Dataset for multidimensional assessment to incentivise decentralised energy investments in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In this data article, we present datasets from the construction of a composite indicator, the Photovoltaic Decentralised Energy Investment (PV-DEI) index, presented in detail in [1]. This article consists of a comprehensive energy-related data collected in practice from several sources, and from the outputs of the methodology described in [1]. The PV-DEI was designed and developed to measure the multidimensional factors that currently direct decentralised renewable energy investments. The PV-DEI index includes 52 indicators and was constructed because factors stimulating investment cannot be captured by a single indicator, e.g. competitiveness, affordability, or governance [1]. The PV-DEI index was built in alignment with a theoretical framework guided by an extensive review of the literature surrounding investment in decentralised Photovoltaic (PV), which led to the selection of its indicators. The structure of the PV-DEI was evaluated for its soundness using correlational assessments and principal component analyses (PCA). The raw data provided in this article can enable stakeholders to focus on specific country indicators, and how scores on these indicators contributed to a countries overall rank within the PV-DEI index. The data can be used to weight indicators depending on the specifications of several different stakeholders (such as NGOs, private sector or international institutions).

Cross Disciplinary Role Agreement is Needed When Coordinating Long-Term Opioid Prescribing for Cancer: a Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer pain is highly prevalent and often managed in primary care or by oncology providers in combination with primary care providers. OBJECTIVES: To understand interdisciplinary provider experiences coordinating opioid pain management for patients with chronic cancer-related pain in a large integrated healthcare system. DESIGN: Qualitative research. PARTICIPANTS: We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with interdisciplinary providers in two large academically affiliated VA Medical Centers and their associated community-based outpatient clinics. Participants included primary care providers (PCPs) and oncology-based personnel (OBPs). APPROACH: We deductively identified 94 examples of care coordination for cancer pain in the 20 interviews. We secondarily used an inductive open coding approach and identified themes through constant comparison coming to research team consensus. RESULTS: Theme 1: PCPs and OBPs generally believed one provider should handle all opioid prescribing for a specific patient, but did not always agree on who that prescriber should be in the context of cancer pain. Theme 2: There are special circumstances where having multiple prescribers is appropriate (e.g., a pain crisis). Theme 3: A collaborative process to opioid cancer pain management would include real-time communication and negotiation between PCPs and oncology around who will handle opioid prescribing. Theme 4: Providers identified multiple barriers in coordinating cancer pain management across disciplines. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight how real-time negotiation about roles in opioid pain management is needed between interdisciplinary clinicians. Lack of cross-disciplinary role agreement may result in delays in clinically appropriate cancer pain management.

Detection of large-scale X-ray bubbles in the Milky Way halo.

The halo of the Milky Way provides a laboratory to study the properties of the shocked hot gas that is predicted by models of galaxy formation. There is observational evidence of energy injection into the halo from past activity in the nucleus of the Milky Way1-4; however, the origin of this energy (star formation or supermassive-black-hole activity) is uncertain, and the causal connection between nuclear structures and large-scale features has not been established unequivocally. Here we report soft-X-ray-emitting bubbles that extend approximately 14 kiloparsecs above and below the Galactic centre and include a structure in the southern sky analogous to the North Polar Spur. The sharp boundaries of these bubbles trace collisionless and non-radiative shocks, and corroborate the idea that the bubbles are not a remnant of a local supernova5 but part of a vast Galaxy-scale structure closely related to features seen in γ-rays6. Large energy injections from the Galactic centre7 are the most likely cause of both the γ-ray and X-ray bubbles. The latter have an estimated energy of around 1056 erg, which is sufficient to perturb the structure, energy content and chemical enrichment of the circumgalactic medium of the Milky Way.

All-cause mortality among males living with and without HIV initiating long-term opioid therapy, and its association with opioid dose, opioid interruption and other factors.

BACKGROUND: While the relationship between long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) dose and overdose is well-established, LTOT's association with all-cause mortality is less understood, especially among people living with HIV (PLWH). There is also limited information regarding the association of LTOT cessation or interruption with mortality. METHODS: Among PLWH and matched uninfected male veterans in care, we identified those who initiated LTOT. Using time-updated cox regression, we examined the association between all-cause mortality, unnatural death, and overdose, and opioid use categorized as 1-20 (reference group), 21-50, 51-90, and ≥ 91 mg morphine equivalent daily dose (MEDD). RESULTS: There were 22,996 patients on LTOT, 6,578 (29 %) PLWH and 16,418 (71 %) uninfected. Among 5,222 (23 %) deaths, 12 % were unnatural deaths and 6 % overdoses. MEDD was associated with risk of all 3 outcomes; compared to patients on 1-20 mg MEDD, adjusted risk for all-cause mortality monotonically increased (Hazard Ratios (HR) [95 % CI] for 21-50 mg MEDD = 1.36 [1.21, 1.52], 51-90 mg MEDD = 2.06 [1.82, 2.35], and ≥ 91 mg MEDD = 3.03 [2.71, 3.39]). Similar results were seen in models stratified by HIV. LTOT interruption was also associated with all-cause, unnatural, and overdose mortality (HR [95 % CI] 2.30 [2.09, 2.53], 1.47 [1.13, 1.91] and 1.52 [1.04, 2.23], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Among PLWH and uninfected patients on LTOT we observed a strong dose-response relationship with all 3 mortality outcomes. Opioid risk mitigation approaches should be expanded to address the potential effects of higher dose on all-cause mortality in addition to unnatural and overdose fatalities.

Multiparametric Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting Luminescence Microscopy.

Classic time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) technique involves detection of single photons of a periodic optical signal, registration of the photon arrival time in respect to the reference pulse, and construction of photon distribution with regard to the detection times. This technique achieves extremely high time resolution and near-ideal detection efficiency. Modern TCSPC is multi-dimensional, i.e., in addition to the photon arrival time relative to the excitation pulse, spatial coordinates within the image area, wavelength, time from the start of the experiment, and many other parameters are determined for each photon. Hence, the multi-dimensional TCSPC allows generation of photon distributions over these parameters. This review describes both classic and multi-dimensional types of TCSPC microscopy and their application for fluorescence lifetime imaging in different areas of biological studies.

Targeting head movements in humans: Compensation for disturbance from simultaneous body rotations.

Vestibular information plays an important role in spatially oriented motor control and perception. With regard to reorienting head movements, little is known of (1) how vestibular mechanisms compensate for disturbances from concurrent passive trunk rotations (e.g. in a veering vehicle), and (2) whether and how this disturbance compensation is related to the perception of body orientation in space. We here address these two questions in a single experiment. Six healthy subjects (Ss) seated on a turning chair in darkness performed two tasks. (1) Head pointing: Ss made swift head movements in darkness towards the angular position in space of a previously shown visual target. These movements were disturbed by concurrent rotations of the chair, and hence the trunk, which were driven by scaled down versions of the Ss' own head-on-trunk rotations. Although unaware of the disturbance, Ss adjusted their head movements so as to attenuate its effect on head-in-space (HS) position by about 45%. (2) Visual straight ahead (VSA): Using a light pointer, Ss indicated their VSA before each head-pointing trial and tried to reproduce it after the trial. In all Ss, VSA accounted for the disturbing trunk rotation, although to individually varying degrees. No correlation could be detected between VSA reproduction and motor performance, neither within nor across subjects. A vestibular loss subject who performed the same two tasks made no compensatory movements during head pointing and did not account for the disturbance of his HS position during VSA reproduction. Three concepts of vestibular information processing for head movement control were explored with regard to their compatibility with the head-pointing results: (1) Conventional negative feedback, (2) Interaction with an efference copy, and (3) Interaction with neck proprioceptive information. Theoretical analyses and model simulations indicated that all three concepts can explain the observed disturbance compensation. However, they differ in terms of control stability in the presence of feedback time delays, with (3) being best and (1) worst. The different concepts might correspond to fast simple and slower complex compensation mechanisms, respectively, and possibly complement each other during natural behaviours. VSA reproduction may be based on analogous processing principles, but appears to involve different neural circuitries.

Helicity asymmetry in strong-field ionization of atoms by a bicircular laser field.

Ionization of atoms by an intense bicircular laser field is considered, which consists of two coplanar corotating or counterrotating circularly polarized field components with frequencies that are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency. Emphasis is on the effect of a reversal of the helicities of the two field components on the photoelectron spectra. The velocity maps of the liberated electrons are calculated using the direct strong-field approximation (SFA) and its improved version (ISFA), which takes into account rescattering off the parent ion. Under the SFA all symmetries of the driving field are preserved in the velocity map while the ISFA violates certain reflection symmetries. This allows one to assess the significance of rescattering in actual data obtained from an experiment or a numerical simulation.

Peanut allergens: new consolidated findings on structure, characteristics, and allergome.

Immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergy is the result of a complex pathomechanism. Factors contributing to the dysfunction of the immune system are the allergenic sources and the variable matrix effects arising from the processes involved in interaction with the gastrointestinal tract, the allergens themselves through their structural features, and the specific behavior of the individual immune system. The starting point for elucidating the pathomechanism of food allergy is the identification of allergens and the description of their structure. They are the basis for in vitro diagnostics as well as the development of immunotherapeutic drugs. With regard to Class I food allergy, peanut allergy affects by far the largest group of patients. 11 allergens have been identified in peanuts. Ara h 1, Ara h 3, and Ara h 4 belong to the cupin superfamily, Ara h 2, Ara h 6, and Ara h 7 to the prolamin superfamily; Ara h 5 (profilins) and Ara h 8 (superfamily of Bet v 1-homologous proteins) are associated with aeroallergens. Peanut lipid transfer proteins (LTP) and two peanut oleosins are listed as Ara h 9, Ara h 10, and Ara h 11 by the IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Subcommittee. Peanut agglutinin (PNA) and a third oleosin have been shown to possess allergenic properties. The effect of the above specified allergens has to be considered in the context of their matrix, which is influenced by processing factors.

Meat allergy associated with galactosyl-α-(1,3)-galactose (α-Gal)-Closing diagnostic gaps by anti-α-Gal IgE immune profiling.

BACKGROUND: Glycoproteins and glycolipids of some mammalian species contain the disaccharide galactosyl-α-(1,3)-galactose (α-Gal). It is known that α-Gal is immunogenic in humans and causes glycan-specific IgG and also IgE responses with clinical relevance. α-Gal is part of the IgE-reactive monoclonal therapeutic antibody cetuximab (CTX) and is associated with delayed anaphylaxis to red meat. In this study, different α-Gal-containing analytes are examined in singleplex and multiplex assays to resolve individual sensitization patterns with IgE against α-Gal. METHODS: Three serum groups, α-Gal-associated meat allergy (MA) patients, idiopathic anaphylaxis (IA) patients with suspected MA, and non-meat-allergic healthy control individuals (HC), were analyzed via singleplex allergy diagnostics and a newly established immunoblot diagnostic system. The new dot blot detection system resolved individual IgE sensitization profiles for α-Gal-containing analytes CTX, bovine thyroglobulin (Bos d TG), and human serum albumin (HSA)-conjugated α-Gal. RESULTS: Singleplex allergy diagnostics using the α-Gal analytes CTX and Bos d TG confirms the history of MA patients in 91% and 88% of the cases, respectively. A novel dot blot-based assay system for the detection of IgE against α-Gal reveals individual IgE sensitization profiles for α-Gal-containing analytes. An α-Gal-associated IgE cross-reactivity profile (IgE against CTX, Bos d TG, and HSA-α-Gal) was identified, which is associated with MA. CONCLUSIONS: Detection of individual sensitization patterns with different α-Gal-containing analytes provides the basis for an individual allergy diagnosis for α-Gal-sensitized patients. Higher amounts of α-Gal in pork and beef innards compared to muscle meat as indicated by a higher staining intensity are a plausible explanation for the difference in allergic symptom severity.

Ultrafast time measurements by time-correlated single photon counting coupled with superconducting single photon detector.

Time resolution is one of the main characteristics of the single photon detectors besides quantum efficiency and dark count rate. We demonstrate here an ultrafast time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) setup consisting of a newly developed single photon counting board SPC-150NX and a superconducting NbN single photon detector with a sensitive area of 7 × 7 µm. The combination delivers a record instrument response function with a full width at half maximum of 17.8 ps and system quantum efficiency ∼15% at wavelength of 1560 nm. A calculation of the root mean square value of the timing jitter for channels with counts more than 1% of the peak value yielded about 7.6 ps. The setup has also good timing stability of the detector-TCSPC board.

Electron rescattering in a bicircular laser field.

Above-threshold ionization of rare-gas atoms by a bicircular field with its two components counterrotating is theoretically investigated by means of the improved strong-field approximation. Both direct and rescattered electrons are considered and the quantum orbits that lead into a specific final state are calculated and depicted. The angle-dependent spectrum reflects the discrete rotational symmetry of the bicircular field. The backward-scattering contributions are very similar to those generated by a linearly polarized field; several such contributions are rotated one versus the other by the symmetry angle of the discrete rotational symmetry. The forward-scattering contributions dramatically affect the velocity map at comparatively low momenta. The direct-electron spectrum observes reflection symmetry about several symmetry axes determined by the field symmetry. This is broken by rescattering.

Human skin penetration and local effects of topical nano zinc oxide after occlusion and barrier impairment.

Public health concerns continue to exist over the safety of zinc oxide nanoparticles that are commonly used in sunscreen formulations. In this work, we assessed the effects of two conditions which may be encountered in everyday sunscreen use, occlusion and a compromised skin barrier, on the penetration and local toxicity of two topically applied zinc oxide nanoparticle products. Caprylic/capric triglyceride (CCT) suspensions of commercially used zinc oxide nanoparticles, either uncoated or with a silane coating, were applied to intact and barrier impaired skin of volunteers, without and with occlusion for a period of six hours. The exposure time was chosen to simulate normal in-use conditions. Multiphoton tomography with fluorescence lifetime imaging was used to noninvasively assess zinc oxide penetration and cellular metabolic changes that could be indicative of toxicity. We found that zinc oxide nanoparticles did not penetrate into the viable epidermis of intact or barrier impaired skin of volunteers, without or with occlusion. We also observed no apparent toxicity in the viable epidermis below the application sites. These findings were validated by ex vivo human skin studies in which zinc penetration was assessed by multiphoton tomography with fluorescence lifetime imaging as well as Zinpyr-1 staining and toxicity was assessed by MTS assays in zinc oxide treated skin cryosections. In conclusion, applications of zinc oxide nanoparticles under occlusive in-use conditions to volunteers are not associated with any measurable zinc oxide penetration into, or local toxicity in the viable epidermis below the application site.

The impact of prescribed opioids on CD4 cell count recovery among HIV-infected patients newly initiating antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Certain prescribed opioids have immunosuppressive properties, yet their impact on clinically relevant outcomes, including antiretroviral therapy (ART) response among HIV-infected patients, remains understudied. METHODS: Using the Veterans Aging Cohort Study data, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of 4358 HIV-infected patients initiating ART between 2002 and 2010 and then followed them for 24 months. The primary independent variable was prescribed opioid duration, categorized using pharmacy data as none prescribed, short-term (< 90 days) and long-term (≥ 90 days). Outcomes included CD4 cell count over time. Analyses adjusted for demographics, comorbid conditions, ART type and year of initiation, and overall disease severity [ascertained with the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) Index]. Sensitivity analyses examined whether effects varied according to baseline CD4 cell count, achievement of viral load suppression, and opioid properties (i.e. dose and known immunosuppressive properties). RESULTS: Compared to those with none, patients with short-term opioids had a similar increase in CD4 cell count (mean rise per year: 74 vs. 68 cells/µL; P = 0.11), as did those with long-term prescribed opioids (mean rise per year: 74 vs. 75 cells/µL; P = 0.98). In sensitivity analysis, compared with no opioids, the effects of short-term prescribed opioids were statistically significant among those with a baseline CD4 cell count ≥ 500 cells/µL (mean rise per year: 52 cells/µL for no opioids vs. 20 cells/µL for short-term opioids; P = 0.04); findings were otherwise unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Despite immunosuppressive properties intrinsic to opioids, prescribed opioids appeared to have no effect on CD4 cell counts over 24 months among HIV-infected patients initiating ART.

Increased intake of fruits and vegetables in overweight subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, metabolic risk factors and dietary intake.

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been associated with several health benefits. However, the effects on body weight (BW) and metabolic markers are not fully known. The present study investigated the effects of increased intake of fruits and vegetables in overweight and obese men and women on dietary habits, anthropometry and metabolic control. In a 16-week controlled intervention, thirty-four men and thirty-four women aged 35-65 years (BMI>27 kg/m2) were randomised to an intervention (IN) or a reference (RG) group. All participants received general dietary advice, and subjects in the IN group received fruits and vegetables for free, of which ≥500 g had to be eaten daily. BW, waist circumference (WC), sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), plasma insulin, blood glucose, glycated Hb (HbA1c), serum lipids, blood pressure, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity, urinary isoprostane (iso-8-PGF 2α) and serum carotenoids were measured. Diet was assessed using 3-d weighed food records. In all, thirty subjects in the IN group and thirty-two in the RG group completed the intervention. Intake of fruits and vegetables doubled in the IN group, whereas intake of fruits increased in the RG group. Serum α- and ß-carotene concentrations and intakes of folate and vitamin C increased significantly in the IN group. Energy intake, BW, WC and SAD decreased significantly in both groups. Supine systolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the IN group, with no between-group differences. No significant changes were observed for other metabolic markers. Provision of fruits and vegetables led to substantially increased intakes, with subsequent favourable changes in anthropometry and insulin levels, which tended to be more pronounced in the IN group. The observed improvements may, in combination with improved nutritional markers, have health benefits in the long term.

Podokinetic circular vection: characteristics and interaction with optokinetic circular vection.

Stabilising horizontal body orientation in space without sight on a rotating platform by holding to a stationary structure and circular 'treadmill' stepping in the opposite direction can elicit an illusion of self-turning in space (Bles and Kapteyn in Agressologie 18:325-328, 1977). Because this illusion is analogous to the well-known illusion of optokinetic circular vection (oCV), we call it 'podokinetic circular vection' (pCV) here. Previous studies using eccentric stepping on a path tangential to the rotation found that pCV was always contraversive relative to platform rotation. In contrast, when our subjects stepped at the centre of rotation about their vertical axis, we observed an inverted, ipsiversive pCV as a reproducible trait in many of our subjects. This ipCV occurred at the same latency as the pCV of subjects reporting the actually expected contraversive direction, but had lower gain. In contrast to pCV, the nystagmus accompanying circular treadmill stepping had the same direction in all individuals (slow phase in the direction of platform motion). The direction of an individual's pCV predicted the characteristics of the CV resulting from combined opto- and podokinetic stimulation (circular treadmill stepping while viewing a pattern rotating together with the platform): in individuals with contraversive pCV, latency shortened and both gain and felt naturalness increased in comparison with pure oCV, whereas the opposite (longer latency, reduced gain and naturalness) occurred in individuals with ipCV. Taken together, the reproducibility of ipCV, the constant direction of nystagmus and the fact that pCV direction predicts the outcome of combined stimulation suggest that ipCV is an individual trait of many subjects during compensatory stepping at the centre of rotation. A hypothetical model is presented of how ipCV possibly could arise.

Optokinetic circular vection: a test of visual-vestibular conflict models of vection nascensy.

The propensity to experience circular vection (the illusory perception of self-turning evoked by a rotating scene, CV) as reflected by its onset latency exhibits considerable interindividual variation. Models of CV nascensy have linked this delay to the time it takes the visual-vestibular conflict to disappear. One line of these "conflict models" (Zacharias and Young in Exp Brain Res 41:159-171, 1981) predicts that, across individuals, CV latency (CVL) correlates positively with the vestibular time constant (TC) and negatively with the vestibular motion detection threshold (vTHR). A second type of models (Mergner et al. in Arch Ital Biol 138:139-166, 2000) predicts only an increase in CVL with TC. We here examine which of these predictions can be experimentally substantiated. Also, we ask whether the relative weight W O of the optokinetic contribution to the perception of real self-turning could also be a factor influencing CVL. We conducted 5 experiments in 29 subjects measuring: (1) CVL, (2) the TCs of velocity perception and of accompanying nystagmus during rotation in darkness and (3) likewise for displacement perception, (4) vTHR, and (5) W O as revealed by discordant visual-vestibular stimulation. CVL correlated with the nystagmus TC recorded during velocity estimation but with none of the other vestibular TCs nor with vTHR. Confirming earlier findings, CVL shortened with rising scene velocity. Finally, CVL correlated inversely with W O: the larger an individual's optokinetic weight, the shorter was his CVL. Taken together, our data favour the second type of models which invoke an antagonism between CV inhibition by the optokinetic-vestibular conflict and disinhibition by optokinetic stimulation. Idiosyncratic factors appear to strongly modulate the balance between inhibition and disinhibition, thus increasing CVL variability and obscuring the expected relation between CVL and TC.

Contents of total fat, fatty acids, starch, sugars and dietary fibre in Swedish market basket diets.

The typical dietary supply of total fat, fatty acids, starch, sugars, polyols and dietary fibre in Sweden was assessed from analyses of market baskets (MB) purchased in 2005 and 2010. MB were based on food balance sheets, with each basket comprising about 130 foods, which represented more than 90% of annual dietary supply. Foods were divided into ten to twelve categories. In 2010, total fat contributed 34% of energy (E%), SFA 14.3 E%, MUFA 12.8 E%, PUFA 4.6 E%, n-6 fatty acids 3.6 E%, n-3 fatty acids 1.0 E% and trans-fatty acids (TFA) 0.5 E%. Glycaemic carbohydrates contributed 47 E%, monosaccharides 9 E%, sucrose 11 E%, disaccharides 15 E% and total sugars 24 E%. Added sugars contributed about 15 E%. Dietary fibre content was about 1.7 g/MJ in the 2010 MB. Compared with the 2005 MB, the dietary supply of TFA and dietary fibre was lower, otherwise differences were small. The present MB survey shows that the content of SFA and added sugars was higher than the current Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, while the content of PUFA and especially dietary fibre was lower. TFA levels decreased and dietary supply was well below the recommendations of the WHO. These results emphasise a focus on quality and food sources of fat and carbohydrates, limiting foods rich in SFA and added sugars and replacing them with foods rich in dietary fibre and cis-unsaturated fatty acids.

Scaling of the low-energy structure in above-threshold ionization in the tunneling regime: theory and experiment.

A calculation of the second-order (rescattering) term in the S-matrix expansion of above-threshold ionization is presented for the case when the binding potential is the unscreened Coulomb potential. Technical problems related to the divergence of the Coulomb scattering amplitude are avoided in the theory by considering the depletion of the atomic ground state due to the applied laser field, which is well defined and does not require the introduction of a screening constant. We focus on the low-energy structure, which was observed in recent experiments with a midinfrared wavelength laser field. Both the spectra and, in particular, the observed scaling versus the Keldysh parameter and the ponderomotive energy are reproduced. The theory provides evidence that the origin of the structure lies in the long-range Coulomb interaction.

Application of the dressed-bound-state molecular strong-field approximation to above-threshold ionization of heteronuclear molecules: NO vs. CO.

We theoretically investigate high-order above-threshold ionization (HATI) of heteronuclear diatomic molecules applying the molecular strong-field approximation which includes dressing of the molecular bound state. We consider HATI of nitrogen monoxide molecules, which are characterized by the π symmetry of their highest occupied molecular orbital. We show that the HATI spectra of NO exhibit characteristic interference structures. We analyze the differences and similarities of the HATI spectra of NO molecules and the spectra of CO (σ symmetry) and O(2) (π(g) symmetry) molecules. The symmetry properties of the molecular HATI spectra governed by linearly and elliptically polarized fields are considered in detail. The yields of high-energy electrons, contributing to the plateau region of the photoelectron spectra, strongly depend on the employed ellipticity.