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Rationale: The informal caregivers who provide unpaid support for persons living with dementia (PLWD) are often unprepared to appropriately manage symptoms and navigate health services to support themselves or the PLWD. Aim: To understand informal caregivers' perceived capabilities of handling dementia symptomology and perceived support from providers. Methods: We identified and surveyed caregivers of primary care patients in the Mass General Brigham health system. We included a self‐efficacy questionnaire to assess caregivers' ability and confidence in access to dementia care, symptom management, and provider support. Results: Respondents indicated that although their provider had knowledge of dementia and memory care, they were least likely to agree (39.2%) that their provider helped them with these challenging symptoms. Those who live with the care recipient were least likely to receive advice about common symptoms (43.6%) and to access community services (63.8%), and in general felt moderately knowledgeable about the progression of the disease (47.9%). Conclusions: The findings imply that caregivers are aware of disease progression, dementia symptoms, and do not feel supported by their providers in managing care or accessing support services. There is opportunity to support informal caregivers in a primary care setting by appropriately uptraining providers in dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults' access to medical care services by presence and type of disability which showed that adults with disabilities experienced significant disparities in delayed and unmet need for medical care. Topics covered include the factors contributing to inequities in delaying medical care and unmet needs, the limitations of the study and the implications for policy and practice.

Liquid-phase crystallized silicon on glass (LPCSG) presents a promising material to fabricate high quality silicon thin films, e.g., for solar cells and modules. Using continuous wave line focus laser irradiation at 808 nm, about 10 μm thick microcrystalline silicon layers are fabricated by liquid-phase crystallization of amorphous or nanocrystalline silicon layers deposited by electron beam evaporation on Borofloat 33 glass. To achieve high solar cell efficiencies with such thin silicon layers, effective light trapping structures at the silicon surface are needed to enhance the light absorption and thereby the current in the solar cell. At the same time, these surface structures must provide low surface recombination velocity to maintain high open circuit voltage ( Voc). Light trapping structures in LPCSG absorber prepared by conventional KOH texturing and by nanowire structuring of the solar cell backside are investigated. The impact of structures on short circuit current density ( Isc) is determined from optical measurements. As a new approach, effective carrier lifetime is measured in LPCSG absorbers using the quasi steady-state photoconductance method to determine the impact of structuring on surface recombination and implied Voc of solar cell precursors. Carrier lifetimes in the range of 300-400 ns are measured indicating a carrier diffusion length of more than 20 μm, which is 2-3 times larger than the layer thickness. It is found that a slight pyramidal surface texture by KOH solution provides a high level of light trapping increasing Isc by 17-18% and maintaining high Voc (>600 mV). The potential for current enhancement of nanowire structuring is higher (≈20%), but further optimization of nanowire dimensions and of surface cleaning of nanowire structures is needed to overcome higher surface recombination and the resulting Voc losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum due band-to-band recombination in an only 8 μm thick liquid-phase crystallized silicon on glass solar cell absorber is measured over 3 orders of magnitude with a thin 400 μm thick optical fiber directly coupled to the spectrometer. High PL signal is achieved by the possibility to capture the PL spectrum very near to the silicon surface. The spectra measured within microcrystals of the absorber present the same features as spectra of crystalline silicon wafers without showing defect luminescence indicating the high electronic material quality of the liquid-phase multi-crystalline layer after hydrogen plasma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the new guideline ruling in the conduct of opencast operations in the Rhenish lignite-mining area.

Natural disasters like floods are a worldwide phenomenon and a serious threat to mankind. Flood simulations are applications of disaster control, which are used for the development of appropriate flood protection. Adequate simulations require not only the geometry but also the roughness of the Earth's surface, as well as the roughness of the objects hereon. Usually, the floodplain roughness is based on land use/land cover maps derived from orthophotos. This study analyses the applicability of roughness map derivation approaches for flood simulations based on different datasets: orthophotos, LiDAR data, official land use data, OpenStreetMap data and CORINE Land Cover data. Object-based image analysis is applied to orthophotos and LiDAR raster data in order to generate land cover maps, which enable a roughness parameterization. The vertical vegetation structure within the LiDAR point cloud is used to derive an additional floodplain roughness map. Further roughness maps are derived from official land use data, OpenStreetMap and CORINE Land Cover datasets. Six different flood simulations are applied based on one elevation data but with the different roughness maps. The results of the hydrodynamic-numerical models include information on flow velocity and water depth from which the additional attribute flood intensity is calculated of. The results based on roughness maps derived from LiDAR data and OpenStreetMap data are comparable, whereas the results of the other datasets differ significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Im Rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier fallen in den Betrieben der RWE Power AG verschiedenartige Abfälle an, die allesamt ordnungsgemäß entsorgt werden. Gleiches gilt für ausgewählte externe Abfälle, die in den Betrieben des Rheinischen Braunkohlenreviers verwertet werden. Grundsätzlich wird unterschieden zwischen bergbaulichen Abfällen und sonstigen Abfällen, die nach KrWG zu beurteilen sind. Für die unter Bergaufsicht stehenden Betriebe erfolgt die Verwertung auf Grundlage zugelassener Betriebspläne und behördlicher Genehmigungen. Bei den Verwertungsmaßnahmen in den Tagebauen handelt es sich insbesondere um die Herstellung technischer Bauwerke wie Immissionsschutzdämme und Stützdämme, Rekultivierungs- und Immissionsschutzmaßnahmen sowie um Maßnahmen zur Verringerung des durch die Auskohlung entstandenen Massendefizits und der Verkleinerung der Resträume. Desweiteren unterliegt die thermische Verwertung von Abfällen in den Kraftwerken dem Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz. Den mengenmäßigen Schwerpunkt der Abfallentsorgung stellen die Kraftwerksreststoffe dar, die auf nach Abfallrecht planfestgestellten Kraftwerksreststoffdeponien in ausgekohlten Tagebaubereichen abgelagert werden. Die vier Kraftwerksrestoffdeponien, die gemäß Deponieverordnung der Deponieklasse I zugeordnet sind, tragen zur Verringerung des durch die Auskohlung der Tagebaue entstandenen Massendefizits und die Verkleinerung der entstehenden Resträume bei. Der in den Braunkohlenkraftwerken bei der Rauchgasentschwefelung anfallende REA-Gips wird zu etwa drei Viertel einer Verwertung in der Baustoffindustrie zugeführt. Die anfallenden gewerblichen Abfälle werden von einem Entsorgungsfachbetrieb im Rahmen eines Full-Service-Vertrags einer externen Verwertung bzw. Beseitigung zugeführt. Über die anfallenden Abfallströme wird im Rahmen verschiedener jährlicher Abfallberichtspflichten berichtet. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Rechtsvorschriften und behördlichen Zulassungen unterliegen die anfallenden Abfallströme und deren Entsorgung einer intensiven Kontrolle und Überwachung sowohl durch RWE Power als auch durch die zuständigen Behörden. Damit ist eine ordnungsgemäße Abfallentsorgung jederzeit sichergestellt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Rhenish lignite mining area, many different kinds of waste are generated in the operations of RWE Power AG, all of which need to be properly disposed of. The same applies to certain external waste recycled in the company's mines and installations in the Rhenish lignite mining area. A basic distinction is made between mining waste and other waste, which must be handled according to the Product Recycling and Waste Management Act (KrWG). In the operations subject to regulation by the mining supervisory authority, all mining waste is recycled in accordance with approved operating plans and official permits. It is put to various uses in the opencast mines, especially in the construction of technical structures such as noise protection embarkments and abutments, in recultivation and noise and pollution control, and in measures to compensate for mass depletion and reduce the final voids left behind after coal extraction. Some wastes are thermally recycled in the power plants in compliance with the Air Pollution Control and Noise Abatement Act (BlmSchG). The bulk of the waste requiring disposal is accounted for by power plant residues, which are dumped on power plant residue landfills officially licensed under waste management regulations in depleted areas of the opencast mines. The four power plant residue landfill sites, which are designated as landfill class I according to the Landfill Ordinance (DepVO), help to compensate for mass depletion and to reduce the final voids due to coal extraction. Around three quarters of the gypsum recovered from flue gas desulphurisation in the lignite-fired power plants is recycled in the construction materials industry. Industrial waste is externally recycled or disposed of by a specialist waste disposal company under the terms of a full-service contract. The real waste figures are reported pursuant to various annual waste reporting obligations. Pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations and official permits, the occurring waste flows and their disposal are subject to extensive inspection and monitoring both by RWE Power and the authorities in charge. Proper waste management and disposal is thus ensured at all times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The t(7;12)(q36;p13) translocation is a recurrent chromosome abnormality that involves the ETV6 gene on chromosome 12 and has been identified in 20-30% of infant patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The detection of t(7;12) rearrangements relies on the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) because this translocation is hardly visible by chromosome banding methods. Furthermore, a fusion transcript HLXB9-ETV6 is found in approximately 50% of t(7;12) cases, making the reverse transcription PCR approach not an ideal screening method. Considering the report of few cases of variant translocations harbouring a cryptic t(7;12) rearrangement, we believe that the actual incidence of this abnormality is higher than reported to date. The clinical outcome of t(7;12) patients is believed to be poor, therefore an early and accurate diagnosis is important in the clinical management and treatment. In this study, we have designed and tested a novel three-colour FISH approach that enabled us not only to confirm the presence of the t(7;12) in a number of patients studied previously, but also to identify a cryptic t(7;12) as part of a complex rearrangement. This new approach has proven to be an efficient and reliable method to be used in the diagnostic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytoplasmic APOBEC3G has been reported to block wild-type human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in some primary cells. It is not known whether cytoplasmic APOBEC3G has residual activity in activated T cells, even though virion-packaged APOBEC3G does restrict HIV-1 in activated T cells. Because we found that APOBEC3G expression is greater in activated CD4+ T-helper type 1 (Th1) lymphocytes than in T-helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes, we hypothesized that residual target cell restriction of incoming Vif-positive virions that lack APOBEC3G, if present, would be greater in Th1 than Th2 lymphocytes. Infection of activated Th1 cells with APOBEC3-negative virions did result in decreased amounts of early and late reverse transcription products and integrated virus relative to infection of activated Th2 cells. Two-long terminal repeat (2-LTR) circles, which are formed in the nucleus when reverse transcripts do not integrate, were increased after APOBEC3-negative virus infection of activated Th1 cells relative to infection of activated Th2 cells. In contrast, 2-LTR circle forms were decreased after infection of APOBEC3G-negative cells with APOBEC3G-containing virions relative to APOBEC3G-negative virions and with Th1 cell-produced virions relative to Th2 cell-produced virions. Increasing APOBEC3G in Th2 cells and decreasing APOBEC3G in Th1 cells modulated the target cell phenotypes, indicating causation by APOBEC3G. The comparison between activated Th1 and Th2 cells indicates that cytoplasmic APOBEC3G in activated Th1 cells partially restricts reverse transcription and integration of incoming Vif-positive, APOBEC3G-negative HIV-1. The differing effects of cytoplasmic and virion-packaged APOBEC3G on 2-LTR circle formation indicate a difference in their antiviral mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cytidine deaminases APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F exert anti-HIV-1 activity that is countered by the HIV-1 vif protein. Based on potential transcription factor binding sites in their putative promoters, we hypothesized that expression of APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F would vary with T helper lymphocyte differentiation. Naive CD4+ T lymphocytes were differentiated to T helper type 1 (Th1) and 2 (Th2) effector cells by expression of transcription factors Tbet and GATA3, respectively, as well as by cytokine polarization. APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F RNA levels, and APOBEC3G protein levels, were higher in Th1 than in Th2 cells. T cell receptor stimulation further increased APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F expression in Tbetand control-transduced, but not in GATA3-transduced, cells. Neutralizing anti-interferon-γ antibodies reduced both basal and T cell receptor-stimulated APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F expression in Tbet- and control-transduced cells. HIV-1 produced from Th1 cells had more virion APOBEC3G, and decreased infectivity, compared to virions produced from Th2 cells. These differences between Th1- and Th2-produced virions were greater for viruses lacking functional vif, but also seen with vifpositive viruses. Over-expression of APOBEC3G in Th2 cells decreased the infectivity of virions produced from Th2 cells, and reduction of APOBEC3G in Th1 cells increased infectivity of virions produced from Th1 cells, consistent with a causal role for APOBEC3G in the infectivity difference. These results indicate that APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F levels vary physiologically during CD4+ T lymphocyte differentiation, that interferon-c contributes to this modulation, and that this physiological regulation can cause changes in infectivity of progeny virions, even in the presence of HIV-1 vif. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The HIV-1 virion infectivity factor (Vif) is required during viral replication to inactivate the host cell anti-viral factor, APOBEC3G (A3G). Vif binds A3G and a Cullin5-ElonginBC E3 ubiquitin ligase complex which results in the proteasomal degradation of A3G. The Vif PPLP motif (amino acids 161–164) is essential for normal Vif function because mutations in this motif reduce the infectivity of virions produced in T-cells. In this report, we demonstrate that mutation of the Vif PPLP motif reduces Vif binding to A3G without affecting its interaction with ElonginC and Cullin5. We demonstrate that the failure of the Vif mutant to bind A3G resulted in A3G incorporation into assembling virions with loss of viral infectivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The activation of soluble guanylate cyclase by bradykinin and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a direct activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, was evaluated in androgen-sensitive LNCaP and androgen-independent PC3 and DU145 prostate cancer cells. Bradykinin and SNP activated soluble guanylate cyclase in LNCaP cells, but not in PC3 and DU145 cells. Western blot analysis revealed that the bradykinin B2 receptor, Gqα, phospholipase Cγ and endothelial nitric oxide synthase were expressed in LNCaP, PC3 and DU145 cells. However, both Western blotting and reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction indicated that soluble guanylate cyclase was only expressed in LNCaP cells. These results demonstrate that the impaired bradykinin-soluble guanylate cyclase pathway in PC3 and DU145 cells is likely due to lack of expression of soluble guanylate cyclase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As Germany's most important, domestic fossil energy carrier, lignite plays a crucial role in electricity and heat production. Even though its share of the overall power production is decreasing due to a rising feed‐in from renewable energy sources, fossil energy carriers will go on providing base load and back‐up electricity in times when renewable energies are not able to produce enough electricity. Lignite and byproducts can also be used for material utilization. The production of hydrocarbons or extraction of important raw materials are examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here on an approach targeting the host reactive cysteinome to identify inhibitors of host factors required for the infectious cycle of Flaviviruses and other viruses. We used two parallel cellular phenotypic screens to identify a series of covalent inhibitors, exemplified by QL-XII-47, that are active against dengue virus. We show that the compounds effectively block viral protein expression and that this inhibition is associated with repression of downstream processes of the infectious cycle, and thus significantly contributes to the potent antiviral activity of these compounds. We demonstrate that QL-XII-47's antiviral activity requires selective, covalent modification of a host target by showing that the compound's antiviral activity is recapitulated when cells are preincubated with QL-XII-47 and then washed prior to viral infection and by showing that QL-XII-47R, a non-reactive analog, lacks antiviral activity at concentrations more than 20-fold higher than QL-XII-47's IC 90 . QL-XII-47's inhibition of Zika virus, West Nile virus, hepatitis C virus, and poliovirus further suggests that it acts via a target mediating inhibition of these other medically relevant viruses. These results demonstrate the utility of screens targeting the host reactive cysteinome for rapid identification of compounds with potent antiviral activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is widely used to assess chromosomes and the localization of genetic elements in tissues, nuclei of cultured cells and spreads of metaphase chromosomes. FISH procedures have become routine in many laboratories of fundamental and applied research as well as in medical diagnostics, for example in cytogenetics and pathology. The commercial availability of probes and labeling kits might suggest that FISH is a routine technique without further need for improvement. However, the 1st Discussion Workshop on Standardization of FISH Procedures held at Schloss Elmau in 2002 resulted in a quite different view on FISH.