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The so-called planetary crises climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution threaten health and the social cohesion of societies. Vulnerable groups are particularly affected. Against this background, the planetary health concept has evolved from previous concepts of public and global health. It focuses on the connections between the environment, society, and the health of all beings. The widely adopted and transdisciplinary concept Planetary Health is also described as a social–societal movement. This article highlights health consequences of the planetary crises and corresponding fields of action in the healthcare system with a focus on general medicine and aims to stimulate discussion. The integration of planetary health in general practice is becoming more important as environmental health impacts become tangible for patients and practitioners. At the same time, strengthening the primary care sector creates opportunities for adaptation and mitigation. Several approaches of planetary health and general medicine overlap in terms of adapting to environmental impacts, preparing for further crises and strengthening health promotion as well as prevention. However, as medical care has a high environmental impact, it is also necessary to manage general practice offices sustainably. With the integration of planetary health into guidelines, important aspects could be incorporated into everyday general medicine routines. Environmentally sensitive health counselling and prevention are of particular importance here. In order to promote transformation in medicine and society, education on planetary health as well as further initiatives from the health sector are necessary [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abandonment of marginally productive habitats and the intensification of land use on productive sites have caused transformative changes in vegetation composition in Central Europe. In this study, after 25 years we resurveyed a total of 145 grassland relevés from the mid-1990s in a grassland-dominated valley of the Northern Alps of Upper Austria. We studied changes in richness and composition, and related these to underlying drivers. We found that the average species number in plots increased from 46 in the first survey period to 49 in the second one. Median species richness across sites significantly increased from 1995 to 2020 for Festuco-Brometea (55-61 species) and Galio-Urticetea (24-32 species), but did not show any significant change for the other classes. Further, we recorded substantial species turnover, with winners consisting mostly of species that prefer nutrient-rich sites, while losers were predominantly species of nutrient-poor sites. In particular, using Ellenberg Indicator Values for calculating community indices, we found an indication for ongoing eutrophication in vegetation types of nutrient-poor vegetation classes (Festuco-Brometea and Calluno-Ulicetea), and in wet habitats (Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae). Community indices of wet habitats also showed clear signs of becoming more mesic. Thermophilization of community indices was evident across several vegetation classes. Further, alien species that were very rare in the mid-1990s became more abundant in the resurveyed plots, although the level of invasion is still low. Finally, community values for nutrients of plots that are located in a protected area that has been established in 2014 did not increase significantly, while this was the case in plots outside the protected area, indicating that the management of the protected area has positive effects in halting eutrophication. We conclude that despite overall species richness changing only moderately between both surveys, substantial changes in community composition toward more nitrophilic and thermophilic conditions occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical reasoning (CR) is a clinical core competence for medical students to acquire. While the necessity for CR teaching has been recognized since the early 20th century, to this day no consensus on how to best educate students in CR exists. Hence, few universities have incorporated dedicated CR teaching formats into their medical curriculum. We propose a novel case-based, peer-taught and physician- supervised collaborative learning format, dubbed "Clinical Case Discussions" (CCDs) to foster CR in medical students. Project description: We present the curricular concept of CCDs and its development according to a six-step approach (problem identification and general needs assessment; targeted needs assessment; goals and objectives; educational strategies; implementation; evaluation and feedback). Our goal is to strengthen the physician roles (Can- MEDS/NKLM) and CR competence of medical students. CCDs are offered at our institution as an elective course and students work on real-life, complex medical cases through a structured approach. Over the course of five years we evaluated various aspects of the course and trained student teachers to optimize our course concept according to the feedback of our participants. We also obtained intro and exit self- assessments of CR competence using an established CR questionnaire. Results:We found an unmet need for CR teaching, asmedical students in their clinical years view CR as highly important for later practice, but only 50% have ever heard of CR within the curriculum. Acceptance of CCDs was consistently high with over 85% of participants strongly agreeing that they would re-participate in the course and recommend it to a friend. Additionally, we observed significant improvements in CR self-assessments of participants. Conclusion: CCDs are a feasible teaching format to improve students' CR competence, have a high acceptance and involve students in medical education through peer-teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to develop clean-energy storage systems, harvesting technologies, and new functional materials are but a few of the many contemporary challenges in the domain of science today. To address these challenges, problem solving has become a key skill of the 21st century. It is generally documented, however, that experts and students differ in terms of their problem-solving skills. Experts in a domain are fluent in the use of different resources to solve domain-specific problems, whereas students stumble when using formulas, devices, or measurement methods. In most cases, the students are not aware if and why the resources are appropriate to solve the given problem. To acquire expertise in a domain, it is necessary to become fluent in the domain-specific resources. This means being aware of various resources and how they can be used reflectively in problem solving. In this study, we investigated how students' awareness of various domain-specific resources developed within minimally guided, authentic research projects in an undergraduate materials chemistry course that focuses on crystal structures and its characterisation. By monitoring participants' problem solving through audio-diaries and in-depth qualitative interview data, we examined to what extent their awareness of domain-specific resources developed. We further characterised productive moments of failure and uncertainty during students' problem-solving processes that influenced their awareness. Thick descriptions of these moments facilitate understanding of how students' awareness develops in a minimally guided, authentic learning environment and how students can become fluent in a given domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even before receiving the World Heritage designation in 2014, the Grand Canal in China presented a challenging conservation task. Chinese governments lacked an appropriate evaluation system and conservation principles for this particular type of heritage asset; rather, they tended to follow international institutional guidelines. This paper discusses the ideological and institutional factors in the authorized heritage discourse (AHD) framework to address current strategies and problems in conserving the Hangzhou Section of the Grand Canal. From an ideological perspective, the paper analyses the consequences of dominant Western values in regulating Chinese heritage practices, exemplified by the UNESCO evaluation system; from an institutional perspective, it identifies governments' tendency to impose strict control over canal conservation projects. This paper argues that the existing hegemonic conservation approaches have failed to bring out the unique values of the Grand Canal. In addition, local governments focus more on reaping the economic benefits of heritage than on conserving the heritage in terms of sustainability, and local people's interests tend to be dismissed in these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complete experimental transition probability density functions P(E[sup ′],E) have been determined for collisions between highly vibrationally excited azulene and several bath gases over a wide energy range. This was achieved by applying 2-color “kinetically controlled selective ionization (KCSI)” [U. Hold, T. Lenzer, K. Luther, K. Reihs, and A. C. Symonds, J. Chem. Phys. 112, 4076 (2000)]. The results are “self-calibrating,” i.e., independent of any empirical calibration curve, as usually needed in traditional energy transfer experiments like time-resolved ultraviolet absorption or infrared fluorescence. The complete data set can be described by our recently introduced monoexponential 3-parameter P(E[sup ′],E) form with a parametric exponent Y in the argument, P(E[sup ′],E)∝exp[-{(E-E[sup ′])/(C[sub 0]+C[sub 1]·E)}[sup Y]]. For small colliders (helium, argon, xenon, N[sub 2], and CO[sub 2]) the P(E[sup ′],E) show increased amplitudes in the wings compared to a monoexponential form (Y<1). For larger colliders, the wings of P(E[sup ′],E) have an even smaller amplitude (Y>1) than that provided by a monoexponential. Approximate simulations show that the wings of P(E[sup ′],E) at amplitudes <1×10[sup -6] (cm[sup -1])[sup -1] have a nearly negligible influence on the population distributions and the net energy transfer. All optimized P(E[sup ′],E) representations exhibit a linear energy dependence of the collision parameter α[sub 1](E)=C[sub 0]+C[sub 1]·E, which also results in an (approximately) linear dependence of 〈ΔE〉 and 〈ΔE2〉1/2. The energy transfer parameters presented in this study have benchmark character in certainty and accuracy, e.g., with only 2%–5% uncertainty for our <ΔE> data below 25 000 cm-1. Deviations of previously reported first moment data from ultraviolet absorption and infrared fluorescence measurements can be traced back to either the influence of azulene self-collisions or well-known uncertainties in calibration curves. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero electron kinetic energy spectroscopy has been used to study the XeCl[sup -] anion and the X1/2 electronic state of neutral XeCl. The spectrum is vibrationally resolved, yielding anion and neutral vibrational frequencies. With the aid of earlier scattering measurements for the neutral state we construct a Morse–Morse-switching–van der Waals model potential function for the anion from our spectroscopic data, for which R[sub m]=3.57±0.03 Å and ε=145.8±0.7 meV. This represents the first accurate experimental potential for the XeCl[sup -] anion. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the zero electronic kinetic energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy of ArCl anion and its electronic states. Progressions in the low-frequency vibrations of the anion; Model potential functions for the anion; Values for the neutral state splittings; Vibrational and rotational peak contours of the spectra.

Investigates xenon iodine van der Walls molecular clusters by anion zero electron kinetic energy (ZEKE) and partially discriminated threshold photodetachment (PDTP) spectroscopy. Experiments yielding size-dependent electron affinities and electronic state splitting; Determination of cluster minimum energy structures by extensive simulated annealing molecular dynamics.

Investigates the xenon iodide[sup -] anion using the zero electronic kinetic energy and photoelectron spectroscopy. Characterization of the low-frequency vibrational modes involved in weak ion-neutral interactions; Construction of model potentials for the anion; Details on the electron affinity of xenon iodide[sup -].

Quasiclassical trajectory calculations have been applied to study intermolecular potential effects in the collisional deactivation of highly vibrationally excited aromatic molecules by noble gases. For benzene+helium and benzene+argon several potential functions of Lennard-Jones 12-6 and EXP-6 type were used. At low well depths ∊ (for benzene+helium) energy transfer is dominated by the exact shape of the intermolecular potential, especially of the repulsive part, whereas the dependence on ∊ itself is less important. At higher well depths (for benzene1argon) the energy transfer parameters 〈ΔE〉 and 〈ΔE[SUP2]&rang scale with ∊ and are much less sensitive to details of the interaction. New potential parameters based on experimental scattering data for the benzene+elium system are presented, which provide very good agreement with experimental energy transfer parameters for the deactivation of benzene and azulene by helium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collisional energy transfer from large, highly vibrationally excited molecules has been studied by quasiclassical trajectory calculations and results for large polyatomic colliders are reported for the first time. Highly excited benzene molecules in a thermal bath gas of benzene were investigated using a sum of atom–atom Lennard-Jones interactions for the intermolecular potential. Excellent agreement with experiment has been found for the first moment of energy transfer 〈ΔE〉 and its energy dependence. 〈ΔE〉 is increasing with a slight leveling off at high energies. The results suggest that vibrational energy loss of the excited molecule is dominated by V–V transfer. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasiclassical trajectory calculations of the energy transfer of highly vibrationally excited benzene and hexafluorobenzene (HFB) molecules colliding with helium, argon and xenon have been performed. Deactivation is found to be more efficient for HFB in accord with experiment. This effect is due to the greater number of low frequency vibrational modes in HFB. A correlation between the energy transfer parameters and the properties of the intramolecular potential is found. For benzene and HFB, average energies transferred per collision in the given energy range increase with energy. Besides weak collisions, more efficient ‘‘supercollisions’’ are also observed for all substrate–bath gas pairs. The histograms for vibrational energy transfer can be fitted by biexponential transition probabilities. Rotational energy transfer reveals similar trends for benzene and HFB. Cooling of rotationally hot ensembles is very efficient for both molecules. During the deactivation, the initially thermal rotational distribution heats up more strongly for argon or xenon as a collider, than for helium, leading to a quasi-steady-state in rotational energy after only a few collisions. © 1995 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports results of studies on KrBr, XeBr, and KrCI using anion zero electron kinetic energy (ZEKE) spectra. Description of the experimental setup for anion production and ZEKE spectroscopy; Construction of model potentials for fitting the vibrational structure of ZEKE spectra; Comparison of model potentials with other experimental results.

As part of a comprehensive study on the reduction of CO x on supported Ru catalysts we systematically investigated the dynamic interaction of CO 2 with a Ru/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst in a temporal analysis of products (TAP) reactor, focusing on the redox properties of the catalyst, specifically on the deposition of active oxygen (O act) from CO 2. This was investigated by exposing the pre-reduced catalyst to CO 2 pulses and subsequent titration of the deposited O act by CO pulses. CO 2 is much less active for O act deposition than O 2. Reductive co-reactants reduce (CO) or increase (H 2) the activity of CO 2 for O act deposition. 18O-marked CO 2 pulses show facile oxygen exchange of CO 2 with the catalyst, despite the inertness of the support. Based on excess effluent CO 2 we conclude that surface carbonates can both build up on the surface upon interaction with CO or CO 2 and also decompose upon O 2 or CO 2 pulsing, releasing additional CO 2. [Display omitted] • Quantitative, time-resolved analysis of dynamic CO 2 interaction with Ru/Al 2 O 3. • Ru can be efficiently oxidized by O 2 to RuO 2 and re-reduced by CO pulsing. • Deposition of active oxygen by CO 2 on Ru/Al 2 O 3 is enhanced in the presence of H 2. • Surface carbonates on Ru/Al 2 O 3 decompose upon O 2 and CO 2 exposure. • Efficient oxygen exchange of isotope labelled C18O 2 with the catalyst surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Representations are mental summaries of a clinical case and help in understanding a clinical problem. However, it is still largely unknown which clinical information medical students include in their case representations. In this study, therefore, the structure and quality of students' case representations were examined to better understand the diagnostic process and its relationship to diagnostic accuracy. What information do medical students include in their representations and is there an association between this information and the diagnostic accuracy? Method: 43 medical students in the fourth and fifth clinical year worked on four clinical cases. Duringthe diagnostic process, they were asked three times per case to write a case representation. 516 representations were qualitatively evaluated using a content-based codingscheme. An analysis was made of the nature and composition of the clinical information. In addition, the association between the general representation structure and the correct case solution was examined. Results: Atthe beginning, students include most of the clinical information in their representation (66%), but as the case progresses, they begin to select the information offered (2nd representation 42%, 3rd representation 38%). The length of the representation (number of words) does not correlate with the correct case solution (r=-0.08-0.31). The representations do not depend on the case difficulty but have a significant individual component: the representations written by a student are formally very similar in all four cases (r=0.60-0.86). Conclusion: Medical students can select the relevant clinical information and include it in their case representations. Lack of representation does not seem to be a reason for misdiagnosis; Students' deficits in diagnosis are more likely due to knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although a growing number of studies have scrutinized population-based variations in travel carbon emissions, few have examined these variations and uneven composition at the neighborhood level. Based on a 2007 Beijing household daily travel/activity survey, this paper attempts to calculate household daily travel carbon emissions and delineate the heterogeneous distribution within and across different neighborhoods. Using multilevel regression models, this paper confirms that socioeconomic variables (especially car availability) are the dominant contributing factors to household travel carbon emissions. Increasing the population density, land use mix and access to metro stations decreases emissions; whereas, household travel emissions increase along with the residential distance to the city center. Moreover, these effects vary across neighborhoods. Consequently, besides behavioral change policies aimed at high emitters, land use instruments should be targeted to different neighborhoods. The observed heterogeneous distributions call for a new governance framework to develop more effective and equitable urban transport policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment during pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) causes sustained preservation of behavioral function in rats in the absence of enduring neuroprotection (Nicoletti et al., 2010), suggesting the possibility that other cells or mechanisms could be involved in the beneficial effects of VEGF during SE. Astrocytes have been reported to contribute to epileptiform discharges in the hippocampus (Tian et al., 2005; Kang et al., 1998) and to express VEGF receptors (Krum & Rosenstein, 2002). We report here that VEGF treatment significantly alters multiple astrocyte parameters. This study investigated astrocyte morphology one month after SE in animals treated with VEGF or inactivated VEGF control protein during SE. Individual GFAP-immunostained astrocytes from CA1 and dentate gyrus hilus were traced and morphologically quantified, and both somatic and process structures were analyzed. VEGF treatment during SE significantly prevented post-SE increases in number of branch intersections, process length, and node count. Furthermore, analysis of distance to nearest neighboring astrocytes revealed that VEGF treatment significantly increased inter-astrocyte distance. Overall, VEGF treatment during SE did not significantly alter the shape of the astrocytes, but did prevent SE-induced changes in branching complexity, size, and spatial patterning. Because astrocyte morphology may be related to astrocyte function, it is possible that VEGF's enduring effects on astrocyte morphology may impact the functioning of the post-seizure hippocampus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literary criticism of the book "Children's Rights From Below: Cross-Cultural Perspectives" by Manfred Liebel is presented. It examines the recurrence of the theme on the reconceptualisation of children's rights throughout the book and its lack of structured exposition and organisation of points. It discusses the substance of the book which tends to disregard the actual living conditions of children. It analyzes the book's representation of a classic anarchistic approach to children's rights.

Abstract: Nonreactive dynamics of molecules in ionic liquids (ILs) have been investigated in various environments, such as in neat aprotic and protic ILs, as well as in binary mixtures of ILs with polar organic solvents and CO2. Transient broadband absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques on timescales from femtoseconds to milliseconds have been applied to elucidate the importance of different types of solute–solvent interactions in these media. Molecular probes such a 12′-apo-β-carotenoic-12′-acid and Coumarin C153 have been used as reporter molecules for ionic liquid solvation dynamics, micropolarity, hydrogen-bonding and collisional relaxation. With Coumarin C153 in ILs, the relationship between the complete solvation response and microwave-terahertz absorption measurements of the neat liquid was explored quantitatively. A reduced value for the conductivity plays a key role in such solvation experiments. Aprotic ILs exhibit a micropolarity larger than expected from their static dielectric constants, whereas the local polarity of protic alkylammonium formate ILs appears to be similar to that of alcohols having comparable dielectric constants. In IL mixtures with organic solvents or CO2, there is no indication for differences in the bulk composition and the local composition around the molecular probe. Collisional relaxation processes in ILs take place on similar timescales as in dipolar organic solvents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The mortgage loan has evolved from a local lending instrument into a major global security and its role is unparallel to other financial instruments in the process of financial globalization. This paper explains how technology and financial innovation transformed the mortgage loan from a local security into a premier global security traded worldwide. It examines the fundamental flaws of this process and why it does not work in regards to mortgage lending and the re-securitization products that were created through financial innovation. The findings show that regulation was unable to keep pace with financial innovation, which created an environment where actors in the financial service sector were able to behave geographically irresponsibly by using information asymmetries to their advantage by participating in moral hazard activities and engaging in other immoral and unethical business practices that were centered around localized geography, which ultimately contributed to the global financial crisis. It also examines the roll of financial innovation in regard to the Lehman Brothers Mini-Bond in Hong and its role as a driving force behind China's newly emerging shadow banking sector. It concludes with a policy recommendation and its implication for China's continued economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to international human rights treaties, what rights do family members, parents, and children have in family engagement in child welfare decision-making? A socio-legal analytical approach produces a typology of rights, then applies the typology to eight countries' approaches to family engagement to show that strong bundles of rights are available in some countries, but not in others. This study reveals international treaties have articulated many rights necessary to family engagement, but some rights are missing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a vascular growth factor more recently recognized as a neurotrophic factor (for review, see Storkebaum E, Lambrechts D, Carmeliet P. BioEssays 2004;26:943–54). We previously reported that endogenous VEGF protein is dramatically upregulated after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in the rat, and that intra-hippocampal infusions of recombinant human VEGF significantly protected against the loss of hippocampal CA1 neurons in this model (Nicoletti JN, Shah SK, McCloskey DP, et al. Neuroscience 2008;151:232-41). We hypothesized that we would see a preservation of cognitive and emotional functioning with VEGF treatment accompanying the neuroprotection previously observed in this paradigm. Using the Morris water maze to evaluate learning and memory, and the light–dark task to assess anxiety, we found a selective profile of preservation. Specifically, VEGF completely preserved normal anxiety functioning and partially but significantly protected learning and memory after status epilepticus. To determine whether the ability of VEGF to attenuate behavioral deficits was accompanied by sustained preservation of hippocampal neurons, we stereologically estimated CA1 pyramidal neuron densities 4weeks after status epilepticus. At this time point, we found no significant difference in neuronal densities between VEGF- and control-treated status epilepticus animals, suggesting that VEGF could have protected hippocampal functioning independent of its neuroprotective effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The ultrafast internal conversion (IC) dynamics of adonixanthin in organic solvents were studied by pump-supercontinuum probe (PSCP) and transient lens (TL) spectroscopy after photoexcitation to the S2 state. Transient PSCP spectra in the range 344–768nm provided the spectral evolution of the S0 →S2 ground state bleach and S1 →Sn excited state absorption. Time constants were τ 2 =115 and 111fs for the S2 →S1 IC and τ 1 =6.4 and 5.8ps for the S1 →S0 IC in acetone and methanol, respectively. There was only an insignificant polarity dependence of τ 1, underlining the negligible importance of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) in the lowest-lying excited state of C40 carotenoids with carbonyl substitution on the β-ionone ring. A blueshift and a spectral narrowing of the S1 →Sn ESA band, likely due to solvation dynamics, and formation of the adonixanthin radial cation at high pump energies via resonant two-photon ionization were found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents an overview of the moral and ethical aspects related to medical research which is contracted to commercial or academic associations by pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies. A discussion of bias and conflicts of interest which could result from the influence of the companies is presented. The legal case of Gretchen LeFever, a clinical psychologist who was an associate professor in the department of pediatrics in the Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2005 when school officials shut down her government agency funded research project and seized her computers, is discussed.

The history of the social sciences provides instructive instances of clairvoyance on the part of some of its principal luminaries as well as periods of general institutional myopia. The 30-year history of the ISA Research Committee on Sociotechnics itself is an interesting representation of the path sociology in its mainstream and less orthodox (or deviant- depending on the perspective of the observer- configurations has traversed in these last decades. I vividly recall meeting Adam Podgorecki first at the meetings of the International Sociological Association in Washington and again, in the spring of 1973, at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. And I remember equally well meeting him again at the first meetings of the Research Committee on Sociotechnics at Loughborough University in England and at a later meeting in 1974, which was convened at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Optical Kerr lens spectroscopy has been employed to study the reorientation dynamics of N2O and CO2 at the reduced densities 0.8–2.0 and different temperatures in a newly constructed high pressure cell. The transient birefringence induced in the medium by an ultrashort (110fs) non-resonant pump beam at 400nm was monitored by a second, time-delayed non-resonant probe beam at 800nm. The transient change of the probe beam diameter was detected in the far field using a small-area photodiode. Measurements employing parallel and perpendicular polarization allowed us to extract the nuclear and electronic components of the Kerr effect, where the latter one was by far weaker for both CO2 and N2O. Accurate time constants for the reorientation dynamics of the CO2 and N2O molecules were extracted from the tail of the nuclear Kerr response. In the case of CO2 the time constants τ reorientation were between 210 and 280fs and in good agreement with previous data from NMR and OHD-OKE experiments as well as MD simulations. Reorientation time constants for N2O were in the range between 200 and 340fs, and thus very similar to CO2. In the density range studied, τ reorientation increases with increasing viscosity and decreasing temperature, in agreement with Stokes–Einstein–Debye diffusive models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ultrafast internal conversion (IC) dynamics of the apocarotenoid citranaxanthin have been studied for the first time by means of two-color transient lens (TL) pump−probe spectroscopy. After excitation into the high-energy edge of the S2 band by a pump pulse at 400 nm, the subsequent intramolecular processes were probed at 800 nm. Experiments were performed in a variety of solvents at room temperature. Upper limits for the S2 lifetime τ2 on the order of 100−200 fs are estimated. The S1 lifetime τ1 varies only slightly between solvents (10−12 ps), and the only clear decrease is observed for methanol (8.5 ps). The findings are consistent with earlier results from transient absorption studies of other apocarotenoids and carotenoid ketones and transient lens experiments of C40 carbonyl carotenoids. Possible reasons for the observed weak solvent dependence of τ1 for citranaxanthin are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transient UV absorption spectra and kinetics of the CH2I radical in the gas phase have been investigated at 313 K. Following laser photolysis of 1−3 mbar CH2I2 at 308 nm, transient spectra in the wavelength range 330−390 nm were measured at delay times between 60 ns and a few microseconds. The change of the absorption spectra at early times was attributed to vibrational cooling of highly excited CH2I radicals by collisional energy transfer to CH2I2 molecules. From transient absorption decays measured at specific wavelengths, time-dependent concentrations of vibrationally “hot” and “cold” CH2I and CH2I2 were extracted by kinetic modeling. In addition, the transient absorption spectrum of CH2I* radicals between 330 and 400 nm was reconstructed from the simulated concentration−time profiles. The evolution of the absorption spectra of CH2I* radicals and CH2I2* due to collisional energy transfer was simulated in the framework of a modified Sulzer−Wieland model. Additional master equation simulations for the collisional deactivation of CH2I* by CH2I2 yield 〈ΔE〉 values in reasonable agreement with earlier direct studies on the collisional relaxation of other systems. In addition, the simulations show that the shape of the vibrational population distribution of the hot CH2I* radicals has no influence on the measured UV absorption signals. The implications of our results with respect to spectral assignments in recent ultrafast spectrokinetic studies of the photolysis of CH2I2 in dense fluids are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reveals the practices in medicine and medical research in the U.S. that are being influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, as detailed by several whistleblowers who have attended a roundtable discussion attended by the officials of the Public Library of Science in San Francisco, California and the U.S. Government Accountability Project, in Washington D. C. on May 15, 2005. Concerns about rofecoxib that were raised by David Graham, a Food and Drug Administration safety officer; Investigation led by Allen Jones, investigator at the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General; Role of Stefan Kruszewski in the Bureau of Program Integrity in the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.

Experimental collisional energy transfer data from kinetically controlled selective ionization (KCSI) and ultraviolet absorption (UVA) experiments are analyzed in the framework of the partially ergodic collision theory (PECT). Collisions of azulene and biphenylene with different colliders are investigated as case studies. The downward wings of the P(E‘,E) energy transfer distributions obtained from the PECT model are fitted to the recently introduced “variable-shape”-exponential 3-parameter functional form of P(E‘,E) obtained from KCSI experiments, P(E‘,E) ∝ exp[−{(E − E‘)/(C0 + C1E)}Y]. The PECT model is able to reproduce the characteristic dependence of the KCSI “shape parameter” Y on the choice of collider, the energy dependent width of the KCSI P(E‘,E) distributions, described by &agr;(E) = C0 + C1E, and the temperature dependence of the UVA data above room temperature. The statistical approach of PECT obviously captures the essence of large molecule energy transfer at chemically significant energies without the need of knowing specific features of the detailed collision dynamics. It therefore shows promise for predicting the shape of P(E‘,E) in master equation kernels for larger molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses a possible conflict of interest affecting the American Heart Association's upgrade of its recommendation for the use alteplase to treat stroke. Controversy about the safety and efficacy of the treatment; Suggestion that the American Heart Association was influenced to recommend the treatment and ignore studies about the treatment's possible harms because of donations received from the drug's maker; How Jerome Hoffman was removed from the American Heart Association panel after he raised questions about alteplase's safety.

In this article, the author discusses reasons for ignorance of the medical guidelines. She mention that many times the fear of malpractice suits puts many in an untenable position of following guidelines they know will dangerous to patients. She informs that guidelines are usually developed and issued by large panels of authors of specialty and other professional organizations. She reports that it might difficult to bias a guideline with so many experts participating under the sponsorship of large professional bodies and number of cases discussed may be common. She reports that the overwhelming major­ity of committee has ties to industry and selection of panelists with desired viewpoints can make a wished outcome for firms.

The article discusses the basic assumption that until now has been followed in U.S. health care that more is better and how it is now being challenged by a large number of prominent physicians. The main challenge in palliative care comes from physicians themselves and not patients, as it is they who are in denial. Overtreatment is observed more in palliative care owing to the fact that doctors feel that keeping a patient from dying, if even for a few days is their main mission. The Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts, and the New America Foundation, a Washington DC think tank convened a conference to discuss how too much medicine is making one sicker.

The article highlights the problems associated with the post approval surveillance of medical devices in the U.S. It highlights the clinical trials conducted by Cyberonics on the safety and efficacy of its vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) for the prevention and reduction of seizures. The authors argue that the failure of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor mortality data related to VNS is one example of the problems in post-approval surveillance of medical devices. They add that the ability of FDA to identify unsafe devices is halted by poor and meaningless post-approval studies. Information on the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database is also given. INSET: The problem with MAUDE.

The article reports on loopholes in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of medical devices. According to some FDA scientists, the premarket approval process has been corrupted which prompted them to write a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama complaining that senior managers have approved several medical devices in spite of the unanimous objections of agency scientists. Several experts and external assessments claim that the medical device industry operates in a lax regulatory environment that is full of conflicts of interest.