How do information and physiotherapy affect health-related quality of life among patients with spinal stenosis undergoing decompression surgery: A qualitative study.

Background: There is a lack of qualitative research on how patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) undergoing surgery perceive their health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Research that increases our understanding in this area could facilitate a biopsychosocial approach to care.

Aim: We aimed to investigate the experiences of patients with LSS undergoing decompression surgery regarding their pre- and post-surgery perceptions of HRQOL and the pre-and post-operative information and physiotherapy.

Ethylene signaling modulates Arabidopsis thaliana nitrate metabolism.

Genetic analysis reveals a previously unknown role for ethylene signaling in regulating Arabidopsis thaliana nitrogen metabolism. Nitrogen (N) is essential for plant growth, and assimilation of soil nitrate (NO) and ammonium ions is an important route of N acquisition. Although N import and assimilation are subject to multiple regulatory inputs, the extent to which ethylene signaling contributes to this regulation remains poorly understood.

Impairment in karrikin but not strigolactone sensing enhances root skewing in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Roots form highly complex systems varying in growth direction and branching pattern to forage for nutrients efficiently. Here mutations in the KAI2 (KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE) α/β-fold hydrolase and the MAX2 (MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 2) F-box leucine-rich protein, which together perceive karrikins (smoke-derived butenolides), caused alteration in root skewing in Arabidopsis thaliana. This phenotype was independent of endogenous strigolactones perception by the D14 α/β-fold hydrolase and MAX2.

DNA mismatch repair preferentially protects genes from mutation.

Mutation is the source of genetic variation and fuels biological evolution. Many mutations first arise as DNA replication errors. These errors subsequently evade correction by cellular DNA repair, for example, by the well-known DNA mismatch repair (MMR) mechanism.

Limits on the Fill Factor in Organic Photovoltaics: Distinguishing Nongeminate and Geminate Recombination Mechanisms.

In this Letter, we present transient optoelectronic experimental studies of the recombination processes limiting the fill factor (FF) in three conjugated polymer:fullerene systems, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and two lower-band-gap polymers that exhibit lower FFs poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b']dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole) (PCPDTBT) and poly(2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)-alt-5,5-(4',7'-di-2-thienyl-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole)) (APFO-3). Using transient absorption spectroscopy, charge extraction, and transient photovoltage experiments, we show that the lower FF observed for the PCPDTBT-based device results from enhanced nongeminate recombination even at short circuit, In contrast, we show that for APFO-3 devices, the FF is primarily limited by a voltage-dependent free charge generation, which we assign to a geminate recombination process.

Quantification of geminate and non-geminate recombination losses within a solution-processed small-molecule bulk heterojunction solar cell.

Direct measurements of the field-dependent efficiency with which electron-hole pairs are dissociated (1) can be combined with direct measurement of the carrier-density dependent rate at which they subsequently recombine (2) to determine the proportion of carriers which may be usefully extracted (3) for a class of solution-processed organic small-molecule bulk-heterojunction solar cells.

Sequential mutations associated with adaptation of human cytomegalovirus to growth in cell culture.

Mutations that occurred during adaptation of human cytomegalovirus to cell culture were monitored by isolating four strains from clinical samples, passaging them in various cell types and sequencing ten complete virus genomes from the final passages. Mutational dynamics were assessed by targeted sequencing of intermediate passages and the original clinical samples. Gene RL13 and the UL128 locus (UL128L, consisting of genes UL128, UL130 and UL131A) mutated in all strains.

Transient absorption spectroscopy of charge photogeneration yields and lifetimes in a low bandgap polymer/fullerene film.

Charge photogeneration yields and energetics are determined for a low band gap co-polymer, PCPDTBT blended with PC(70)BM; the increase in charge photogeneration with dithiol is correlated with an increase in the free energy of charge separation.

The products of human cytomegalovirus genes UL23, UL24, UL43 and US22 are tegument components.

We have investigated the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) US22 gene family members UL23, UL24, UL43 and US22. Specific antibodies were generated to identify pUL23 (33 kDa), pUL24 (40 kDa) and pUL43 (48 kDa), while pUS22 was identified by monoclonal antibody HWLF1. A C-terminally truncated UL43 product (pUL43t; 21 kDa) produced by a deletion mutant was also investigated.