Correlating indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity in a sample of buildings in tropical climates

The incidence of several respiratory viral infections has been shown to be related to climate. Because humans spend most of their time indoors, measures of indoor climate, rather than outdoor climate, may be better predictors of disease incidence and transmission. Therefore, understanding the relationship between indoor and outdoor climate will help illuminate their influence on the seasonality of diseases caused by respiratory viruses. Indoor-outdoor relationships between temperature and humidity have been documented in temperate regions, but little information is available for tropical regions, where seasonal patterns of respiratory viral diseases differ. We have examined indoor-outdoor correlations of temperature, relative humidity (RH), and absolute humidity (AH) over a 1-year period in each of seven tropical cities. Across all cities, the average monthly indoor temperature was 25 ± 3°C (mean ± standard deviation) with a range of 20–30°C. The average monthly indoor RH was 66 ± 9% with a range of 50–78%, and the average monthly indoor AH was 15 ± 3 g/m³ with a range of 10–23 g/m³. Indoor AH and RH were linearly correlated with outdoor AH when the air conditioning (AC) was off, suggesting that outdoor AH may be a good proxy of indoor humidity in the absence of AC. All indoor measurements were more strongly correlated with outdoor measurements as distance from the equator increased. Such correlations were weaker during the wet season, especially when AC was in operation. These correlations will provide insight for assessing the seasonality of respiratory viral infections using outdoor climate data, which is more widely available than indoor data, even though transmission of these diseases mainly occurs indoors.     

Improving solar ultraviolet irradiance measurements by applying a temperature correction method for Teflon diffusers

To establish trends in surface ultraviolet radiation levels, accurate and stable long-term measurements are required. The accuracy level of today's measurements has become high enough to notice even smaller effects that influence instrument sensitivity. Laboratory measurements of the sensitivity of the entrance optics have shown a decrease of as much as 0.07-0.1%/deg temperature increase. Since the entrance optics can heat to greater than 45 degrees C in Dutch summers, corrections are necessary. A method is developed to estimate the entrance optics temperatures from pyranometer measurements and meteorological data. The method enables us to correct historic data records for which temperature information is not available. The temperature retrieval method has an uncertainty of less than 2.5 degrees C, resulting in a 0.3% uncertainty in the correction to be performed. The temperature correction improves the agreement between modeled and measured doses and instrument intercomparison as performed within the Quality Assurance of Spectral Ultraviolet Measurements in Europe project. The retrieval method is easily transferable to other instruments.     

Selective detection and identification of sugar nucleotides by CE-electrospray-MS and its application to bacterial metabolomics

A novel method employing CE-ESMS and precursor ion scanning was developed for the selective detection of nucleotide-activated sugars. By using precursor ion scanning for fragment ions specific to the different nucleotide carriers, i.e., ions at m/z 322 for cytidine monophosphate, m/z 323, 385, and 403 for uridine diphosphate, m/z 362, 424, and 442, for guanosine diphosphate, and m/z 346, 408, and 426 for adenosine diphosphate, it was possible to selectively detect sugar nucleotides involved in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates such as glycoproteins and lipopolysaccharides. Enhancement of sensitivity was achieved using N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) as a sample stacking buffer and provided detection limits between 0.2 and 3.8 pmol.mL(-)(1). The present CE-ESMS method provided linear dynamic ranges over the concentrations 0.2-164 nM (r(2) = 0.952-0.997) for different nucleotide sugar standards. The application of this method is demonstrated for the identification of intracellular pools of sugar nucleotides in wild type and isogenic mutants from the bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. By using product ion scanning (with and without front-end collision-induced dissociation), it was possible to determine the precise nature of unexpected sugar nucleotides involved in the biosynthesis of pseudaminic acid, a sialic acid-like sugar previously observed on the flagellin of some pathogenic bacteria.     

The impact of childhood symptoms of conduct disorder on driver aggression in adulthood

Background

Despite limited empirical investigation, existing scientific literature suggests that individuals with a history or current diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) may be more likely to demonstrate reckless and aggressive driving. Much of the limited research in this field examines the impact of childhood CD on driver behaviour and collision risk in young adults. Few if any, studies assess the impact of this disorder on driver behaviour beyond age 21 years. The current research is a population-based study of the impact of CD symptoms during childhood on the risk of engaging in driver aggression during adulthood.

Methods

Data are based on telephone interviews with 5230 respondents who reported having driven in the past year. Data are derived from the 2011–2013 cycles of the CAMH Monitor, an ongoing cross-sectional survey of adults in Ontario, Canada aged 18 years and older. A binary logistic regression analysis of self-reported driver aggression in the previous 12 months was conducted, consisting of measures of demographic characteristics, driving exposure, problem substance use, alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and childhood (before age 15) symptoms of CD.

Results

When entered with demographic characteristics, driving exposure, and other potential confounders, childhood symptoms of CD increased the odds of reporting driver aggression more than two-fold (adjusted OR = 2.12). Exploratory analyses of the interaction between childhood symptoms of CD and age was not a significant predictor of driver aggression.

Conclusions

Results suggest that symptoms of CD during childhood are associated with significantly increased odds of self-reported driver aggression during adulthood. Limitations and future directions of the research are discussed.     

CF-GGA: A grouping genetic algorithm for the cell formation problem

In manufacturing, the machine-part cell formation (MPCF) problem addresses the issues surrounding the formation of part families based on the processing requirements of the components, and the identification of machine groups based on their ability to process specific part families. Past research has shown that one key aspect of attaining efficient groupings of parts and machines is the block-diagonalization of the given machine-part (MP) incidence matrix. This paper presents and tests a grouping genetic algorithm (GGA) for solving the MPCF problem and gauges the quality of the GGA's solutions using the measurements of efficiency (Chandrasekharan and Rajagopalan 1986a) and efficacy (Kumar and Chandrasekharan 1990). The GGA in this study, CF-GGA, a grouping genetic algorithm for the cell formation problem, performs very well when applied to a variety of problems from the literature. With a minimal number of parameters and a straightforward encoding, CF-GGA is able to match solutions with several highly complex algorithms and heuristics that were previously employed to solve these problems.     

Synthetically programmable nanoparticle superlattices using a hollow three-dimensional spacer approach

Crystalline nanoparticle arrays and superlattices with well-defined geometries can be synthesized by using appropriate electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding or biological recognition interactions. Although superlattices with many distinct geometries can be produced using these approaches, the library of achievable lattices could be increased by developing a strategy that allows some of the nanoparticles within a binary lattice to be replaced with 'spacer' entities that are constructed to mimic the behaviour of the nanoparticles they replace, even though they do not contain an inorganic core. The inclusion of these spacer entities within a known binary superlattice would effectively delete one set of nanoparticles without affecting the positions of the other set. Here, we show how hollow DNA nanostructures can be used as 'three-dimensional spacers' within nanoparticle superlattices assembled through programmable DNA interactions. We show that this strategy can be used to form superlattices with five distinct symmetries, including one that has never before been observed in any crystalline material.     

Metal–Organic Framework Nanoparticles Induce Pyroptosis in Cells Controlled by the Extracellular pH

Ion homeostasis is essential for cellular survival, and elevated concentrations of specific ions are used to start distinct forms of programmed cell death. However, investigating the influence of certain ions on cells in a controlled way has been hampered due to the tight regulation of ion import by cells. Here, it is shown that lipid-coated iron-based metal–organic framework nanoparticles are able to deliver and release high amounts of iron ions into cells. While high concentrations of iron often trigger ferroptosis, here, the released iron induces pyroptosis, a form of cell death involving the immune system. The iron release occurs only in slightly acidic extracellular environments restricting cell death to cells in acidic microenvironments and allowing for external control. The release mechanism is based on endocytosis facilitated by the lipid-coating followed by degradation of the nanoparticle in the lysosome via cysteine-mediated reduction, which is enhanced in slightly acidic extracellular environment. Thus, a new functionality of hybrid nanoparticles is demonstrated, which uses their nanoarchitecture to facilitate controlled ion delivery into cells. Based on the selectivity for acidic microenvironments, the described nanoparticles may also be used for immunotherapy: the nanoparticles may directly affect the primary tumor and the induced pyroptosis activates the immune system.     

On the reduction of dodging in mice: A comparison of food wrenching and dodging in rats (Rattus norvegicus) and mice (Mus musculus).

Rats attempt to steal food from conspecifics by approaching them from the side to wrench the food from the victims' paws, but victims dodge laterally away to protect their food. Given the pervasive necessity of obtaining food, it might be expected that the behaviors of food wrenching and dodging would be common to many animals, but this idea has not been examined. In the present study, food wrenching and dodging were compared in Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) and out-crossed CDF1 and inbred C57b mice (Mus musculus). Mice stole food using a strategy very similar to that of rats, but they did not dodge in an open field test and dodged less in a home cage test and ran away or fought more than rats. There were no strain differences in rats, but C57b mice dodged less than CDF1 mice. Given that dodging is a component not only of food defensive behavior but also of play, sexual, and aggressive behavior, the species and strain difference may be a marker (or a key element) of changes in social behaviors that have occurred since the evolutionary separation of rats and mice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)