Testing and comparing two self-care-related instruments among older Chinese adults

Objectives The study aimed to test and compare the reliability and validity, including sensitivity and specificity of the two self-care-related instruments, the Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly (SASE), and the Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale-Revised (ASAS-R), among older adults in the Chinese context. Methods A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study. The sample consisted of 1152 older adults. Data were collected by a questionnaire including the Chinese version of SASE (SASE-CHI), the Chinese version of ASAS-R (ASAS-R-CHI) and the Exercise of Self-Care Agency scale (ESCA). Homogeneity and stability, content, construct and concurrent validity, and sensitivity and specificity were assessed. Results The Cronbach's alpha (α) of SASE-CHI was 0.89, the item-to-total correlations ranged from r = 0.15 to r = 0.81, and the test-retest correlation coefficient (intra-class correlation coefficient, ICC) was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.99±1.00; P<0.001). The Cronbach's α of ASAS-R-CHI was 0.78, the item-to-total correlations ranged from r = 0.20 to r = 0.65, and the test-retest ICC was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92±0.96; P<0.001). The content validity index (CVI) of SASE-CHI and ASAS-R-CHI was 0.96 and 0.97, respectively. The findings of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) confirmed a good construct validity of SASE-CHI and ASAS-R-CHI. The Pearson's rank correlation coefficients, as a measure of concurrent validity, between total score of SASE-CHI and ESCA and ASAS-R-CHI and ESCA were assessed to 0.65 (P<0.001) and 0.62 (P<0.001), respectively. Regarding ESCA as the criterion, the area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve for the cut-point of SASE-CHI and ASAS-R-CHI were 0.93 (95% CI, 0.91±0.94) and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.80±0.86), respectively. Conclusion There is no significant difference between the two instruments. Each has its own characteristics, but SASE-CHI is more suitable for older adults. The key point is that the users can choose the most appropriate scale according to the specific situation.publishedVersionNivå

The role of multiple marks in epigenetic silencing and the emergence of a stable bivalent chromatin state

We introduce and analyze a minimal model of epigenetic silencing in budding yeast, built upon known biomolecular interactions in the system. Doing so, we identify the epigenetic marks essential for the bistability of epigenetic states. The model explicitly incorporates two key chromatin marks, namely H4K16 acetylation and H3K79 methylation, and explores whether the presence of multiple marks lead to a qualitatively different systems behavior. We find that having both modifications is important for the robustness of epigenetic silencing. Besides the silenced and transcriptionally active fate of chromatin, our model leads to a novel state with bivalent (i.e., both active and silencing) marks under certain perturbations (knock-out mutations, inhibition or enhancement of enzymatic activity). The bivalent state appears under several perturbations and is shown to result in patchy silencing. We also show that the titration effect, owing to a limited supply of silencing proteins, can result in counter-intuitive responses. The design principles of the silencing system is systematically investigated and disparate experimental observations are assessed within a single theoretical framework. Specifically, we discuss the behavior of Sir protein recruitment, spreading and stability of silenced regions in commonly-studied mutants (e.g., sas2, dot1) illuminating the controversial role of Dot1 in the systems biology of yeast silencing.Comment: Supplementary Material, 14 page

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Identification and Filtering of Uncharacteristic Noise in the CMS Hadron Calorimeter

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Performance of CMS hadron calorimeter timing and synchronization using test beam, cosmic ray, and LHC beam data

This paper discusses the design and performance of the time measurement technique and of the synchronization systems of the CMS hadron calorimeter. Time measurement performance results are presented from test beam data taken in the years 2004 and 2006. For hadronic showers of energy greater than 100 GeV, the timing resolution is measured to be about 1.2 ns. Time synchronization and out-of-time background rejection results are presented from the Cosmic Run At Four Tesla and LHC beam runs taken in the Autumn of 2008. The inter-channel synchronization is measured to be within ±2 ns

Estrogen Receptor-Alpha 36 Mediates Mitogenic Antiestrogen Signaling in ER-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

It is prevailingly thought that the antiestrogens tamoxifen and ICI 182, 780 are competitive antagonists of the estrogen-binding site of the estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α). However, a plethora of evidence demonstrated both antiestrogens exhibit agonist activities in different systems such as activation of the membrane-initiated signaling pathways. The mechanisms by which antiestrogens mediate estrogen-like activities have not been fully established. Previously, a variant of ER-α, EP–α36, has been cloned and showed to mediate membrane-initiated estrogen and antiestrogen signaling in cells only expressing ER-α36. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the antiestrogen signaling in ER-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 cells that express high levels of endogenous ER-α36. We found that the effects of both 4-hydoxytamoxifen (4-OHT) and ICI 182, 780 (ICI) exhibited a non-monotonic, or biphasic dose response curve; antiestrogens at low concentrations, elicited a mitogenic signaling pathway to stimulate cell proliferation while at high concentrations, antiestrogens inhibited cell growth. Antiestrogens at l nM induced the phosphorylation of the Src-Y416 residue, an event to activate Src, while at 5 µM induced Src-Y527 phosphorylation that inactivates Src. Antiestrogens at 1 nM also induced phosphorylation of the MAPK/ERK and activated the Cyclin D1 promoter activity through the Src/EGFR/STAT5 pathways but not at 5 µM. Knock-down of ER-α36 abrogated the biphasic antiestrogen signaling in these cells. Our results thus indicated that ER-α36 mediates biphasic antiestrogen signaling in the ER-negative breast cancer cells and Src functions as a switch of antiestrogen signaling dependent on concentrations of antiestrogens through the EGFR/STAT5 pathway

Different Molecular Signatures in Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Staged Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Muscles

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most common muscular dystrophies and is characterized by a non-conventional genetic mechanism activated by pathogenic D4Z4 repeat contractions. By muscle Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) we observed that T2-short tau inversion recovery (T2-STIR) sequences identify two different conditions in which each muscle can be found before the irreversible dystrophic alteration, marked as T1-weighted sequence hyperintensity, takes place. We studied these conditions in order to obtain further information on the molecular mechanisms involved in the selective wasting of single muscles or muscle groups in this disease

A low-eccentricity migration pathway for a 13-h-period Earth analogue in a four-planet system

It is commonly accepted that exoplanets with orbital periods shorter than one day, also known as ultra-short-period (USP) planets, formed further out within their natal protoplanetary disks before migrating to their current-day orbits via dynamical interactions. One of the most accepted theories suggests a violent scenario involving high-eccentricity migration followed by tidal circularization. Here we present the discovery of a four-planet system orbiting the bright (V = 10.5) K6 dwarf star TOI-500. The innermost planet is a transiting, Earth-sized USP planet with an orbital period of ~13 hours, a mass of 1.42 ± 0.18 M⊕, a radius of 1.166−0.058+0.061R⊕ and a mean density of 4.89−0.88+1.03gcm−3. Via Doppler spectroscopy, we discovered that the system hosts 3 outer planets on nearly circular orbits with periods of 6.6, 26.2 and 61.3 days and minimum masses of 5.03 ± 0.41 M⊕, 33.12 ± 0.88 M⊕ and 15.05−1.11+1.12M⊕, respectively. The presence of both a USP planet and a low-mass object on a 6.6-day orbit indicates that the architecture of this system can be explained via a scenario in which the planets started on low-eccentricity orbits then moved inwards through a quasi-static secular migration. Our numerical simulations show that this migration channel can bring TOI-500 b to its current location in 2 Gyr, starting from an initial orbit of 0.02 au. TOI-500 is the first four-planet system known to host a USP Earth analogue whose current architecture can be explained via a non-violent migration scenario