In a prospective cohort of healthcare personnel (HCP), we measured severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid IgG antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among 79 HCP, 68 (86%) were seropositive 14–28 days after their positive PCR test, and 54 (77%) of 70 were seropositive at the 70–180-day follow-up. Many seropositive HCP (95%) experienced an antibody decline by the second visit.

CVD is a major burden on the health system in the UK. On average, diets are not aligned with current dietary recommendations, including those for salt, saturated fat, fibre, fruit and vegetables. Obesity prevalence is high and the majority of the population is consuming more energy than required. Addressing these issues would reduce the burden of CVD and help reduce inequalities in health. There is currently a range of policy interventions in place in England designed to help improve diets and reduce obesity, which in turn should help reduce the risk of CVD. Further actions may be needed in the long term to deliver sustained improvements to diet and health.

Precipitation of amorphous silica (SiO2) in geothermal power plants, although a common factor limiting the efficiency of geothermal energy production, is poorly understood and no universally applicable mitigation strategy to prevent or reduce precipitation is available. This is primarily due to the lack of understanding of the precipitation mechanism of amorphous silica in geothermal systems.

In the present study data are presented about microstructures and compositions of precipitates formed on scaling plates inserted at five different locations in the pipelines at the Hellisheiði power station (SW-Iceland). Precipitates on these plates formed over 6 to 8 weeks of immersion in hot (120 or 60ºC), fast-flowing and silica-supersaturated geothermal fluids (~800 ppm of SiO2). Although the composition of the precipitates is fairly homogeneous, with silica being the dominant component and Fe sulfides as a less common phase, the microstructures of the precipitates are highly variable and dependent on the location within the geothermal pipelines. The silica precipitates have grown through aggregation and precipitation of silica particles that precipitated homogeneously in the geothermal fluid. Five main factors were identified that may control the precipitation of silica: (1) temperature, (2) fluid composition, (3) fluid-flow regime, (4) distance along the flow path, and (5) immersion time.

On all scaling plates, a corrosion layer was found underlying the silica precipitates indicating that, once formed, the presence of a silica layer probably protects the steel pipe surface against further corrosion. Yet silica precipitates influence the flow of the geothermal fluids and therefore can limit the efficiency of geothermal power stations.

Different front-of-pack (FOP) labelling systems have been developed in Europe by industry and organisations concerned with health promotion. A study (n 2068) was performed to establish the extent to which inclusion of the most prevalent FOP systems – guideline daily amounts (GDA), traffic lights (TL), GDA+TL hybrid (HYB) and health logos (HL) – impact consumer perceptions of healthiness over and above the provision of a FOP basic label (BL) containing numerical nutritional information alone. The design included within- and between-subjects factors. The within-subjects factors were: food (pizzas, yogurts and biscuits), healthiness of the food (high health, medium health and low health) and the repeated measurements under BL and test FOP label conditions. The between-subjects factors were: the system (GDA, TL, GDA+TL hybrid, HL), portion size (typical portion size and a 50 % reduction of a typical portion) and country (the UK, Germany, Poland and Turkey). Although the FOP systems tested did result in small improvements for objective understanding under some conditions, there was little difference between the provision of an FOP label containing basic numerical nutritional information alone or between the various systems. Thus, any structured and legible presentation of key nutrient and energy information on the FOP label is sufficient to enable consumers to detect a healthier alternative within a food category when provided with foods that have distinctly different levels of healthiness. Future research should focus on developing greater understanding of the psychological and contextual factors that impact motivation and the opportunity to use the various FOP systems in real-world shopping settings.

Our view of the low-redshift Cosmic Web has been revolutionized by galaxy redshift surveys such as 6dFGS, SDSS and 2MRS. However, the trade-off between depth and angular coverage limits a systematic three-dimensional account of the entire sky beyond the Local Volume (z < 0.05). In order to reliably map the Universe to cosmologically significant depths over the full celestial sphere, one must draw on multiwavelength datasets and state-of-the-art photometric redshift techniques. We have undertaken a dedicated program of cross-matching the largest photometric all-sky surveys – 2MASS, WISE and SuperCOSMOS – to obtain accurate redshift estimates of millions of galaxies. The first outcome of these efforts – the 2MASS Photometric Redshift catalog (2MPZ, Bilicki et al. 2014a) – has been publicly released and includes almost 1 million galaxies with a mean redshift of z=0.08. Here we summarize how this catalog was constructed and how using the WISE mid-infrared sample together with SuperCOSMOS optical data allows us to push to redshift shells of z∼ 0.2 –0.3 on unprecedented angular scales. Our catalogs, with ∼ 20 million sources in total, provide access to cosmological volumes crucial for studies of local galaxy flows (clustering dipole, bulk flow) and cross-correlations with the cosmic microwave background such as the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect or lensing studies.

A heuristic greedy algorithm is developed for efficiently tiling spatially dense redshift surveys. In its first application to the Galaxy and MassAssembly (GAMA) redshift survey we find it rapidly improves the spatial uniformity of our data, and naturally corrects for any spatial bias introduced by the 2dF multi-object spectrograph. We make conservative predictions for the final state of the GAMA redshift survey after our final allocation of time, and can be confident that even if worse than typical weather affects our observations, all of our main survey requirements will be met.

Inx Ga1-x N-based LED structures were grown on digital Alx Ga1-x N/GaN DBR substrate to enhance emission extraction. Same LED structure was grown on sapphire substrate as a comparison. LEDs grown on DBR substrate exhibited similar IV characteristics to that grown on sapphire substrate but emission-angle-dependent EL spectra were observed. Also, the resonant vertical cavity modes were observed in EL spectra of LEDs with DBR structure and compared to simulated results. Image processing analysis results show that light extraction of LEDs is enhanced with use of DBR substrate.

Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) are an important component of various optoelectronic devices for ultra violet and visible wavelengths. In the III-Nitride material system, Aluminum Nitride (AlN) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) offer a large contrast in refractive index and are therefore well suited for fabricating DBRs with high reflectivity and wide bandwidths using relatively few periods. However, the large lattice and thermal mismatch leads to cracking in these heterostructures. In this work short period superlattice layers have been used to fabricate high reflectivity (> 94%) nitride based DBRs via Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy. Short period AlN/GaN superlattices containing three to four monolayers of GaN have been employed as the low refractive index layer in DBRs to minimize cracking. Using this technique, crack-free DBRs reflecting from 440-475 nm with up to 25 periods have been fabricated. The technique has been proven to be versatile and resulted in large area yield DBRs grown on a variety of different sapphire substrates.

Various cooling (01–5.100 Cmin−1) and warming (2O–6,8OO½Cmin−1) rates, stepped cooling schedules and four cryoprotective additives (dimethyl sulphoxide, methanol, ethanediol and glycerol) were investigated in cryopreservation studies with Dictyocaulus viviparus third-stage larvae. Exsheathment with sodium hypochlorite was essential to achieve significant survival. With uninterrupted cooling, highest survival (30% normally motile) was achieved with rates of 10–70½C min−1. Survival was higher (50–75%) using 1 ½C min−1 to — 10½C followed by plunging into liquid nitrogen. The optimum warming rate was 6,8OO½C min−1. The use of cryoprotectants led to marginally lower survival while varying the suspending media had no significant effect on survival. X-irradiated, exsheathed third-stage larvae cryopreserved by the optimum protocol yielded 38–3 ±4–2% survival. Two calves each infected with 45,000 (15,000 viable) exsheathed, unirradiated, C“ryopreserved third-stage larvae harboured 494 worms (11% infectivity) and 355 worms (0-8%) at necropsy. Numbers of first-stage larvae in the faeces reached 420/G and 105/G respectively 27 days after infection.

Grain yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in northern Syria is limited by water stress and extremes of temperature. The present study compared the grain yield of two barley cultivars, Harmal (spring type, cold-sensitive, early heading) and Arabi Aswad (winter type, cold-tolerant, medium early heading), under varying rainfall and temperature. Grain yield was obtained from three sites in northern Syria for seven seasons (1984/85 to 1990/91), resulting in 18 site × season combinations, here called environments. Multiple regression models, containing one rainfall and one temperature variable, were used to quantify yield responses to environmental fluctuations.

Total seasonal rainfall was the variable most strongly correlated with the grain yield of Harmal, accounting for 62·8% of the variance. For Arabi Aswad, rainfall from November to January gave the best fit, accounting for 61·8% of the variance. December and January rainfall had the highest contribution to the yield of both cultivars; the contribution of March rainfall tended to be negative. The overall yield response to seasonal rainfall was 11·89 kg/ha/mm for Harmal and 8·57 kg/ha/mm for Arabi Aswad; the expected grain yield at the driest site was c. 1270 kg/ha for both cultivars. The addition of a temperature variable gave a better fit, accounting for c. 80% of the variance in grain yield for both cultivars if winter rainfall was combined with number of night frosts in spring. It reduced the expected yields at the driest site to c. 986 kg/ha. Arabi Aswad had a lesser response to both rainfall and frost than Harmal.

In environments where low yields are due to both water and temperature stress, farmers are advised to grow Arabi Aswad because its lesser sensitivity to environmental fluctuations will ensure a better yield stability.

The lectin-inhibitory sugars D-glucosamine (GlcN) and N-acetyl D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) are known to enhance susceptibility of the tsetse fly vector to infection with Trypanosoma brucei. GlcNAc also stimulates trypanosome growth in vitro in the absence of any factor derived from the fly. Here, we show that GlcNAc cannot be used as a direct energy source, nor is it internalized by trypanosomes. It does, however, inhibit glucose uptake by binding to the hexose transporter. Deprivation of D-glucose leads to a switch from a metabolism based predominantly on substrate level phosphorylation of D-glucose to a more efficient one based mainly on oxidative phosphorylation using L-proline. Procyclic form trypanosomes grow faster and to higher density in D-glucose-depleted medium than in D-glucose-rich medium. The ability of trypanosomes to use L-proline as an energy source can be regulated depending upon the availability of D-glucose and here we show that this regulation is a graded response to D-glucose availability and determined by the overall metabolic state of the cell. It appears, therefore, that the growth stimulatory effect of GlcNAc in vitro relates to the switch from D-glucose to L-proline metabolism. In tsetse flies, however, it seems probable that the effect of GlcNAc is independent of this switch as pre-adaptation to growth in proline had no effect on tsetse infection rate.

The present study investigated the presence of a single-nucleotide polymorphism (G > T) at base −8 upstream of ATG in 5′ untranslated region of cytochrome b5 (CYB5A) gene in Swedish pig populations and evaluated the significance of this polymorphism for androstenone and skatole levels, sexual development and performance parameters in pigs. Frequencies of the T allele were 6.7% for Swedish Yorkshire × Landrace crossbred pigs (n = 245), 6.5% for Swedish Yorkshire (n = 99) and 12.8% for Landrace breed (n = 74). No deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed in the investigated populations. In Swedish Yorkshire × Landrace crossbred entire male pigs (n = 193), plasma samples were analysed for skatole, androstenone, testosterone and oestrone sulphate, and fat samples were analysed for androstenone, skatole and free oestrone. Additionally, testis weight and bulbourethral gland length for crossbred pigs were recorded. Plasma androstenone levels were significantly lower in the G/T genotype at 90 kg live weight compared with the wild G/G genotype at the same live weight (P = 0.006). In heavier pigs, plasma androstenone levels did not differ between genotypes (P = 0.382). Fat androstenone levels were not affected by CYB5A genotype (P = 0.252). Skatole levels in the G/T genotype at 115 kg live weight were lower compared with those in the G/G genotype in plasma (P = 0.048) and fat (P = 0.028), although no differences were observed in lighter pigs. Testis weight, bulbourethral gland length, testosterone and oestrone sulphate levels in plasma, and oestrone levels in fat were not affected by genotype. We concluded that the presence of the T allele in the CYB5A gene resulted in lower androstenone levels in plasma, and lower skatole levels in fat and plasma; this reduction, however, was dependent on the live weight of the animals. Reproductive hormones and growth rate did not differ between the pigs of different genotypes, whereas a higher lean meat content was found in the G/T genotype in comparison with the G/G genotype. The practical application of those results in Sweden is doubtful because of lack of the effect on androstenone in fat and the low frequency of the T allele in the studied Swedish pig populations.

Digital Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), a thermal characterization technique, can be used to rapidly obtain a rough upper estimate of the firing temperature of archaeological pottery as well as an indication of its composition. The technique involves heating a small sample (10–20 mg) of ground ceramic above the vitrification temperature, cooling and reheating. The curves of the two heating cycles are then compared. The validity of the technique was evaluated by a blind test in which 35 tiles fired at different temperatures were analyzed without knowing their firing point, and by analysis of archaeological pottery samples assumed to be local or imported based upon stylistic criteria.

Increased marine 14C reservoir ages from the surface water of the North Atlantic are documented for the Younger Dryas period. We use terrestrial and marine AMS 14C dates from the time of deposition of the Icelandic Vedde Ash to examine the marine 14C reservoir age. This changed from its modem North Atlantic value of ca. 400 yr to ca. 700 yr during the Younger Dryas climatic event. The increased marine reservoir age has implications for both comparing climatic time series dated by 14C and understanding palaeoceanographic changes that generated the increase.

A clinicoepidemiologic study was undertaken to investigate an apparent increase in frequency of nosocomial invasive filamentous fungal disease (NIFFD) in adult patients with acute leukemia hospitalized during a period of hospital construction, and to determine if a relationship existed between the construction activity and the acquisition of NIFFD.

The first study goal, to determine the incidence of NIFFD before and during construction, was approached by calculation of incidence rates of NIFFD in patients with acute leukemia, comparing 1982 and 1983 (a baseline period free of construction) to 1986 (a year when construction activity was at its peak). The second study goal, to identify risk factors for the development of NIFFD, was accomplished by reviewing the autopsy records of all patients with underlying hematologic disorders accompanied by granulocytopenia who died in our hospital from 1982 through 1986. Patients with and without autopsy evidence of NIFFD were then compared by univariate and multivariate (logistic regression) analysis to identify potential risk factors for the acquisition of NIFFD.

The incidence of NIFFD in patients with acute leukemia hospitalized during the period of hospital construction was significantly increased when compared to a baseline period without construction (11 per 139 versus 4 per 333, p < .001). Review of all granulocytopenic patients autopsied over the five-year interval 1982 through 1986 revealed duration of granulocytopenia and hospitalization during construction to be risk factors for NIFFD by univariate analysis (p < .005). Logistic regression showed duration of granulocytopenia to be a highly significant independent risk factor (p < .01) and construction activity to be a probable independent risk factor (p = .09). The effect of construction on risk of NIFFD was most striking in those patients granulocytopenic for less than 40 days. The increased incidence of NIFFD occurred despite anticipation of this potential problem and compliance with published recommendations for infection control during periods of hospital construction.

Given the potentiating effect of construction activity on the occurrence of NIFFD in granulocytopenic patients and the suboptimal impact of standard recommended preventive measures, additional risk-reduction methods (i.e., surveillance culturing, prophylactic antifungal therapy, use of portable high efficiency particulate air filters) may be appropriate for patients expected to experience prolonged granulocytopenia (> 14 days) while hospitalized during periods of major construction activity involving excavation. Further studies will be necessary to define the roles of each of these modalities.