Mortality effects of economic fluctuations in selected eurozone countries

Socioeconomic status is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or well‐being of an individual or society. Higher socioeconomic status has long been identified as a contributing factor for mortality improvement. This paper studies the impact of macroeconomic fluctuations (having gross domestic product (GDP) as a proxy) on mortality for the nine most populous eurozone countries. Based on the statistical analysis between the time‐dependent indicator of the Lee and Carter (Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1992, 87(419), 659–671) model and GDP, and adaptation of the good features of the O'Hare and Li (Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 2012, 50, 12–25) model, a new mortality model including this additional economic‐related factor is proposed. Results for male and female from ages between 0 and 89, and similar for unisex data, are provided. This new model shows a better fitting and more plausible forecast among a significant number of eurozone countries. An in‐depth analysis of our findings is provided to give a better understanding of the relationship between mortality and GDP fluctuations.     

肉毒毒素A对大鼠慢性神经源性疼痛镇痛作用的研究

目的观察肉毒毒素A(BoNT-A)对L5、L6脊神经结扎引起慢性神经源性疼痛模型大鼠行为学的影响。方法建立Wistar大鼠左侧L5、L6脊神经结扎模型(SNL模型)。SNL模型大鼠随机分为3组(n=8)。1)实验组:SNL术后第3天同侧足底皮下注射BoNT-A30U/kg;2)对照组:SNL术后同侧足底皮下注射相同容积生理盐水;3)假手术组:仅暴露而不结扎L5和L6脊神经。均分别测定术前、给药前、给药后1d、3d、5d、7d、14d、21d的机械缩足反射阈值(MWT)和热缩足反射潜伏期(TWL)。结果实验组手术同侧足底皮下注射BoNT-A可以增加大鼠的MWT和TWL,实验组手术对侧、对照组、假手术组应用BoNT-A对MWT和TWL无影响。结论足底皮下注射BoNTA能够改善SNL模型大鼠手术同侧肢体的MWT和TWL,有镇痛作用。     

Factors influencing the distribution of 99m-technetium methylene diphosphonate in bone and soft tissues.

The influences of dilution, storage and pH on the distribution of 99m-technetium methylene diphosphonate (99m-Tc-MDP) in bone and various soft tissues have been investigated in the rat. The results show a marked departure from normality when large dilution factors and very acidic or basic preparations are used.     

Differential positioning of adherens junctions is associated with initiation of epithelial folding

During tissue morphogenesis, simple epithelial sheets undergo folding to form complex structures. The prevailing model underlying epithelial folding involves cell shape changes driven by myosin-dependent apical constriction. Here we describe an alternative mechanism that requires differential positioning of adherens junctions controlled by modulation of epithelial apical-basal polarity. Using live embryo imaging, we show that before the initiation of dorsal transverse folds during Drosophila gastrulation, adherens junctions shift basally in the initiating cells, but maintain their original subapical positioning in the neighbouring cells. Junctional positioning in the dorsal epithelium depends on the polarity proteins Bazooka and Par-1. In particular, the basal shift that occurs in the initiating cells is associated with a progressive decrease in Par-1 levels. We show that uniform reduction of the activity of Bazooka or Par-1 results in uniform apical or lateral positioning of junctions and in each case dorsal fold initiation is abolished. In addition, an increase in the Bazooka/Par-1 ratio causes formation of ectopic dorsal folds. The basal shift of junctions not only alters the apical shape of the initiating cells, but also forces the lateral membrane of the adjacent cells to bend towards the initiating cells, thereby facilitating tissue deformation. Our data thus establish a direct link between modification of epithelial polarity and initiation of epithelial folding.     

How atomic nuclei cluster

Nucleonic matter displays a quantum-liquid structure, but in some cases finite nuclei behave like molecules composed of clusters of protons and neutrons. Clustering is a recurrent feature in light nuclei, from beryllium to nickel. Cluster structures are typically observed as excited states close to the corresponding decay threshold; the origin of this phenomenon lies in the effective nuclear interaction, but the detailed mechanism of clustering in nuclei has not yet been fully understood. Here we use the theoretical framework of energy-density functionals, encompassing both cluster and quantum liquid-drop aspects of nuclei, to show that conditions for cluster formation can in part be traced back to the depth of the confining nuclear potential. For the illustrative example of neon-20, we show that the depth of the potential determines the energy spacings between single-nucleon orbitals in deformed nuclei, the localization of the corresponding wavefunctions and, therefore, the degree of nucleonic density clustering. Relativistic functionals, in particular, are characterized by deep single-nucleon potentials. When compared to non-relativistic functionals that yield similar ground-state properties (binding energy, deformation, radii), they predict the occurrence of much more pronounced cluster structures. More generally, clustering is considered as a transitional phenomenon between crystalline and quantum-liquid phases of fermionic systems.