Biological determination of low concentrations of arsenic in exhaled air

In the report of Dr. Obukh and the Central Institute for Labor Protection on the state of health of the workers of the arsenic workshop, it was emphasized that the organization of studies of exhaled air for arsenic a few hours after the end of the work is of great interest and that given the exhalation of arsenic by the lungs, taking into account its enormous surface, it is possible it would be to get a more complete picture of the balance of receipts and outputs of As from these workers.

Identifying and validating subtypes within major psychiatric disorders based on frontal–posterior functional imbalance via deep learning

Converging evidence increasingly implicates shared etiologic and pathophysiological characteristics among major psychiatric disorders (MPDs), such as schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). Examining the neurobiology of the psychotic-affective spectrum may greatly advance biological determination of psychiatric diagnosis, which is critical for the development of more effective treatments. In this study, ensemble clustering was developed to identify subtypes within a trans-diagnostic sample of MPDs. Whole brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was used to extract the low-dimensional features for clustering in a total of 944 participants: 581 psychiatric patients (193 with SZ, 171 with BD, and 217 with MDD) and 363 healthy controls (HC). We identified two subtypes with differentiating patterns of functional imbalance between frontal and posterior brain regions, as compared to HC: (1) Archetypal MPDs (60% of MPDs) had increased frontal and decreased posterior ALFF, and decreased cortical thickness and white matter integrity in multiple brain regions that were associated with increased polygenic risk scores and enriched risk gene expression in brain tissues; (2) Atypical MPDs (40% of MPDs) had decreased frontal and increased posterior ALFF with no associated alterations in validity measures. Medicated Archetypal MPDs had lower symptom severity than their unmedicated counterparts; whereas medicated and unmedicated Atypical MPDs had no differences in symptom scores. Our findings suggest that frontal versus posterior functional imbalance as measured by ALFF is a novel putative trans-diagnostic biomarker differentiating subtypes of MPDs that could have implications for precision medicine.

The relationship between chronotype and intelligence: the importance of work timing

Sleep-wake patterns show substantial biological determination, but they are also subject to individual choice and societal pressure. Some evidence suggests that high IQ is associated with later sleep patterns. However, it is unclear whether the relationship between IQ and later sleep is due to biological or social effects, such as the timing of working hours. We investigated the association between habitual sleep timing during work days and work-free days, working time and membership in Mensa, an organization of highly intelligent individuals (IQ ≥130) using a sample of 1,172 adults split between Mensa members and age- and sex-matched volunteers from a large web-based database. We found no difference in chronotype, and the later sleep timing of Mensa members on work days was fully accounted for by later work start times. Our results indicate that later sleep timing in those with higher IQs is not due to physiological differences, but rather due to later work schedules. Later working times and the resulting lower social jetlag may be one of the reasons why higher IQ is associated with lower prospective morbidity and mortality.

Synthesis, characterization, biological determination and catalytic evaluation of ruthenium(ii) complexes bearing benzimidazole-based NHC ligands in transfer hydrogenation catalysis

A new series of ruthenium (ii) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes has been synthesized via transmetalation. The obtained complexes were applied to transfer hydrogenation of ketone derivatives.

Genero e Educação Pública: uma Comparação entre o CIEP e a Escola Comum

Apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa realizada em 1995 sobre as relações entre pobres, situados em diferentes cidades e bairros da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, oriundos de etnias, raças, religiões, fases e tipos de famílias diferentes e a educação/escola. O estudo realizado em três áreas pobres comparou a educação oferecida aos pobres em escolas comuns e Cieps e levantou as visões sobre o trabalho pedagógico, formação de professores, qualidade do ensino, sistema de avaliação, educação e cultura popular, evasão e repetência e violência repercutindo diferentemente em cada gênero. A questão do gênero (diferença culturalmente construída e não somente determinação biológica) constituiu um demarcador importante das imagens sobre a educação, o êxito/fracasso escolar, a profissionalização e as práticas de violência física e simbólica no bairro e nas escolas. Abstract This article presents the results of a research occurred in 1995, about the relationship between the poor, placed in different cities and quarters in Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, belonging to different ethnic groups, races, religions, types and familiar phases and the education/school. It was a comparative study about the partirne and fulltime schools considering the visions concerning pedagogical work, professional hability, education quality, valuation, popular culture and education, dropped out and failed and violence reflecting in different ways according the gender. The problem of gender (difference culturally built and not only biological determination) was an important signal in the images of education, success/faillure in school, career, physical and symbolic violence in the quarters and schools. Résumé L'article présente les résultats d'une enquête réalisée à Rio de Janeiro en 1995 dans le but d'analyser les liaisons entre les populations pauvres, qui habitent villes distinctes et les quartiers de la région métropolitaine de Rio de Janeiro, originaires de différentes ethnies, races, religions, étapes et tipologies de familles et de l'ensemble éducation/école. L'étude réalisée dans trois zones pauvres, a fait la comparaison entre l'éducation qui est offerte aux populations pauvres dans les écoles à mitemps et dans le Ciep (école à temps plein). Elle a aussi identifié les images sur le travail pédagogique, la formation des maîtres, la qualité de l'enseignement, le système d'évaluation de l'élève, l'évasion scolaire et le redoublement, l'éducation et la culture populaire. L'aspect du genre (différence culturellement construite et non pas seulement détermination biologique) est consideré comme une démarcation importante des images sur l'éducation, la réussite/redoublement scolaire, la profissionalisation et les pratiques de la violence phisique et symbolique dans les quartiers et les écoles. Resumen El artículo presenta resultados de una pesquiza realizada en Rio de Janeiro, sobre las relaciones entre los pobres, situados en las distintas ciudades y barrios de la región metropolitana del Rio de Janeiro, provenientes de etnias, razas, religiones, etapas y tipos de familias diferentes y la educación/escuela. El estudio ocorrido en tres áreas pobres, comparó la escuela ofrecida a los pobres en escuelas comunes y la escuela de tiempo integral (Ciep) y levantó las imágenes, el trabajo de los pedagogos, la formación de los educadores, la calidad de enseñanza, el sistema de calificación, la evasión y la repetición, la educación (instrucción) y la cultura popular. El tema del género (distincción cultural construida y non solamente determinación biológica) es comprendido como uno demarcador importante de las imágenes sobre la educación, el éxito/repetición escolar, la profesionalización y los usos de la violencia física y simbólica en los barrios y las escuelas.

Ru(ii)–N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: synthesis, characterization, transfer hydrogenation reactions and biological determination

A series of ruthenium(ii) complexes with N-heterocyclic carbene ligands were successfully synthesized by transmetalation reactions between silver(i) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes and [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 in dichloromethane under Ar conditions.