Maximizing ROI on Executive Health

This educational brochure provides a general overview of what healthy defaults are and how they can be applied in a corporate setting to improve dietary intake and increase physical activity. Specific examples are given as well as the expected benefits that both the individual and the organization can expect to achieve.https://dune.une.edu/an_studedres/1163/thumbnail.jp

International Coercion, Emulation and Policy Diffusion: Market-Oriented Infrastructure Reforms, 1977-1999

Why do some countries adopt market-oriented reforms such as deregulation, privatization and liberalization of competition in their infrastructure industries while others do not? Why did the pace of adoption accelerate in the 1990s? Building on neo-institutional theory in sociology, we argue that the domestic adoption of market-oriented reforms is strongly influenced by international pressures of coercion and emulation. We find robust support for these arguments with an event-history analysis of the determinants of reform in the telecommunications and electricity sectors of as many as 205 countries and territories between 1977 and 1999. Our results also suggest that the coercive effect of multilateral lending from the IMF, the World Bank or Regional Development Banks is increasing over time, a finding that is consistent with anecdotal evidence that multilateral organizations have broadened the scope of the “conditionality” terms specifying market-oriented reforms imposed on borrowing countries. We discuss the possibility that, by pressuring countries into policy reform, cross-national coercion and emulation may not produce ideal outcomes.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40099/3/wp713.pd

Company matters:The presence of other genotypes alters traits and intraspecific selection in an Arctic diatom under climate change

Arctic phytoplankton and their response to future conditions shape one of the most rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet. We tested how much the phenotypic responses of strains from an Arctic diatom population diverge and whether the physiology and intraspecific composition of multi-strain populations differ from expectations based on single strain traits. To this end, we conducted incubation experiments with the diatom Thalassiosira hyalina under present-day and future temperature and pCO2 treatments. Six fresh isolates from the same Svalbard population were incubated as mono- and multi-strain cultures. For the first time, we were able to closely follow intraspecific selection within an artificial population using microsatellites and allele-specific quantitative PCR. Our results show not only that there is substantial variation in how strains of the same species cope with the tested environments, but also that changes in genotype composition, production rates and cellular quotas in the multi-strain cultures are not predictable from monoculture performance. Nevertheless, the physiological responses as well as strain composition of the artificial populations were highly reproducible within each environment. Interestingly, we only detected significant strain sorting in those populations exposed to the future treatment. This study illustrates that the genetic composition of populations can change on very short timescales through selection from the intraspecific standing stock, indicating the potential for rapid population level adaptation to climate change. We further show that individuals adjust their phenotype not only in response to their physico-chemical, but also to their biological surroundings. Such intraspecific interactions need to be understood in order to realistically predict ecosystem responses to global change

Tetra­kis(1,2-dimethoxy­ethane-κ2 O,O′)ytterbium(II) bis­(μ2-phenyl­selenolato-κ2 Se:Se)bis­[bis­(phenyl­selenolato-κSe)mercurate(II)]

The title salt, [Yb(C4H10O2)4][Hg2(C6H5Se)6], consists of eight-coordinate homoleptic [Yb(DME)4]2+ dications (DME is 1,2-dimethoxy­ethane) countered with [Hg2(SePh)6]2− di­anions. The cations and anions have twofold rotation and inversion symmetry, respectively. The Yb centre displays a square-anti­prismatic coordination geometry and the Hg centre has a distorted tetra­hedral coordination environment. One phenyl­selenolate anion and one methyl group of a DME ligand are disordered over two positions with equal occupancies. This structure is unique in that it represents a less common mol­ecular lanthanide species in which the lanthanide ion is not directly bonded to an anionic ligand. There are no occurrences of the [Hg2(SePh)6]2− dianion in the Cambridge Structural Database (Version of November 2007), but there are similar oligomeric and polymeric Hgx(SePh)y species. The crystal structure is characterized by alternating layers of cations and anions stacked along the c axis

Hydrogen spillover in tungsten oxide bronzes as observed by broadband neutron spectroscopy

Funding: This research was funded by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council via direct access proposal (RB1920033, VESUVIO).Hydrogen spillover is an elusive process, and its characterization, using experimental probes and ab initio modeling, poses a serious challenge. In this work, the nuclear quantum dynamics of hydrogen in a palladium-decorated cubic polymorph of tungsten oxide, Pd/cWO3, are characterized by the technique of neutron Compton scattering augmented by ab initio harmonic lattice modeling. The deeply penetrating nature of the neutron scattering process, the lack of spectroscopic selection rules, the inherent high sensitivity to hydrogen, the high energy and momentum resolution for hydrogen, and the mass selectivity of the technique render the neutron Compton scattering a very potent and unique tool for investigating the local dynamics of hydrogen species in bulk matrices. The total neutron Compton scattering response of hydrogen is described in terms of the hydrogen momentum distribution. The distribution is deconvoluted under the assumption of three pools of hydrogen with distinctly different nuclear quantum dynamical behavior: (i) hydrogen-terminated beta-palladium hydride, (ii) hydrogen in acid centers (OH+ groups) on the surface of the cubic phase of tungsten oxide, and (iii) quasi-free atomic hydrogen inside the saturated hydrogen bronze resulting from the spillover process. The ab initio modeling of lattice dynamics yields theoretical predictions for the values of the widths of proton momentum distributions in the first two hydrogen pools, which allows for obtaining the contribution and the width of the momentum distribution of the quasi-free atomic hydrogen resulting from the hydrogen spillover process. The analysis reveals that the local binding strength of the quasi-free hydrogen is characterized by the values of nuclear momentum distribution width, nuclear kinetic energy, and force constant of the underlying potential of the mean force close to those of free, unconstrained hydrogen atomic species in a gas of non-interacting particles described by the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. Moreover, this picture of the local dynamics of the quasi-free hydrogen is consistent with the proton polaron model of hydrogen-induced coloration of bulk hydrogenated WO3.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4 butanediol (1,4-BD; BDO) : a literature review with a focus on UK fatalities related to non-medical use

Misuse of gamma hydroxybutrate (GHB) and gamma butyrolactone (GBL) has increased greatly since the early 1990s, being implicated in a rising number of deaths. This paper reviews knowledge on GHB and derivatives, and explores the largest series of deaths associated with their non-medical use. Descriptive analyses of cases associated with GHB/GBL and 1,4 butanediol (1,4-BD) use extracted from the UK’s National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths database. From 1995 to September 2013, 159 GHB/GBL-associated fatalities were reported. Typical victims: White (92%), young (mean age 32 years); male (82%); with a drug misuse history (70%). Most deaths (79%) were accidental or related to drug use, the remainder (potential) suicides. GHB/GBL alone was implicated in 37%; alcohol 14%; other drugs 28%; other drugs and alcohol 15%. Its endogenous nature and rapid elimination limit toxicological detection. Post-mortem blood levels: mean 482 (range 0 - 6500; S.D. 758) mg/L. Results suggest significant caution is needed when ingesting GHB/GBL, particularly with alcohol, benzodiazepines, opiates, stimulants, and ketamine. More awareness is needed about risks associated with consumption.Peer reviewe

The Arthrobacter Species FB24 Arth_1007 (DnaB) Intein Is a Pseudogene

An Arthrobacter species FB24 gene (locus tag Arth_1007) was previously annotated as a putative intein-containing DnaB helicase of phage origin (Arsp-FB24 DnaB intein). However, it is not a helicase gene because the sequence similarity is limited to inteins. In fact, the flanking exteins total only 66 amino acids. Therefore, the intein should be referred to as the Arsp-FB24 Arth_1007 intein. The Arsp-FB24 Arth_1007 intein failed to splice in its native precursor and in a model precursor. We previously noted that the Arsp-FB24 Arth_1007 intein is the only putative Class 3 intein that is missing the catalytically essential Cys at position 4 of intein Motif F, which is one of the three defining signature residues of this class. Additionally, a catalytically essential His in position 10 of intein Motif B is also absent; this His is the most conserved residue amongst all inteins. Splicing activity was not rescued when these two catalytically important positions were ‘reverted’ back to their consensus residues. This study restores the unity of the Class 3 intein signature sequence in active inteins by demonstrating that the Arsp-FB24 Arth_1007 intein is an inactive pseudogene

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with Increased Osteocalcin Levels in Acute Aortic Dissection: A Pilot Study on Elderly Patients

An imbalance between degradation and reconstruction of the aortic wall is one of the leading causes of acute aortic dissection (AAD). Vitamin D seems an intriguing molecule to explore in the field of AAD since it improves endothelial function and protects smooth muscle cells from inflammation-induced remodeling, calcification, and loss of function, all events which are strongly related to the aging process. We quantified 25-hydroxy vitamin D, calcium, parathormone, bone alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin levels in 24 elderly AAD patients to identify a potential pathological implication of these molecules in AAD. Median 25-hydroxy vitamin D (10.75 ng/mL, 25th–75th percentiles: 6.86–19.23 ng/mL) and calcium levels (8.70 mg/dL, 25th–75th percentiles: 7.30–8.80 mg/dL) suggested hypovitaminosis D and a moderate hypocalcemia. Thirty-eight percent of AAD patients had severe (<10 ng/mL), 38% moderate (10–20 ng/mL), and 24% mild 25-hydroxy vitamin D deficiency (20–30 ng/mL). A significant inverse correlation was observed between 25OHD and osteocalcin levels. All the other molecules were unchanged. A condition of hypovitaminosis D associated to an increase in osteocalcin levels is present in AAD patients. The identification of these molecules as new factors involved in AAD may be helpful to identify individuals at high risk as well to study preventing strategies