Geophagia: Benefits and potential toxicity to human-A review.

Geophagy is the habit of consuming clay soil such as chalk or kaolin. Though it is globally practiced, the safety of those involved is yet to be fully established. It is thought to be highly prevalent in pregnant women because of its antinausea or therapeutic effects.

Staff-Care by Chaplains during COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to understand how chaplains delivered spiritual care to staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. The researchers analyzed data collected from an International Survey of Chaplain Activity and Experience during Covid-19 (N = 1657). The findings revealed positive changes that emerged and new practices evolved around the use of technology as useful tools for maintaining contact with staff.

Spiritual Care of Inpatients Focusing on Outcomes and the Role of Chaplaincy Services: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To identify demographic trends associated with patient utilization and healthcare provider request for spiritual care services and to describe the impact of spiritual care on the quality of life (QoL), spiritual well-being (SWB) and level of satisfaction (SAT) of hospitalized patients.

Patients And Methods: A systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, was combined with review of relevant bibliographies. A total of 464 titles and abstracts were reviewed.

Religious/spiritual concerns of patients with brain cancer and their caregivers.

Research conducted over the last 20 years supports that many patients with cancer engage religion and spirituality (R/S) when coping with their illness. Research on patients with brain cancer is more minimal but mirrors the same findings. This article provides a brief overview of the research about R/S and coping among cancer patients, then summarizes the research about R/S among patients with brain cancer and their caregivers.

Hearing and Heeding the Voices of those With Advanced Illnesses.

Objectives: To describe the feasibility of a chaplain-led spiritually focused life review interview and the development of a spiritual legacy document (SLD) for patients with advanced diseases and to describe changes in spiritual well-being (SWB), spiritual coping strategies (SC), and quality of life (QOL) after receiving the SLD.

Patients And Methods: In all, 130 patients and support person (SP) pairs were recruited from July 2012 to January 2019. Following enrollment, demographic information was gathered and baseline questionnaires were administered.

Optimization of a spatial light modulator driven by digital video interface graphics to generate holographic optical traps.

We propose a method to optimize spatial light modulators (SLMs) driven by digital video interface graphics in a holographic optical tweezers system. A method analogous to that used to optimize LCD televisions is used to optimize the properties of the graphics card through a diffraction-based experiment and develop a lookup table for the SLM. The optimization allows the SLM to function with its full phase modulation depth with improved diffraction efficiency.

Elevated prenatal anti-Müllerian hormone reprograms the fetus and induces polycystic ovary syndrome in adulthood.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the main cause of female infertility worldwide and corresponds with a high degree of comorbidities and economic burden. How PCOS is passed on from one generation to the next is not clear, but it may be a developmental condition. Most women with PCOS exhibit higher levels of circulating luteinizing hormone, suggestive of heightened gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as compared to healthy women.

DCC/NTN1 complex mutations in patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism impair GnRH neuron development.

Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare genetic disease characterized by absent puberty and infertility due to GnRH deficiency, and is often associated with anosmia [Kallmann syndrome (KS)]. The genetic etiology of CHH is heterogeneous, and more than 30 genes have been implicated in approximately 50% of patients with CHH. We hypothesized that genes encoding axon-guidance proteins containing fibronectin type-III (FN3) domains (similar to ANOS1, the first gene associated with KS), are mutated in CHH.

FCC-HCP coexistence in dense thermo-responsive microgel crystals.

Analogous to hard-sphere suspensions, monodisperse thermo-responsive poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel particles beyond a volume fraction (ϕ) of 0.5 freeze into face centered cubic (FCC)-hexagonal close packed (HCP) coexistence under as prepared conditions and into an FCC structure upon annealing. We report here FCC-HCP coexistence to be stable in dense PNIPAM microgel crystals (ϕ > 0.

Rabconnectin-3α is required for the morphological maturation of GnRH neurons and kisspeptin responsiveness.

A few hundred hypothalamic neurons form a complex network that controls reproduction in mammals by secreting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Timely postnatal changes in GnRH secretion are essential for pubertal onset. During the juvenile period, GnRH neurons undergo morphological remodeling, concomitantly achieving an increased responsiveness to kisspeptin, the main secretagogue of GnRH.

I'm Still Me: Inspiration and Instruction from Individuals with Brain Cancer.

Individuals with brain cancer face many challenges, including threats to cognition, personality, and sensory and motor functioning. These can alter one's sense of identity and result in despair. Chaplain-led spiritual interviews were conducted with 19 patients with brain cancer as part of a larger spiritual legacy intervention called "Hear My Voice.

Crystalline fibrillar gel formation in aqueous surfactant-antioxidant system.

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is a well-known cationic surfactant capable to micellize into diverse morphologies in aqueous medium. We observed the formation of an opaque gel state from aqueous CTAB solution in the presence of the aromatic additive, para-coumaric acid (PCA). Optical microscopic images revealed the presence of large fibrils in the system at room temperature.

pH-switchable structural evolution in aqueous surfactant-aromatic dibasic acid system.

Structural transitions triggered by pH in an aqueous micellar system comprising of a cationic surfactant (cetylpyridinium chloride) and an aromatic dibasic acid (phthalic acid) was investigated. Reversible switching between liquid-like and gel-like states was exhibited by the system on adjusting the solution pH. Self-assembled structures, responsible for the changes in flow properties were identified using rheology, light scattering techniques and cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy (cryo-TEM).

Haploinsufficiency of Dmxl2, encoding a synaptic protein, causes infertility associated with a loss of GnRH neurons in mouse.

Characterization of the genetic defects causing gonadotropic deficiency has made a major contribution to elucidation of the fundamental role of Kisspeptins and Neurokinin B in puberty onset and reproduction. The absence of puberty may also reveal neurodevelopmental disorders caused by molecular defects in various cellular pathways. Investigations of these neurodevelopmental disorders may provide information about the neuronal processes controlling puberty onset and reproductive capacity.

Dynamics in thermo-responsive nanogel crystals undergoing melting.

We report here the dynamics in thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) nanogel crystals undergoing melting/freezing and verify the applicability of the dynamical criterion for melting/freezing proposed by Löwen et al. [Phys. Rev.

Fibroblast growth factor signaling deficiencies impact female reproduction and kisspeptin neurons in mice.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling is essential for the development of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system. Mice harboring deficiencies in Fgf8 or Fgf receptor 1 (Fgfr1) suffer a significant loss of GnRH neurons, but their reproductive phenotypes have not been examined. This study examined if female mice hypomorphic for Fgf8, Fgfr1, or both (compound hypomorphs) exhibited altered parameters of pubertal onset, estrous cyclicity, and fertility.

Bioreduction of Cr(VI) by alkaliphilic Bacillus subtilis and interaction of the membrane groups.

Detoxification of Cr(VI) under alkaline pH requires attention due to the alkaline nature of many effluents. An alkaliphilic gram-positive Bacillus subtilis isolated from tannery effluent contaminated soil was found to grow and reduce Cr(VI) up to 100% at an alkaline pH 9. Decrease in pH to acidic range with growth of the bacterium signified the role played by metabolites (organic acids) in chromium resistance and reduction mechanism.

Compound deficiencies in multiple fibroblast growth factor signalling components differentially impact the murine gonadotrophin-releasing hormone system.

Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurones control the onset and maintenance of fertility. Aberrant development of the GnRH system underlies infertility in Kallmann syndrome [KS; idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) and anosmia]. Some KS patients harbour mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (Fgfr1) and Fgf8 genes.

Phase behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanogel dispersions: temperature dependent particle size and interactions.

The phase behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanoparticles dispersed in aqueous medium is investigated as a function of temperature using static and dynamic light scattering techniques. The diameter, d of the particles, as determined by dynamic light scattering measurements on dilute dispersion showed a decrease in size from 273 nm at 25 degrees C to 114 nm at 40 degrees C as function of temperature with a sudden collapse of particle volume (volume phase transition) at 32.4 degrees C.

Random hcp and fcc structures in thermoresponsive microgel crystals.

Monodisperse thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel particles having a diameter of 520 nm were synthesized by free-radical precipitation polymerization and centrifuged to obtain a concentrated suspension. The centrifuged mother suspension was made to self-order into a crystalline state by repeated annealing beyond the volume phase transition (VPT) of the particles. We report here the three-dimensional (3D) real space structure, determined using a confocal laser scanning microscope, of PNIPAM microgel crystal samples prepared by two different recrystallized routes: (1) solidifying a shear melted colloidal liquid (referred as as-prepared sample) and (2) slow cooling of a colloidal liquid (referred as recrystallized sample).

Biomineralisation of manganese on titanium surfaces exposed to seawater.

A 2-year long study was carried out to isolate and characterise various bacterial species present in the biofilm formed on titanium surfaces exposed to seawater and to assess the manganese oxidizing potential of the marine isolates. The amount of manganese present in the biofilm was also measured using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The results showed that titanium was susceptible to biofouling.

Dynamics of Deinococcus radiodurans under controlled growth conditions.

Deinococcus radiodurans is a potent radiation resistant bacterium with immense potential in nuclear waste treatment. In this investigation, the translational and rotational dynamics of dilute suspensions of D. radiodurans cultured under controlled growth conditions was studied by the polarized and depolarized dynamic light-scattering (DLS) techniques.

Gas-solid coexistence in highly charged colloidal suspensions.

Aqueous suspensions of highly charged polystyrene particles with different volume fractions have been investigated for structural ordering and phase behavior using static light scattering (SLS) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Under deionized conditions, suspensions of high-charge-density colloidal particles remained disordered whereas suspensions of relatively low charge density showed crystallization by exhibiting iridescence for the visible light. Though for the unaided eye crystallized suspensions appeared homogeneous, SLS measurements and CLSM observations have revealed their inhomogeneous nature in the form of the coexistence of voids with dense ordered regions.

Long-wavelength transverse modes in charged colloidal crystals.

The dynamics of closely index matched colloidal crystals of charged silica spheres dispersed in deionized ethylene glycol-water mixture is investigated using dynamic light scattering. At variance with the reports of phonon dispersion measurements on thin colloidal crystals, our observations on millimeter-sized crystals show unambiguous evidence for overdamped transverse modes turning propagative in the range of small wave numbers in agreement with the theory of hydrodynamic interactions in charged colloidal crystals.