The replacement of the finite and costly resource fish oil is an important task for aquaculture nutrition. A promising approach could be the use of plant bioactives that may have the potential to influence the metabolism and the synthesis of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially EPA (20:5n-3) and DHA (22:6n-3). In this study, the two phytochemicals resveratrol (RV) and genistein (G) were investigated for their effects on fish growth, nutrient utilization and body nutrient composition alongside their effects on whole body fatty acid (FA) composition. In a feeding trial lasting 8 weeks, rainbow trout (initial BW: 81.4±0.5 g) were held in a recirculating aquaculture system and fed six experimental diets with varying fish oil levels as plain variants or supplemented with 0.3% of dry matter (DM) of either RV or G. The six diets were as follows: diet F4 had 4% DM fish oil, diet F0 had 0% DM fish oil, diets F4+RV, F4+G, F0+RV and F0+G were equal to the diets F4 and F0, respectively, and supplemented with the phytochemicals RV and G. The feeding of the F0+RV diet resulted in reduced feed intake, growth rate and slightly reduced whole body lipid levels. At the same time, the amount of polyunsaturated FA and the n-3/n-6 ratio were significantly increased in whole body homogenates of rainbow trout fed diet F0+RV in comparison to the F0 control. The feeding of the F0+G diet led to reduced feed intake, slightly increased protein utilization but did not significantly affect the whole body FA composition. Overall, feeding the fish oil-free diet supplemented with the phytochemicals resulted in more pronounced effects on fish performance and FA composition than the single factors per se (dietary fish oil level or phytochemical). Present data indicate that G might not be of profitable use for trout nutrition. In terms of FA composition, RV could be a potentially useful complement for fish oil. However, the impairment of growth and performance parameters as observed in the present study discourages its use in trout diets.

Background: Graduating residents require general palliative care skills. In Canada, there is no standardized palliative care curriculum for specialty trained residents. The objective of this research is to develop an evidence-based palliative care curriculum designed to provide neurology residents with the general palliative care skills required for providing patient care along the continuum of life. Methods: A needs assessment was performed in Neurology at Western University using qualitative analysis techniques. Residents completed the following:. A curricular outline was developed based on the Kolb learning style inventory (LSI), a knowledge pre-test, the Palliative Medicine Comfort and Confidence Survey and a review of the literature. Two iterations of the curriculum have been developed. Results: Residents identified a need for additional training in supportive and palliative care skills. Based on the Kolb LSI, 9/16 (56.3%) of neurology residents are “accommodators”. General principles identified for inclusion included: symptom management, communication, psychosocial aspects of care, care coordination and access, and myths and pitfalls in palliative care. Conclusions: This project is designed to identify the current palliative educational needs for Neurology residents. The results suggest that specialty trained residents are receptive to embedding training in the principles of palliative care within their training programs.

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) and systemic inflammation (SI) are common in developing countries and may cause stunting. In Bangladesh, >40 % of preschool children are stunted, but EED and SI contributions are unknown. We aimed to determine the impact of EED and SI (assessed with multiple indicators) on growth in children (n 539) enrolled in a community-based randomised food supplementation trial in rural Bangladesh. EED was defined with faecal myeloperoxidase, α-1 antitrypsin and neopterin and serum endotoxin core antibody and glucagon-like peptide-2, consolidated into gut inflammation (GI) and permeability (GP) scores, and urinary lactulose:mannitol α-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) characterised SI. Biomarker associations with anthropometry (15-, 18- and 24-month length-for-age (LAZ), weight-for-length (WLZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) z scores) were examined in pairwise correlations and adjusted mixed-effects regressions. Stunting, wasting and underweight prevalence at 18 months were 45, 15 and 37 %, respectively, with elevated EED and SI markers common. EED and SI were not associated with 15–24-month length trajectory. Elevated (worse) GI and GP scores predicted reduced 18–24-month WLZ change (β −0·01 (se 0·00) z score/month for both). Elevated GP was also associated with reduced 15–18-month WLZ change (β −0·03 (se 0·01) z score/month) and greater 15-month WLZ (β 0·16 (se 0·05)). Higher AGP was associated with reduced prior and increased subsequent WLZ change (β −0·04 (se 0·01) and β 0·02 (se 0·00) z score/month for 15–18 and 18–24 months). The hypothesised link from EED to stunting was not observed in this sample of Bangladeshi 18-month-olds, but the effects of EED on constrained weight gain may have consequences for later linear growth or for other health and development outcomes.

A number of laser facilities coming online all over the world promise the capability of high-power laser experiments with shot repetition rates between 1 and 10 Hz. Target availability and technical issues related to the interaction environment could become a bottleneck for the exploitation of such facilities. In this paper, we report on target needs for three different classes of experiments: dynamic compression physics, electron transport and isochoric heating, and laser-driven particle and radiation sources. We also review some of the most challenging issues in target fabrication and high repetition rate operation. Finally, we discuss current target supply strategies and future perspectives to establish a sustainable target provision infrastructure for advanced laser facilities.

Site-specific management provides the ability to align the production intensity to demand and thus adjust the expenses to the necessary level. So it is possible to increase the proportion of marketable commodity in the normal sort–size of 40 mm to 60 mm. Planting distances adapted to the soil properties seem to achieve this objective. It is possible to further optimize the proportion of marketable commodity especially in the potato regions where irrigation and fertilization already contribute to a consistently high yield. Different planting distances on the soil sites by EM38 were tested in field trials. Planting distances of 31.50 cm in the row on the light (sandy) soil, 24.50 cm on middle and 27.50 cm on the heavy soil sites seems the best for these three years. There is a yield impact in total, as well as in the proportion of marketable commodity. Depending on the planting strategy, increases in income up to €153 per hectare can be obtained.

We present results from a multiwavelength study of the blazar PKS 1954–388 at radio, UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray energies. A RadioAstron observation at 1.66 GHz in June 2012 resulted in the detection of interferometric fringes on baselines of 6.2 Earth-diameters. This suggests a source frame brightness temperature of greater than 2 × 1012 K, well in excess of both equipartition and inverse Compton limits and implying the existence of Doppler boosting in the core. An 8.4-GHz TANAMI VLBI image, made less than a month after the RadioAstron observations, is consistent with a previously reported superluminal motion for a jet component. Flux density monitoring with the Australia Telescope Compact Array confirms previous evidence for long-term variability that increases with observing frequency. A search for more rapid variability revealed no evidence for significant day-scale flux density variation. The ATCA light-curve reveals a strong radio flare beginning in late 2013, which peaks higher, and earlier, at higher frequencies. Comparison with the Fermi gamma-ray light-curve indicates this followed ~ 9 months after the start of a prolonged gamma-ray high-state—a radio lag comparable to that seen in other blazars. The multiwavelength data are combined to derive a Spectral Energy Distribution, which is fitted by a one-zone synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) model with the addition of external Compton (EC) emission.

Different treatment options for pulmonary hypertension have emerged in recent years, and evidence-based management strategies have improved quality of life and survival in adults. In children with pulmonary vascular disease, therapeutic algorithms are not so clearly defined; this study determined current treatment initiation in children with pulmonary hypertension in participating centres of a registry.

Through the multinational Tracking Outcomes and Practice in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension registry, patient demographics, diagnosis, and treatment as judged and executed by the local physician were collected. Inclusion criteria were >3 months and <18 years of age and diagnostic cardiac catheterisation consistent with pulmonary hypertension (mean pulmonary arterial pressure ⩾25 mmHg, pulmonary vascular resistance index ⩾3 Wood units×m2, and mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ⩽12 mmHg).

At diagnostic catheterisation, 217/244 patients (88.9%) were treatment naïve for pulmonary hypertension-targeted therapy. Targeted therapy was initiated after catheterisation in 170 (78.3%) treatment-naïve patients. A total of 19 patients received supportive therapy, 28 patients were not started on therapy, and 26 patients (10.7%) were on targeted treatment before catheterisation. Among treatment-naïve subjects, treatment was initiated with one targeted drug (n=112, 51.6%), dual therapy (n=39, 18%) or triple-therapy (n=5, 2.3%), and calcium channel blockers with one targeted medication in one patient (0.5%). Phosphodiesterase inhibitors type 5 were used frequently; some patients with pulmonary hypertension related to lung disease received targeted therapy.

There is a diverse therapeutic approach for children with pulmonary hypertension with a need of better-defined treatment algorithms based on paediatric consensus for different aetiologies including the best possible diagnostic workup.

Most cores of very young stellar clusters contain one or more massive stars at various evolutionary stages. Observations of the Orion Nebula Cluster, Trumpler 37, NGC 2362, RCW38, NGC 3603 and many others provide the most comprehensive database to study stellar wind properties of these massive cluster stars in X-rays. In this presentation we review some of these observations and results and discuss them in the context of stellar winds and possible evolutionary implications. We argue that in very young clusters such as RCW38 and M17, shock heated remnants of a natal shell could serve as an alternate explanation to the colliding wind paradigm for the hot plasma components in the X-ray spectra.

Prenatal and early-life environmental exposures play a key role in the development of atopy and allergic disease. The Family Atherosclerosis Monitoring In earLY life Study is a general, population-based Canadian birth cohort that prospectively evaluated prenatal and early-life traits and their association with atopy and/or allergic disease. The study population included 901 babies, 857 mothers and 530 fathers. Prenatal and postnatal risk factors were evaluated through questionnaires collected during the antenatal period and at 1 year. The end points of atopy and allergic diseases in infants were evaluated through questionnaires and skin prick testing. Key outcomes included atopy (24.5%), food allergy (17.5%), cow’s milk allergy (4.8%), wheezing (18.6%) and eczema (16%). The association between infant antibiotic exposure [odds ratio (OR): 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45–2.88] and increased atopy was noted in the multivariate analysis, whereas prenatal maternal exposure to dogs (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.42–0.84) and acetaminophen (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.51–0.92) was associated with decreased atopy. This population-based birth cohort in Canada demonstrated high rates of atopy, food allergy, wheezing and eczema. Several previously reported and some novel prenatal and postnatal exposures were associated with atopy and allergic diseases at 1 year of age.

Spectroscopy with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) provides details on X-ray emission and activity from young and cool stars through resolution of emission lines from a variety of ions. We are beginning to see trends in activity regarding abundances, emission measures, and variability. Here we contrast spectra of TV Crt, a weak-lined T Tauri star (WTT), with TW Hya, a Classical T Tauri star (CTT). TV Crt has a spectrum more like magnetic activity driven coronae, relative to the TW Hya spectrum, which we have interpreted as due to accretion-produced X-rays. We have also observed the long period system, IM Pegasi to search for rotational modulation, and to compare activity in a long period active binary to shorter period systems and to the pre-main sequence stars. We detected no rotational modulation, but did see long-duration flares.

In the first part of this article, we extend the formal upscaling of a diffusion–precipitation model through a two-scale asymptotic expansion in a level set framework to three dimensions. We obtain upscaled partial differential equations, more precisely, a non-linear diffusion equation with effective coefficients coupled to a level set equation. As a first step, we consider a parametrization of the underlying pore geometry by a single parameter, e.g. by a generalized “radius” or the porosity. Then, the level set equation transforms to an ordinary differential equation for the parameter. For such an idealized setting, the degeneration of the diffusion tensor with respect to porosity is illustrated with numerical simulations. The second part and main objective of this article is the analytical investigation of the resulting coupled partial differential equation–ordinary differential equation model. In the case of non-degenerating coefficients, local-in-time existence of at least one strong solution is shown by applying Schauder's fixed point theorem. Additionally, non-negativity, uniqueness, and global existence or existence up to possible closure of some pores, i.e. up to the limit of degenerating coefficients, is guaranteed.

The maintenance of the physical and emotional safety of children about to be returned to their families following serious abuse is a complex and significant problem. This paper describes a treatment offered to such families which makes use of a residential setting, and which involved intensive work over the period of a week. This approach was cost effective, allowed for greater creativity by child protection workers, and impacted significantly on the lives of the families. This paper offers a philosophical as well as practical framework for treating at risk families in which a child is about to be returned.