CAPE Vulnerability Index.

The Compassion, Assertive action, Pragmatism and Evidence (CAPE) Vulnerability Index is a global foreign policy index which has been used to identify countries which require foreign aid and how that can be prioritized. The Index offers an evidenced, structured, and reasoned approach to using aid in bi-lateral agreements with mental health as a foundation. This study used 26 internationally available and validated indicators to explore and perform the analysis leading to the development of the Index.

Deciphering the factors that influence participation in studies requiring serial lumbar punctures.

Introduction: Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers increasingly inform the causes of dementia and may provide objective markers of disease progression. There is a need to decipher participant and procedural factors that promote participation in studies incorporating longitudinal biomarker measures.

Methods: Participant and procedural factors associated with participation in longitudinal biomarker studies were determined in individuals enrolled in studies of memory and aging at the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (Saint Louis, MO, USA).

Solvent-Free Synthesis of Nano Zirconium Phenylphosphonates with Molten Phenylphosphonic Acid.

Nanosized α-zirconium phenylphosphonate particles were successfully prepared by the reaction between different zirconium sources and molten phenylphosphonic acid in the absence of solvent. The resultant nanoplates exhibit particle sizes in the range of 15 to 30 nm. The use of a topotactic anion exchange method starting from α-zirconium phosphate instead resulted in the generation of 15 to 180 nm plates, while also resulting in nanoparticles with a higher degree of crystallinity.

Adult outcomes of childhood bronchiectasis.

Recent literature has highlighted the importance of transition from paediatric to adult care for children with chronic conditions. Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis is an important cause of respiratory morbidity in low-income countries and in indigenous children from affluent countries; however, there is little information about adult outcomes of childhood bronchiectasis. We reviewed the clinical course of 31 Alaska Native adults 20-40 years of age from Alaska's Yukon Kuskokwim Delta with childhood bronchiectasis.

Mining predicted crystal structure landscapes with high throughput crystallisation: old molecules, new insights.

Organic molecules tend to close pack to form dense structures when they are crystallised from organic solvents. Porous molecular crystals defy this rule: they contain open space, which is typically stabilised by inclusion of solvent in the interconnected pores during crystallisation. The design and discovery of such structures is often challenging and time consuming, in part because it is difficult to predict solvent effects on crystal form stability.

Alaska Native Traditional Food and Harvesting Activity Patterns over 10 Years of Follow-Up.

Background: Alaska Native (AN) traditional foods and associated harvesting activities are beneficial to human health.

Objective: This study assessed longitudinal self-reported traditional food use and harvesting activities among Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) participants in the Alaska Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) study.

Methods: In 2004-2006, southcentral Alaska EARTH study participants ( = 1320) completed diet and activity questionnaires which were repeated in 2015-2017; results were compared between participants who completed both questionnaires ( = 388).

Association of Acquired and Heritable Factors With Intergenerational Differences in Age at Symptomatic Onset of Alzheimer Disease Between Offspring and Parents With Dementia.

Importance: Acquired and heritable traits are associated with dementia risk; however, how these traits are associated with age at symptomatic onset (AAO) of Alzheimer disease (AD) is unknown. Identifying the associations of acquired and heritable factors with variability in intergenerational AAO of AD could facilitate diagnosis, assessment, and counseling of the offspring of parents with AD.

Objective: To quantify the associations of acquired and heritable factors with intergenerational differences in AAO of AD.

Sequential Electrostatic Assembly of a Polymer Surfactant Corona Increases Activity of the Phosphotriesterase arPTE.

We present a new methodology for the generation of discrete molecularly dispersed enzyme-polymer-surfactant bioconjugates. Significantly, we demonstrate that >3-fold increase in the catalytic efficiency of the diffusion-limited phosphotriesterase arPTE can be achieved through sequential electrostatic addition of cationic and anionic polymer surfactants, respectively. Here, the polymer surfactants assemble on the surface of the enzyme via ion exchange to yield a compact corona.

Zirconium Phosphate: The Pathway from Turbostratic Disorder to Crystallinity.

We show how the structural order of nanocrystalline zirconium phosphates (ZrP) is tuned by the synthetic methods and conditions through the use of synchrotron X-ray atomic pair distribution function analysis. With different synthetic route and different phosphoric acid concentrations in the synthesis, the product zirconium phosphates vary from turbostratically disordered nanoscale structures to fully ordered ones. We show that a change in the structural order leads to different ion-exchange properties.

Enhancing relational care through expressions of gratitude: insights from a historical case study of almoner-patient correspondence.

This paper considers insights for contemporary medical practice from an archival study of gratitude in letters exchanged between almoners at London's Brompton Hospital and patients treated at the Hospital's tuberculosis sanatorium in Frimley. In the era before the National Health Service, almoners were responsible for assessing the entitlement of patients to charitable treatment, but they also took on responsibility for aftercare and advising patients on all aspects of welfare. In addition, a major part of the work of almoners at the Brompton was to record the health and employment status of former sanatorium patients for medical research.

Testing for -methyl-d-aspartate Receptor Autoantibodies in Clinical Practice.

Background: The diagnosis of anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis relies on the detection of NMDAR IgG autoantibodies in the serum or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of symptomatic patients. Commercial kits are available that allow NMDAR IgG autoantibodies to be measured in local laboratories. However, the performance of these tests outside of reference laboratories is unknown.

The thermally induced decarboxylation mechanism of a mixed-oxidation state carboxylate-based iron metal-organic framework.

Investigations into a thermally generated decarboxylation mechanism for metal site activation and the generation of mesopores in a carboxylate iron-based MOF, PCN-250, have been conducted. PCN-250 exhibits an interesting oxidation state change during thermal treatment under inert atmospheres or vacuum conditions, transitioning from an Fe(iii) cluster to a Fe(ii)Fe(iii) cluster. To probe this redox event and discern a mechanism of activation, a combination of thermogravimetric analysis, gas sorption, scanning electron microscopy, Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction studies were conducted.

From Concept to Crystals via Prediction: Multi-Component Organic Cage Pots by Social Self-Sorting.

We describe the a priori computational prediction and realization of multi-component cage pots, starting with molecular predictions based on candidate precursors through to crystal structure prediction and synthesis using robotic screening. The molecules were formed by the social self-sorting of a tri-topic aldehyde with both a tri-topic amine and di-topic amine, without using orthogonal reactivity or precursors of the same topicity. Crystal structure prediction suggested a rich polymorphic landscape, where there was an overall preference for chiral recognition to form heterochiral rather than homochiral packings, with heterochiral pairs being more likely to pack window-to-window to form two-component capsules.

Ligand-Rearrangement-Induced Transformation from a 3D Supramolecular Network to a Discrete Octanuclear Cluster: A Good Detector for Pb and CrO .

A three-dimensional supramolecular framework containing both left- and right-handed helixes, {[Zn(TTPA)Cl]·1.63HO} (), has been converted to a novel octanuclear cluster containing a metal-organic framework, [Zn(ptptp)Cl](ClO)·4CHOH·2HO (), induced by ligand rearrangement during a solvothermal process. The luminescent properties of indicate that the material can act as a selective probe toward Pb and CrO .

Cancer incidence and associations with known risk and protective factors: the Alaska EARTH study.

Purpose: Cancer is the leading cause of mortality among Alaska Native (AN) people. The Alaska Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) cohort was established to examine risk and protective factors for chronic diseases, including cancer, among AN people. Here, we describe the cancer experience of the Alaska EARTH cohort in relation to statewide- and region-specific tumor registry data, and assess associations with key cancer risk factors.