Observation of Anomalous Meissner Screening in Cu/Nb and Cu/Nb/Co Thin Films

We have observed the spatial distribution of magnetic flux in Nb, Cu/Nb, and Cu/Nb/Co thin films using muon-spin rotation. In an isolated 50-nm-thick Nb film, we find a weak flux expulsion (Meissner effect) which becomes significantly enhanced when adding an adjacent 40 nm layer of Cu. The added Cu layer exhibits a Meissner effect (due to induced superconducting pairs) and is at least as effective as the Nb to expel flux. These results are confirmed by theoretical calculations using the quasiclassical Green's function formalism. An unexpected further significant enhancement of the flux expulsion is observed when adding a thin (2.4 nm) ferromagnetic Co layer to the bottom side of the Nb. This observed cooperation between superconductivity and ferromagnetism, by an unknown mechanism, forms a key ingredient for developing superconducting spintronics.

Knife to Skin Time in Orthopaedics- A New Sub-Speciality Selection Tool

Several selection methods have been used to aid selection into orthopaedic training programs but no process exists to aid in sub-speciality selection. A process which is continuous, unbiased and encompasses technical skill and decision making would be the gold standard. This paper analyses the use of a daily clinical task that assesses many of the desirable traits of a prospective trainee. A retrospective review of 13,474 orthopaedic procedures was under taken. The results showed a clear distinction between orthopaedic sub-specialities in time taken to perform this task. The authors suggest that this could provide a low cost insight into the appropriate subspecialty for orthopaedic trainees.

Donegal Going against the Flow: National Differences in Long-Term Urinary Catheterisation Rates in Men (> 65 Years) With Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy

An analysis of Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS, 2013) data demonstrated high rates of urinary catheter changes in Donegal compared to other regions of Ireland. There is a catheter change rate of 10.2% in Donegal men over 65 with medical cards (GMS) compared to rates of 2.7% and 0.17% in Waterford and South Dublin, respectively1. This 60-fold difference between an area with perceived good access to services (South Dublin) and Donegal an area that does not, prompted a survey of general practitioners in each of these areas to assess whether true male catheterisation rates were similarly disproportionate in Donegal. Based on this, data was collected from a population of 23,794 GMS patients in GP training practices in Donegal (Rural), Leinster (Urban) and Waterford (Suburban). The data sampled for Donegal demonstrated 19 long-term catheters (LTCs per 8603 GMS) compared to four LTCs (per 5,800 GMS) in Leinster and 3 LTCs (per 9,391 GMS) in Waterford (Table 1). This anomaly in LTC rates may be a proxy for lack of access to basic Urology services.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus in people with severe mental illness: inequalities by ethnicity and age. Cross-sectional analysis of 588 408 records from the UK

AIMS

To investigate whether the association of severe mental illness with Type 2 diabetes varies by ethnicity and age.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from an ethnically diverse sample of 588 408 individuals aged ≥18 years, registered to 98% of general practices (primary care) in London, UK. The outcome of interest was prevalent Type 2 diabetes.

RESULTS

Relative to people without severe mental illness, the relative risk of Type 2 diabetes in people with severe mental illness was greatest in the youngest age groups. In the white British group the relative risks were 9.99 (95% CI 5.34, 18.69) in those aged 18-34 years, 2.89 (95% CI 2.43, 3.45) in those aged 35-54 years and 1.16 (95% CI 1.04, 1.30) in those aged ≥55 years, with similar trends across all ethnic minority groups. Additional adjustment for anti-psychotic prescriptions only marginally attenuated the associations. Assessment of estimated prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in severe mental illness by ethnicity (absolute measures of effect) indicated that the association between severe mental illness and Type 2 diabetes was more marked in ethnic minorities than in the white British group with severe mental illness, especially for Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi individuals with severe mental illness.

CONCLUSIONS

The relative risk of Type 2 diabetes is elevated in younger populations. Most associations persisted despite adjustment for anti-psychotic prescriptions. Ethnic minority groups had a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the presence of severe mental illness. Future research and policy, particularly with respect to screening and clinical care for Type 2 diabetes in populations with severe mental illness, should take these findings into account.

Neural Development by Transplanted Human Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells Expressing Green Fluorescent Protein

For many years, researchers have investigated the fate and potential of neuroectodermal cells during the development of the central nervous system. Although several key factors that regulate neural differentiation have been identified, much remains unknown about the molecular mechanisms that control the fate and specification of neural subtypes, especially in humans. Human embryonal carcinoma (EC) stem cells are valuable research tools for the study of neural development; however, existing in vitro experiments are limited to inducing the differentiation of EC cells into only a handful of cell types. In this study, we developed and characterized a novel EC cell line (termed TERA2.cl.SP12-GFP) that carries the reporter molecule, green fluorescent protein (GFP). We demonstrate that TERA2.cl.SP12-GFP stem cells and their differentiated neural derivatives constitutively express GFP in cells grown both in vitro and in vivo. Cellular differentiation does not appear to be affected by insertion of the transgene. We propose that TERA2.cl.SP12-GFP cells provide a valuable research tool to track the fate of cells subsequent to transplantation into alternative environments and that this approach may be particularly useful to investigate the differentiation of human neural tissues in response to local environmental signals.

Contributions of specific causes of death to lost life expectancy in severe mental illness

The life expectancy gap between people with severe mental illness (SMI) and the general population persists and may even be widening. This study aimed to estimate contributions of specific causes of death to the gap. Age of death and primary cause of death were used to estimate life expectancy at birth for people with SMI from a large mental healthcare case register during 2007-2012. Using data for England and Wales in 2010, death rates in the SMI cohort for each primary cause of death category were replaced with gender- and age-specific norms for that cause. Life expectancy in SMI was then re-calculated and, thus, the contribution of that specific cause of death estimated. Natural causes accounted for 79.2% of lost life-years in women with SMI and 78.6% in men. Deaths from circulatory disorders accounted for more life-years lost in women than men (22.0% versus 17.4%, respectively), as did deaths from cancer (8.1% versus 0%), but the contribution from respiratory disorders was lower in women than men (13.7% versus 16.5%). For women, cancer contributed more in those with non-affective than affective disorders, while suicide, respiratory and digestive disorders contributed more in those with affective disorders. In men, respiratory disorders contributed more in non-affective disorders. Other contributions were similar between gender and affective/non-affective groups. Loss of life expectancy in people with SMI is accounted for by a broad range of causes of death, varying by gender and diagnosis. Interventions focused on multiple rather than individual causes of death should be prioritised accordingly.

Antenatal depressive symptoms as a predictor of deterioration in perceived social support across the perinatal period: a four-wave cohort study in Turkey

BACKGROUND

In a perinatal cohort of women in urban and rural Turkey, we investigated associations between antenatal depressive symptoms and subsequent changes in perceived quality of key family relationships.

METHOD

Of 730 women recruited in their third trimester (94.6% participation), 578 (79.2%) were reassessed at a mean of 4.1 (s.d. = 3.3) months after childbirth, 488 (66.8%) were reassessed at 13.7 (s.d. = 2.9) months, and 448 (61.4%) at 20.8 (s.d. = 2.7) months. At all four examinations, self-reported quality of relationship with the husband, mother and mother-in-law was ascertained using the Close Persons Questionnaire with respect to emotional support, practical support and negative aspects of the relationship. Antenatal depressive symptoms were defined using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. A range of covariates in mixed models was considered including age, education, number of children, family structure, physical health, past emotional problems and stressful life events.

RESULTS

Key findings were as follows: (i) reported emotional and practical support from all three relationships declined over time in the cohort overall; (ii) reported emotional support from the husband, and emotional and practical support from the mother-in-law, declined more strongly in women with antenatal depressive symptoms; (iii) associations between depressive symptoms and worsening spouse relationship were more pronounced in traditional compared with nuclear families.

CONCLUSIONS

Antenatal depressive symptoms predicted marked decline in the quality of key relationships over the postnatal period. This may account for some of the contemporaneous associations between depression and worse social support, and may compound the risk of perinatal depression in subsequent pregnancies.

Spray Foam Beyond HCFC-141b

Sprayed rigid foam is a significant segment of the polyurethane industry, and as in other rigid foam segments, spray foam formulators need to find ways to meet current product requirements when the use of HCFC-141b is phased out in January 2003. Due to some of the unique characteristics of the spray foam industry, though, the choice of a replacement blowing agent is perhaps more complex than in any other rigid foam sector. The alternatives receiving the most consideration today are HFC-245fa, hydrocarbons, and water.

All of these potential blowing agents have significant hurdles to overcome before they could serve as satisfactory replacements for HCFC-141b in the spray foam market. As of May 1999, a firm commitment to commercialize HFC-245fa has not been made. The use of hydrocarbons in spray would require significant improvements in safe handling procedures and modifications to spray equipment due to flammability issues. And with water-blown systems, dimensional stability and adhesion are two technical hurdles that must be overcome. It is conceded as well that insulation performance (as measured by initial k-factor) will not be as good for a water-blown foam as with HCFC-141b.

It was because of the lack of an obvious HCFC-141b replacement for the spray foam industry that Huntsman Polyurethanes decided to investigate possible solutions. Any alternative would need to meet the processing and handling requirements that are currently met with HCFC-141b systems.

The objective of this work is to develop zero-ODP (ozone depletion potential) technology that meets the performance characteristics that are currently achieved with HCFC-141b spray foam roofing systems. The focus of this paper is on the development of water-blown technology for roofing systems. Foams were processed via high-pressure spray equipment in a controlled environment. The study looked at the effect of polyol, catalyst, blowing agent, and processing variables on foam quality.

Novel psychoactive substances: An investigation of temporal trends in social media and electronic health records

BACKGROUND

Public health monitoring is commonly undertaken in social media but has never been combined with data analysis from electronic health records. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) in social media and their appearance in a large mental health database.

METHODS

Insufficient numbers of mentions of other NPS in case records meant that the study focused on mephedrone. Data were extracted on the number of mephedrone (i) references in the clinical record at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK, (ii) mentions in Twitter, (iii) related searches in Google and (iv) visits in Wikipedia. The characteristics of current mephedrone users in the clinical record were also established.

RESULTS

Increased activity related to mephedrone searches in Google and visits in Wikipedia preceded a peak in mephedrone-related references in the clinical record followed by a spike in the other 3 data sources in early 2010, when mephedrone was assigned a 'class B' status. Features of current mephedrone users widely matched those from community studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Combined analysis of information from social media and data from mental health records may assist public health and clinical surveillance for certain substance-related events of interest. There exists potential for early warning systems for health-care practitioners.