly spherical, and the final, strongly deformed, states. A similar scenario is also considered for the 13/2+ isomer in 181Hg, suggesting both are cases of shape isomers. The B(M2) systematics of neutron transitions across the nuclear chart is discussed.

Abstract Background Different types of proteins diverge at vastly different rates. Moreover, the same type of protein has been observed to evolve with different rates in different phylogenetic lineages. In the present study we measured the rates of protein evolution in Eutheria (placental mammals) and Metatheria (marsupials) on a genome-wide basis and we propose that the gene position in the genome landscape has an important influence on the rate of protein divergence. Results We analyzed a protein-encoding gene set (n = 15,727) common to 16 mammals (12 Eutheria and 4 Metatheria). Using sliding windows that averaged regional effects of protein divergence we constructed landscapes in which strong and lineage-specific regional effects were seen on the molecular clock rate of protein divergence. Within each lineage, the relatively high rates were preferentially found in subtelomeric chromosomal regions. Such regions were observed to contain important and well-studied loci for fetal growth, uterine function and the generation of diversity in the adaptive repertoire of immunoglobulins. Conclusions A genome landscape approach visualizes lineage-specific regional differences between Eutherian and Metatherian rates of protein evolution. This phenomenon of chromosomal position is a new element that explains at least part of the lineage-specific effects and differences between proteins on the molecular clock rates.

Flerovium (Fl, element 114) is the heaviest element chemically studied so far. To date, its interaction with gold was investigated in two gas-solid chromatography experiments, which reported two different types of interaction, however, each based on the level of a few registered atoms only. Whereas noble-gas-like properties were suggested from the first experiment, the second one pointed at a volatile-metal-like character. Here, we present further experimental data on adsorption studies of Fl on silicon oxide and gold surfaces, accounting for the inhomogeneous nature of the surface, as it was used in the experiment and analyzed as part of the reported studies. We confirm that Fl is highly volatile and the least reactive member of group 14. Our experimental observations suggest that Fl exhibits lower reactivity towards Au than the volatile metal Hg, but higher reactivity than the noble gas Rn.

Prompt and delayed γ-ray spectroscopy of the neutron-deficient, semi-magic isotope 187Pb has been performed using the recoil-decay and isomer-decay tagging techniques at the Argonne Gas-Filled Analyzer. A new 5.15(15)-μs isomeric state at only 308 keV above the spherical 3/2− ground state is identified and classified as a shape isomer. A strongly-coupled band is observed on top of the isomer, which is nearly identical to the one built on the prolate 7/2−[514] Nilsson state in the isotone 185Hg. Based on this similarity and on the result of the potential-energy surface calculations, the new isomer in 187Pb is proposed to originate from the same configuration. The retarded character of the 308-keV (7/2−)→3/2gs− transition with a deduced B(E2)=5.6(2)×10−4 W.u. can be well explained by the significant difference between the prolate parent and spherical daughter configurations, leading to the shape isomerism. The excitation energy of the isomer is surprisingly low, being roughly half of the excitation energies of the known 0+ intruder bandheads in the neighboring 186,188Pb isotopes. The combined results of the present work and the previous α-decay and laser spectroscopy studies present evidence for triple shape coexistence at low energy in the negative-parity configurations of 187Pb, which is well reproduced by the potential-energy surface calculations.

Background Although many young Chinese women migrate to urban regions for better opportunities, little is known about the prevalence and awareness of having high blood pressure (HBP) in this population. This study investigated the prevalence, awareness, and factors associated with HBP among young female migrant workers in Central South China. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study to identify HBP (2017 ACC/AHA guidelines) among female migrant workers aged 18–45 years in Central South China. Demographics, anthropometric measurements, hypertension-related lifestyle, awareness of HBP, and blood pressure were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with HBP (blood pressure ≥ 130/80 mmHg). Results Overall, 232 female migrants participated in the study (mean age 34.4; standard deviation: 6.4 years). The prevalence of HBP was 27.2% (95% CI [21.6–33.2]), and 88.9% of the participants were unaware of their HBP status. Having rural medical insurance (odds ratio [OR] = 20.7; 95% confidence interval 95% CI [2.1–204.8]), awareness of having HBP (OR = 5.1; 95% CI [1.4–18.5]), physical inactivity (OR = 2.9; 95% CI [1.1–7.9]), and being overweight/obese (OR = 2.7; 95% CI [1.3–6.1]) were independently associated with HBP. Conclusions This study revealed a high prevalence of HBP among young Chinese female migrant workers, as well as a high frequency of being unaware of their condition and some associated factors (rural medical insurance, awareness of having HBP, physical inactivity, and overweight/obesity). The uncontrolled HBP among young Chinese female migrant workers suggested that health education needs further promotion in such a population.