Health economics and cost implications of anxiety and other mental disorders in the United States

BACKGROUND: Mental disorders impose a multi-billion dollar burden on the economy each year; translating the burden into economic terms is important to facilitate formulating policies about the use of resources. METHODS: For direct costs, data were obtained from national household interview and provider surveys; for morbidity costs, a timing model was used that measures the lifetime effect on current income of individuals with mental disorders, taking into account the timing of onset and the duration of these disorders, based on regression analysis of Epidemiologic Catchment Area study data. RESULTS: The total economic costs of mental disorders amounted to US$147.8 billion in 1990. Anxiety disorders are the most costly, amounting to $46.6 billion, or 31.5% of the total; schizophrenic disorders accounted for $32.5 billion, affective disorders for $30.4 billion, and other mental disorders for $38.4 billion. CONCLUSIONS: Mental illnesses, especially anxiety disorders, are costly to society. Although anxiety disorders have a higher prevalence than affective disorders and schizophrenia, use of medical care services is lowest for anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders appear to be under-recognised and untreated even though treatment interventions have been shown to be effective and can be delivered in a cost-efficient manner.     

Protein thermostability above 100 degreesC: a key role for ionic interactions

The discovery of hyperthermophilic microorganisms and the analysis of hyperthermostable enzymes has established the fact that multisubunit enzymes can survive for prolonged periods at temperatures above 100 degreesC. We have carried out homology-based modeling and direct structure comparison on the hexameric glutamate dehydrogenases from the hyperthermophiles Pyrococcus furiosus and Thermococcus litoralis whose optimal growth temperatures are 100 degreesC and 88 degreesC, respectively, to determine key stabilizing features. These enzymes, which are 87% homologous, differ 16-fold in thermal stability at 104 degreesC. We observed that an intersubunit ion-pair network was substantially reduced in the less stable enzyme from T. litoralis, and two residues were then altered to restore these interactions. The single mutations both had adverse effects on the thermostability of the protein. However, with both mutations in place, we observed a fourfold improvement of stability at 104 degreesC over the wild-type enzyme. The catalytic properties of the enzymes were unaffected by the mutations. These results suggest that extensive ion-pair networks may provide a general strategy for manipulating enzyme thermostability of multisubunit enzymes. However, this study emphasizes the importance of the exact local environment of a residue in determining its effects on stability.     

Effects of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, and cortisol on periparturient antibody response profiles of dairy cattle

The objectives of this study were to determine hormone and antibody response profiles from the prepartum period to peak lactation, and evaluate potential immunomodulatory effects of the classic endocrine hormones, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and cortisol. Specifically, 33 Holstein cows were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) and Escherichia coli J5 at weeks -8 and -3 prior to parturition. At parturition (week 0), cows received an additional immunization of OVA. Blood was collected at weeks -8, -3, 0, 3 and 6 relative to parturition and various samples were used to determine plasma hormone concentration, serum immunoglobulin (Ig), and specific antibody response to OVA and E. coli. Colostrum and milk samples were also collected post-parturition to monitor local immunoglobulin and antibody responses. Results indicated that not all periparturient cows exhibited depressed immune response, and that antibody response to OVA could be used to partition cows into 3 groups recognizing animals with sustained measurable antibody response before and after parturition (Group 1), animals which responded poorly to immunization at parturition (Group 2), and animals which did not respond to immunizations at week -3 or parturition (Group 3). Cows with the highest antibody response to OVA (Group 1) also tended (P < or = 0.10) to have the highest response to E. coli J5 at parturition and had the lowest incidence of disease, particularly mastitis. Antibody response to OVA measured in milk tended to be higher in Group 1 cows, particularly at week 0 (P < or = 0.06) compared to cows of Group 3. IGF-I was higher (P < or = 0.05) in cows of Group 1 than Group 3 at peak lactation (week 6).     

The effects of catalyst surface heterogeneity on the fischer-tropsch synthesis

We find that the surface energetic heterogeneity of Fischer-Tropsch catalysts is either not important kinetically or may be masked by the effect of increasing molecular size, so that the classical Anderson-Schulz-Flory distribution is routinely observed in product distributions. The anomalous yields of C₁ and C₂ observed in many cases may also be due to surface heterogeneity but can in practice be readily, and more conveniently, accounted for by assigning individual rate constants to their formation. The “break” sometimes observed in ASF distributions cannot be explained by surface heterogeneity and is best explained by the presence of two distinct modes of product formation.     

纳米K2CO3/CaO催化大豆油制备生物柴油

以K2CO3、纳米CaCO3(自制)为原料,K2CO3的负载质量分数为50%,在750℃焙烧3 h得到纳米K2CO3/CaO固体碱催化剂,并通过XRD、FT-IR及TG-DSC等手段进行确认.再用该催化剂催化制备生物柴油,结果表明:制备生物柴油的最佳条件为温度70℃,质量分数3%的纳米K2CO3/CaO,醇油摩尔比12...     

以酯基为连接基的非离子双子表面活性剂的合成

以蓖麻油酸（RA）、聚乙二醇（600）为原料,马来酸酐为连接基,合成了一种新型的非离子双子表面活性剂MARAPEG-15,考察了催化剂用量、物料摩尔配比、反应时间及温度对酸酐与蓖麻油酸聚乙二醇硼酸酯酯化的影响,并测定了产物的临界胶束浓度和表面张力。马来酸酐与蓖麻油酸聚乙二醇硼酸酯酯化较佳的工艺条件为：催化剂用量为总质量的3%,n（酸酐）∶n（蓖麻油酸聚乙二醇硼酸酯）为3.1∶2,反应温度为110℃,时间为4 h;硼酸酯键水解时间为1.5 h。产物的表面张力及其临界胶束浓度为γCMC=35.73 mN/m,CMC=1.96×10-5mol/L。     

卧螺离心机内盐析流场的CFD-PBM耦合计算

目前对卧螺离心机内部流场的数值模拟大多采用传统欧拉模型,考虑其内部伴有盐析等固相粒子微观行为过程的研究少有报道。本文应用计算流体力学软件Fluent,基于群体平衡模型与多相流Eulerian模型、RNG k-ε模型耦合方法,对卧螺离心机内部盐析两相流场进行三维数值模拟,通过仿真与实验相结合的方式,得到卧螺离心机内盐析流场的晶体颗粒粒径分布、组分数分布和浓度分布及其变化规律,初步揭示了卧螺离心机内伴有盐析的流场晶体颗粒分布特性。研究结果表明：卧螺离心机内盐析晶体粒径的分布随液环半径的增大而增大,螺旋叶片正壁面粒径明显较背面大,从排液端至排渣端的晶体粒径分布有整体逐渐变大的轴向粒径梯度;流道内晶体粒径随转鼓转速的增大而减小,随进口固相体积分数的增大而增大;大粒径晶体的组分数在液环外侧及螺旋叶片正面附近相对较大,而中、小粒径晶体组分数的分布规律则与之相反;盐析颗粒浓度在液环外侧较高且分布均匀,且随转鼓转速的提高而提高,PBM模型与Euler模型计算结果有一定的相似与差异。     

三聚磷酸二氢铝对氨气的吸附动力学研究

在真空干燥器中,加入一定量待测气体的水溶液,保持真空干燥器中待测气体浓度恒定。利用此装置研究了氨气浓度、三聚磷酸二氢铝吸附大气和水蒸气后,对三聚磷酸二氢铝吸附氨气动力学的影响。结果表明,三聚磷酸二氢铝吸附氨气,可用一级动力学方程和Elovich动力学方程模型描述;氨水浓度对吸附量和平衡吸附时间有显著影响;三聚磷酸二氢铝吸附空气后,对吸附量和平衡吸附时间无影响;三聚磷酸二氢铝吸附水蒸气后,对吸附量和平衡吸附时间均有影响。     

铁离子改性碳分子筛对氮气/甲烷分离性能的研究

针对碳分子筛对氮气/甲烷分离体系分离比低的问题,采用浸渍法以市售空分碳分子筛（CMS）为基体,制备了分离氮气/甲烷的铁离子改性碳分子筛。通过静态吸附量、分离比、吸附动力学及热力学性质考察了铁离子负载量对碳分子筛吸附分离氮气/甲烷性能的影响。结果表明：铁（Ⅲ）的负载减小了CMS的比表面积、微孔体积和孔径,使CMS超微孔的孔径分布呈现更集中的趋势。这种集中性以动力学性能下降为代价,明显提高了碳分子筛对氮气/甲烷的吸附分离比。在303 K、0.7 MPa条件下,综合性能优异的0.3%铁改性CMS具有6.03的氮气/甲烷吸附分离比。     

连续识别Zn2+和草甘膦荧光探针的合成与应用

以2-巯基苯并噻唑为原料,设计合成了一种结构简单的苯并噻唑类荧光探针2-[2-(苯并噻吩-2-基亚甲基)肼基]苯并噻唑(简称NSS),并通过FTIR、HRMS、¹HNMR、¹³CNMR对其结构进行了表征。荧光光谱表明,在二甲基亚砜中,探针NSS实现了Zn²⁺的“关-开”型检测,具有响应时间短(30 s)、特异性强、抗干扰性强等优点。探针NSS荧光强度与Zn²⁺浓度(0～11μmol/L)呈现良好的线性关系,检出限达19.1 nmol/L,并与Zn²⁺形成物质的量比为1∶1的络合物。同时,络合物NSS-Zn²⁺对草甘膦呈现特异性的荧光猝灭响应,猝灭率达99.4%,检出限16.0 nmol/L(2.71 ng/mL),且不受其他有机磷农药的干扰。