Understanding seed-mediated growth of gold nanoclusters at molecular level.

The continuous development of total synthesis chemistry has allowed many organic and biomolecules to be produced with known synthetic history-that is, a complete set of step reactions in their synthetic routes. Here, we extend such molecular-level precise reaction routes to nanochemistry, particularly to a seed-mediated synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles. By systematically investigating the time-dependent abundance of 35 intermediate species in total, we map out relevant step reactions in a model size growth reaction from molecularly pure Au to Au nanoparticles.

Isolated Nocturnal Occurrence of Orofacial Dyskinesias in N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis-A New Diagnostic Clue.

Background: The syndrome of anti--methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is classically associated with a combination of limbic dysfunction, dysautonomia, central hypoventilation and movement disorders. On clinical grounds, the diagnosis is often supported by the presence of generalized dyskinesias in a patient with encephalopathy and catatonic signs. Orofacial dyskinesias have been recognized as characteristic of the disorder but can be absent in some patients.

Validation of Fear of Falling and Balance Confidence Assessment Scales in Persons With Dystonia.

Background And Purpose: Falls are problematic for people living with neurological disorders and a fear of falling can impact on actual falls. Fear of falling is commonly assessed using the Falls Self-Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) or the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. These scales can predict risk of falling.

Treatable inherited rare movement disorders.

There are many rare movement disorders, and new ones are described every year. Because they are not well recognized, they often go undiagnosed for long periods of time. However, early diagnosis is becoming increasingly important.

Nonmotor Symptoms in Essential Tremor and Other Tremor Disorders.

Tremor, like dystonia, is a term used at the phenomenological, syndromic, and aetiopathological level. Parkinsonian, essential, and dystonic tremor are the three most common tremor diagnoses encountered in clinical practice. Investigation of nonmotor symptoms in essential tremor and dystonic tremor syndromes is significantly hampered by the lack of clear clinical diagnostic criteria for these groups at a syndromic level, and the absence of biomarkers which allow definitive diagnosis at an aetiopathological level.

Racial disparities in family-provider interactions for pediatric asthma care.

Objective: Black and Latino children experience significantly worse asthma morbidity than their white peers for multifactorial reasons. This study investigated differences in family-provider interactions for pediatric asthma, based on race/ethnicity.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of parent surveys of asthmatic children within the Population-Based Effectiveness in Asthma and Lung Diseases Network.

Controlling Reaction Selectivity through the Surface Termination of Perovskite Catalysts.

Although perovskites have been widely used in catalysis, tuning of their surface termination to control reaction selectivity has not been well established. In this study, we employed multiple surface-sensitive techniques to characterize the surface termination (one aspect of surface reconstruction) of SrTiO (STO) after thermal pretreatment (Sr enrichment) and chemical etching (Ti enrichment). We show, by using the conversion of 2-propanol as a probe reaction, that the surface termination of STO can be controlled to greatly tune catalytic acid/base properties and consequently the reaction selectivity over a wide range, which is not possible with single-metal oxides, either SrO or TiO .

General Structure-Reactivity Relationship for Oxygen on Transition-Metal Oxides.

Despite many recent developments in designing and screening catalysts for improved performance, transition-metal oxides continue to prove to be challenging due to the myriad inherent complexities of the systems and the possible morphologies that they can exhibit. Herein we propose a structural descriptor, the adjusted coordination number (ACN), which can generalize the reactivity of the oxygen sites over the many possible surface facets and defects of a transition-metal oxide. We demonstrate the strong correlation of this geometric descriptor with the electronic and energetic properties of the active sites on five facets of four transition-metal oxides.

What factors influence UK medical students' choice of foundation school?

Background: We aimed to identify the factors influencing UK medical student applicants' choice of foundation school. We also explored the factors that doctors currently approaching the end of their 2-year program believe should be considered.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the 2013-2014 academic year.

Exposure to 4,4'-methylene bis (2-chloroaniline) (MbOCA) in New South Wales, Australia.

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the level of exposure of 4,4'-methylene bis (2-chloroaniline) (MbOCA) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Methods: An integrated occupational hygiene and biological monitoring program were used to assess the workers' exposure to MbOCA via inhalation, ingestion and dermal contact. This was conducted by personal air monitoring, static air monitoring and surface contamination monitoring of the work environment and biological monitoring of the workers' exposure to MbOCA at nine workplaces in NSW.

Flexed Truncal Posture in Parkinson Disease: Measurement Reliability and Relationship With Physical and Cognitive Impairments, Mobility, and Balance.

Background And Purpose: Flexed truncal posture is common in people with Parkinson disease (PD); however, little is known about the mechanisms responsible or its effect on physical performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to establish the reliability of a truncal posture measurement and explore relationships between PD impairments and truncal posture, as well as truncal posture and balance and mobility.

Methods: A total of 82 people with PD participated.

Practical approaches to commencing device-assisted therapies for Parkinson disease in Australia.

In Australia 1% of individuals aged over 50 years have Parkinson disease (PD). Guidance for commencing device-assisted therapies (DAT) for PD in Australia was developed based on a review of European recommendations and their relevance to the local clinical setting. An online survey and teleconference discussions were held by a group of eight local movement disorder experts to develop consensus.

Tandem Affinity Purification of Protein Complexes from Eukaryotic Cells.

The purification of active protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid complexes is crucial for the characterization of enzymatic activities and de novo identification of novel subunits and post-translational modifications. Bacterial systems allow for the expression and purification of a wide variety of single polypeptides and protein complexes. However, this system does not enable the purification of protein subunits that contain post-translational modifications (e.

A post hoc study on gene panel analysis for the diagnosis of dystonia.

Background: Genetic disorders causing dystonia show great heterogeneity. Recent studies have suggested that next-generation sequencing techniques such as gene panel analysis can be effective in diagnosing heterogeneous conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate whether dystonia patients with a suspected genetic cause could benefit from the use of gene panel analysis.

Nearly One-Third Of Enrollees In California's Individual Market Missed Opportunities To Receive Financial Assistance.

The Affordable Care Act includes financial assistance that reduces both premiums and cost-sharing amounts for lower-income Americans, to increase the affordability of health insurance coverage and care. To receive both types of assistance, enrollees must purchase a qualified health plan through a public insurance exchange, and those eligible for the cost-sharing reduction must purchase a silver-tier plan. We estimate that 31 percent of individual-market enrollees in California who were likely eligible for financial assistance purchased plans that were not silver tier or that were not sold on the state's exchange and thus missed opportunities to receive premium or cost-sharing assistance or both.

Burkitt lymphoma expresses oncofetal chondroitin sulfate without being a reservoir for placental malaria sequestration.

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a malignant disease, which is frequently found in areas with holoendemic Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We have previously found that the VAR2CSA protein is present on malaria-infected erythrocytes and facilitates a highly specific binding to the placenta. ofCS is absent in other non-malignant tissues and thus VAR2CSA generally facilitates parasite sequestration and accumulation in pregnant women.

Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood as a New Presentation of Adenylate Cyclase 5-Mutation-Associated Disease: A Report of Two Cases.

Mutations in the adenylate cyclase 5 (ADCY5) gene recently have been identified as the cause of a childhood-onset disorder characterized by persistent or paroxysmal choreic, myoclonic, and/or dystonic movements. The 2 novel mutations we identified expand the clinical spectrum of ADCY5 mutations to include alternating hemiplegia of childhood.

Impact of Copayment Changes on Children's Albuterol Inhaler Use and Costs after the Clean Air Act Chlorofluorocarbon Ban.

Objective: To examine changes in children's albuterol use and out-of-pocket (OOP) costs in response to increased copayments after the Food and Drug Administration banned inhalers with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants.

Setting: Four health maintenance organizations (HMOs), two that increased copayments for albuterol inhalers that went from generic CFC-containing to branded CFC-free versions, and two that retained generic copayments for CFC-free inhalers (controls). We included children with asthma aged 4-17 years with commercial coverage from 2007 to 2010.

Regulatory verification on safe use of cytotoxic drugs in veterinary clinics and animal hospitals.

Background: Veterinarians are increasingly being asked to provide chemotherapy for veterinary patients. However, chemotherapy agents have cytotoxic effects that can pose a health risk to workers from exposure. There are no published studies examining cytotoxic drug (CTD) contamination in veterinary practices in Australia.

Functional gait disorder.

Gait disorder is a common accompaniment of functional neurologic disorders. The diagnosis of a functional or psychogenic gait is complex. It requires a sound knowledge of the range of phenomenology observed in organic movement disorders, the ability to evaluate and diagnose nonmovement disorder neurologic symptoms and signs, but additionally knowledge of potential musculoskeletal causes of gait disturbance.