Vitamin B12 is synthesised in the rumen from cobalt (Co) and has a major role in metabolism in the peri-paturient period, although few studies have evaluated the effect of the dietary inclusion of Co, vitamin B12 or injecting vitamin B12 on the metabolism, health and performance of high yielding dairy cows. A total of 56 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows received one of four treatments from 8 weeks before calving to 8 weeks post-calving: C, no added Co; DC, additional 0.2 mg Co/kg dry matter (DM); DB, additional 0.68 mg vitamin B12/kg DM; IB, intra-muscular injection of vitamin B12 to supply 0.71 mg/cow per day prepartum and 1.42 mg/cow per day post-partum. The basal and lactation rations both contained 0.21 mg Co/kg DM. Cows were weighed and condition scored at drying off, 4 weeks before calving, within 24 h of calving and at 2, 4 and 8 weeks post-calving, with blood samples collected at drying off, 2 weeks pre-calving, calving and 2, 4 and 8 weeks post-calving. Liver biopsy samples were collected from all animals at drying off and 4 weeks post-calving. Live weight changed with time, but there was no effect of treatment (P>0.05), whereas cows receiving IB had the lowest mean body condition score and DB the highest (P<0.05). There was no effect of treatment on post-partum DM intake, milk yield or milk fat concentration (P>0.05) with mean values of 21.6 kg/day, 39.6 kg/day and 40.4 g/kg, respectively. Cows receiving IB had a higher plasma vitamin B12 concentration than those receiving any of the other treatments (P<0.001), but there was no effect (P>0.05) of treatment on homocysteine or succinate concentrations, although mean plasma methylmalonic acid concentrations were lower (P=0.019) for cows receiving IB than for Control cows. Plasma β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations increased sharply at calving followed by a decline, but there was no effect of treatment. Similarly, there was no effect (P>0.05) of treatment on plasma non-esterified fatty acids or glucose. Whole tract digestibility of DM and fibre measured at week 7 of lactation were similar between treatments, and there was little effect of treatment on the milk fatty acid profile except for C15:0, which was lower in cows receiving DC than IB (P<0.05). It is concluded that a basal dietary concentration of 0.21 mg Co/kg DM is sufficient to meet the requirements of high yielding dairy cows during the transition period, and there is little benefit from additional Co or vitamin B12.

Introduction: Suspicion of arrhythmias among syncope patients is the leading cause of emergency department (ED) referrals and hospitalization. However, the risk factors for short-term arrhythmias are not well defined. We sought to develop a risk prediction tool to identify syncope patients at risk for 30-day arrhythmia or death after ED disposition. Methods: This prospective cohort study involved 6 academic EDs that enrolled adult syncope patients. We collected standardized variables at index presentation from history, clinical examination, investigations including ECG, and patients’ disposition. Adjudicated outcomes included death (due to arrhythmia or unknown cause), arrhythmia or procedural intervention to treat arrhythmias within 30-days after ED disposition. Multivariable logistic regression was used to derive the model; bootstrap sampling for internal validation and to estimate shrinkage and optimism. Results: 5,010 adult syncope patients (mean age 53.4 years, 54.8% females, and 9.5% hospitalized) were enrolled with 106 (3.6%) patients suffering arrhythmia or death within 30-days after ED disposition. Of 39 candidate predictors examined, eight were included in the final model: vasovagal predisposition, heart disease, any ED systolic blood pressure <90 or >180 mmHg, troponin (>99%ile), QRS duration >130msec, QTc interval >480msec and ED diagnosis of cardiac, or vasovagal syncope [Optimism corrected c-statistic: 0.91 (95%CI 0.87-0.93); Hosmer-Lemeshow p=0.08]. The Canadian Syncope Arrhythmia Risk Score had a risk ranging from 0.2% for a score of -2 to 74.5% for a score of 8. Sensitivity for threshold score ≤-1 was 100% (95% CI 96.5-100) and specificity for a score of ≥4 was 97.0% (95% CI 96.5-97.5). Conclusion: The Canadian Syncope Arrhythmia Risk Score can improve acute management of ED patients with syncope by better identification of those at higher-risk for short-term arrhythmia or death. Once validated, the tool can be used to guide disposition decision and can also aid in selection of patients for out-of-hospital cardiac monitoring if discharged home.

Introduction: Short-term risk of arrhythmia or death among emergency department (ED) syncope patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter (AFF) has not been reported in the literature. Our objectives were to assess the incidence and the independent risk of 30-day arrhythmia or death for syncope patients with AFF after ED disposition. Methods: We conducted a prospective study at 6 Canadian academic EDs to include adults with syncope. We collected demographic, clinical and ECG characteristics while our outcome assessments were completed by medical records review and by telephone follow-up of patients after 30 days. Primary outcome was arrhythmia or death within 30-days after ED disposition and secondary outcomes included non-arrhythmic cardiac and non-cardiac outcomes. We performed descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Results: We enrolled 4,266 patients: mean age 53.4 years, 55.4% females, and 8.5% with AFF. After excluding those with outcomes in the ED, lost to follow-up and those with other non-sinus rhythms, 3,417 patients in the sinus and 280 patients in the AFF groups were analyzed. The incidence of arrhythmia or death was significantly higher in the AFF group (Relative Risk 5.1; 95% CI 3.1-8.4; p<0.0001) but there were no significant differences in secondary outcomes between the groups. The unadjusted odds ratio for 30-days arrhythmia or deaths among ED syncope patients with AFF was 5.4 (95% CI 3.2- 9.2). After adjusting for important baseline risk factors by multivariable analysis, the odds ratio for arrhythmia or death in patients with AFF was 1.5 (95% CI 0.8-2.7). Conclusion: The risk of AFF for 30-day arrhythmia or death among syncope patients after ED disposition is higher but is attenuated when adjusted for important patient characteristics. Future research should assess long-term outcomes among syncope patients with AFF to guide follow-up after ED discharge.

Western writers have long criticized the Chinese term Zhongguo, translated as ‘Middle Kingdom’, for its ethnocentric purport. This article proposes to address this criticism by re-examining salient features of Zhongguo's etymological past. The discussion is divided into two parts. The first part offers an overview of the term's historical usage and argues that contrary to the common view, Zhongguo as applied to the imagined whole of Chinese political and cultural traditions or to any of its discrete period segments had not been employed primarily as an ethnocentric expression but as a simple identity label. The second part revisits a late Qing (c. 1861–1912) episode in which Chinese writers made a rare, if not unprecedented, attempt to dispute and, indeed, to reject the name in light of the foreign criticism. Though their arguments did not, in the end, alter how nationalists named the Chinese nation, these debates revealed a cultural posture that became prevalent as educated Chinese negotiated the crossroads of modernity.

In this work, Dopant Segregated Schottky Barrier (DSSB) and Schottky Barrier (SB) vertical silicon nanowire (VSiNW) diodes were fabricated on p-type Si substrate using CMOS-compatible processes to investigate the effects of segregated dopants at the silicide/silicon interface and different annealing processes on nickel silicide formation in DSSB VSiNW diodes. With segregated dopants at the silicide/silicon interface, VSiNW diodes showed higher on-current, due to an enhanced carrier tunneling, and much lower leakage current. This can be attributed to the altered energy bands caused by the accumulated Arsenic dopants at the interface. Moreover, DSSB VSiNW diodes also gave ideality factor much closer to unity and exhibited lower electron SBH (ΦBn ) than SB VSiNW diodes. This proved that interfacial accumulated dopants could impede the inhomogeneous nature of the Schottky diodes and simultaneously, minimize the effect of Fermi level pinning and ionization of surface defect states. Comparing the impact of different silicide formation annealing using DSSB VSiNW diodes, the 2-step anneal process reduces the silicide intrusion length within the SiNW by ~ 5X and the silicide interface was smooth along the (100) direction. Furthermore, the 2-step DSSB VSiNW diode also exhibited much lower leakage current and an ideality factor much closer to unity, as compared to 1-step DSSB VSiNW diode.

This article describes a culturally and linguistically relevant, physician-led smoking cessation intervention that was delivered to the Chinese American community in New York City. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 115 participants (94% male) at a clinical site of a community health centre. The smoking intervention program included pharmacological treatments and brief cessation counselling, education and support by the physician and the health educator. Process data included the drop-out rate, number of visits completed and use of pharmacotherapy. Outcome data included self-reported and biochemically verified (expired carbon monoxide) smoking status at week 12. In the process evaluation, valuable information about the components of interventions that worked well and challenges participants faced during their quit attempts was gathered from participants, doctors and the health educator. Sixteen participants (13.9%) successfully quit smoking. Chinese male smokers face many daunting challenges that prevent them from regularly attending a smoking cessation program. Despite these challenges, they appeared to benefit from brief interventions, although the cessation rate was modest at best. This information should be incorporated into future design of smoking cessation programs to address required behavioural change in this population.

The patterns of N uptake and dry matter synthesis by sugarcane (Saccharum hybrid spp.) were studied at four locations in Mauritius with 15N–labelled ammonium sulphate (100 kg N/ha) applied either in a single dressing in September or in two split applications in September and the following February. More than 80% of the total N recovered at harvest (100–120 kgN/ha) was absorbed by the sugarcane during an active uptake period from October to January. Split application prolonged this active N uptake until April only and had no effect on dry matter accumulation. While total Nabsorbed by above-ground sugarcane showed no decline over time, 10–20 kg N/ha of the 15N–labelled N was lost from the green tops even when the N was applied on two occasions. The fertilizer N losses from above-ground sugarcane were, however, not evident when fertilizer N recovery with time was studied by the difference method. In view of the observed losses of fertilizer N from the aerial parts of sugarcane, measurement of fertilizer N recovery at harvest by the N isotope dilution technique underestimates fertilizer N uptake by sugarcane and attributes too large a fraction of N loss to denitrification/volatilization of NH3.

The competition for fertilizer nitrogen between sugarcane and a companion crop (maize or potato) grown between the sugarcane rows was studied using nitrogen-15 labelled nitrogen in three field experiments in Mauritius. The effect of the timing of nitrogen application on nitrogen recovery by sugarcane was also investigated. Not more than 15 kg ha−1 of the 120 kg ha−1 nitrogen applied to the sugarcane was taken up by the companion crop but this was compensated for by the uptake of 8 kg ha−1 nitrogen applied to maize or potato. The present recommendations for nitrogen fertilization of pure stand sugarcane were found to be applicable to sugarcane intercropped with non-leguminous food crops. Though fertilizer nitrogen uptake by sugarcane was increased by delaying nitrogen application until after the harvest of the maize and potato, this was not accompanied by an increase in sugarcane yields.

We study a system of two second-order differential equations with cubic nonlinearities which model a film of superconductor material subjected to a tangential magnetic field. We verify some recent conjectures of one of the authors about multiplicity of solutions. We show that for an appropriate range of parameter values the relevant boundary value problem has at least two symmetric solutions. It is also proved that a second range of parameters exists for which there are three symmetric solutions.

In this work, blends of dispersed short (∼500 nm) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDOT:PSS) were investigated as hole injection layers in OLEDs consisting of N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (NPB) as a hole transporting and tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) as electron transporting and emitting layer. The devices were characterized by electroluminescence and current-voltage measurements. By comparing the performance of devices fabricated using different surfactants (polyethyleneimine (PEI) and Gum Arabic (GA)) in dispersing SWCNTs and those prepared without surfactants, it was found that the use of appropriate surfactants can improve the OLEDs performance. Improved efficiency was obtained for optimized SWCNTs concentration compared to the devices with pure PEDOT:PSS, although maximum luminance is lower. The PEDOT:PSS:SWCNT nanocomposite layers are characterized and the reasons for the improved OLED performance are discussed.

In this work, optical functions of some widely used OLEDs materials 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP), tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3), (N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′- diphenylbenzidine (NPB),poly(3,4,-ethylene dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDOT:PSS) and indium tin oxide (ITO)) were studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the spectral range from 1.55 eV to 4.1 eV (wavelength range of 300 nm to 800 nm). The samples were prepared either by thermal evaporation in high vacuum or spin-coating of thin films onto glass substrates. For determination of the optical functions of ITO, commercial ITO glass was used. Measurements at different incident angles were performed to determine whether the samples can be considered isotropic. The SE data were modeled using an oscillator model (Lorentz for semiconducting and Lorentz-Drude for conducting materials). The absorption spectra were also measured, and the comparison with the data determined by SE is given.

In this work, we fabricated near-infrared emitting MOLEDs with two organic layers. The hole transporting layer was N, N′ – di(naphthalene-1-yl) - N,N′- diphenylbenzidine (NPB), while tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq) was the emissive and electron transporting layer. The bilayer structure was sandwiched between two silver mirrors. In order to investigate the influence of cavity Q-factor to the emission spectra, devices with different thickness of bottom mirror (anode) were fabricated. The influence of the choice of the bottom mirror (anode) was also investigated, and the devices with copper anode were also fabricated. The devices were characterized by angular dependent electroluminescence, photoluminescence, and transmittance measurements. Possible origins of the observed phenomena are discussed.