Empirical Searches Research Articles

Understanding paramedic work in general practice in the UK: a rapid realist synthesis

BackgroundGeneral practice in the UK is under substantial pressure and practices are increasingly including paramedics as part of their workforce. Little is known about how different models of paramedic working may affect successful implementation of the role, as viewed from patient, clinician and system perspectives. This realist synthesis developed theories about ‘models of paramedic working in general practice’ in different UK contexts to understand their impact.MethodsThe rapid realist synthesis comprised data from: (1) empirical and grey literature searches; (2) semi-structured realist interviews with system leaders involved with the implementation of the role; and (3) a stakeholder event with healthcare professionals and the public, to develop initial programme theories that can be tested in future work. Sources were analysed using a realist approach that explored the data for novel or causal insights to generate initial programme theories.ResultsEmpirical sources (n = 32), grey sources (n = 95), transcripts from system leader interviews (n = 7) and audio summaries from the stakeholder event (n = 22 participants) were synthesised into a single narrative document. The findings confirmed the presence of a wide variety of models of paramedic working in UK general practice. The perceived success of models was influenced by the extent to which the paramedic service was mature and embedded in practice, and according to four theory areas: (1) Primary care staff understanding and acceptance of the paramedic role; (2) Paramedic induction process, including access to training, supervision and development opportunities; (3) Patient understanding and acceptance of the role; (4) Variations in paramedic employment models.ConclusionsVariability in how the paramedic role is operating and embedding into general practice across the UK affects the success of the role. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for future research to investigate various ‘models of paramedic working’ in different contexts.

Tuning Structures and Microenvironments of Cu-Based Catalysts for Sustainable CO2 and CO Electroreduction

ConspectusThe carbon balance has been disrupted by the widespread use of fossil fuels and subsequent excessive emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which has become an increasingly critical environmental challenge for human society. The production and use of renewable energy sources and/or chemicals have been proposed as important strategies to reduce emissions, of which the electrochemical CO2 (or CO) reduction reaction (CO2RR/CORR) in the aqueous systems represents a promising approach.Benefitted by the capacity of manufacturing high-value-added products (e.g., ethylene, ethanol, formic acid, etc.) with a net-zero carbon emission, copper-based CO2RR/CORR powered by sustainable electricity is regarded as a potential candidate for carbon neutrality. However, the diversity of selectivities in copper-based systems poses a great challenge to the research in this field and sets a great obstacle for future industrialization.To date, scientists have revealed that the electrocatalyst design and preparation play a significant role in achieving efficient and selective CO2-to-chemical (or CO-to-chemical) conversion. Although substantial efforts have been dedicated to the catalyst preparation and corresponding electrosynthesis of sustainable chemicals from CO2/CO so far, most of them are still derived from empirical or random searches, which are relatively inefficient and cost-intensive. Most of the mechanism studies have suggested that both intrinsic properties (such as electron states) and extrinsic environmental factors (such as surface energy) of a catalyst can significantly alter catalytic performance. Thus, these two topics are mainly discussed for copper-based catalyst developments in this Account.Here, we provided a concise and comprehensive introduction to the well-established strategies employed for the design of copper-based electrocatalysts for CO2RR/CORR. We used several examples from our research group, as well as representative studies of other research groups in this field during the recent five years, with the perspectives of tuning local electron states, regulating alloy phases, modifying interfacial coverages, and adjusting other interfacial microenvironments (e.g., molecule modification or surface energy). Finally, we employed the techno-economic assessment with a viewpoint on the future application of CO2/CO electroreduction in manufacturing sustainable chemicals. Our study indicates that when carbon price is taken into account, the electrocatalytic CO2-to-chemical conversion can be more market-competitive, and several potential value-added products including formate, methanol, ethylene, and ethanol can all make profits under optimal operating conditions. Moreover, a downstream module employing traditional chemical industrial processes (e.g., thermal polymerization, catalytic hydrolysis, or condensation process) will also make the whole electrolysis system profitable in the future. These design principles, combined with the recent advances in the development of efficient copper-based electrocatalysts, may provide a low-cost and long-lasting catalytic system for a profitable industrial-scale CO2RR in the future.

Overview of dietary supplements on patients with type 2 diabetes

Background and aimsThe primary approach for managing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) involves lifestyle modification and diet therapy along with pharmacologic interventions. Many patients are interested to identify nutritional supplements that may provide benefit in prevention and management of diabetes. However, the efficacy and safety of nutritional supplements such as chromium, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamin D, zinc and magnesium in disease treatment is a worrying and controversial matter. In this narrative review, patients and health care providers are introduced to the effects of mentioned dietary supplements that may help in choosing or not choosing these supplements in treatment of diabetes. MethodsThis review was carried out using comprehensive and systematic literature reports on the dietary supplements in the management of diabetes. Empirical searches were conducted using Google Scholar, Science Direct and PubMed databases. Searches were also undertaken using keywords, in English, such as “chromium” OR “vitamin D” OR “omega-3 fatty acids” OR “zinc” OR “magnesium” in combination with “type 2 diabetes”. ResultsThe available evidence is insufficient to create a definite conclusion that nutritional supplements including chromium, n-3 PUFAs, vitamin D, zinc and magnesium might be beneficial for the prevention and treatment of T2DM and therefore, the general recommendation to use these supplements in the management of diabetes cannot be justified. The results of most studies lack uniformity across multiple aspects, including different dose and formation of supplements, duration, and subjects under intervention. ConclusionsThere is a need for well-designed, high quality, large and long-term studies to strengthen the available evidence and ensure the safety and efficacy of products.

Competitive Integrated Employment for Youth and Adults with Autism: Findings from a Scoping Review.

A scoping review was conducted to map existing literature on effective interventions for competitive employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Empirical database searches were conducted. A filter for level of methodological rigor was implemented. A total of 25 articles met inclusion criteria. Findings were categorized by level of evidence. Findings revealed strong empirical support for a transition-to-work program called Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports and traditional supported employment services. Receipt of specific vocational rehabilitation and transition services in high school were also identified as effective interventions. Recommendations per level of evidence are provided in more detail.

Laws of Nature by Walter Ott

Reviewed by: Laws of Nature by Walter Ott Michael J. Futch OTT, Walter and Lydia Patton, editors. Laws of Nature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. ix + 264 pp. Cloth, $65.00 This wide-ranging collection of essays examines the metaphysical underpinnings and implications of competing accounts of laws of nature. The first six essays offer interpretations of key figures in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with the remaining six essays providing contributions to current debates on the topic. This is not to suggest a sharp bifurcation between the exegetical and the philosophical, however, as most authors show an appreciation for the reciprocal illumination of contemporary philosophy and its history. To avoid a fragmented discussion, I will focus only on those essays of most interest to readers of this journal. One way to understand early modern debates about laws of nature is in terms of a bottom-up as opposed to a top-down approach. On the former understanding, laws are grounded in things' natures and powers, whereas the latter sees them as being externally imposed by God. Using this framework, Walter Ott argues that Bacon and Spinoza both opt for a bottom-up approach that renounces an unalloyed mechanism. Laws just are the powers of things inscribed into their natures, and yet are still lawlike insofar as they express unchanging dispositions. One [End Page 803] consequence of this is that the world is governed by a multiplicity of natures and laws that can obstruct each other. Stathos Psillos also employs these interpretive categories in his discussion of Descartes, Malebranche, Berkeley, Leibniz, Hume, and Newton. For these thinkers, laws, like the powers they displace, impose either metaphysically or naturally necessary connections in nature, even if such necessities cannot be inferred from observed regularities. This necessity, however, is top-down and not bottom-up since it emanates from a law giver and not bodies' powers. In their contributions, Helen Hattab and Mary Domski examine Descartes's relation to his predecessors and successors. Hattab identifies three features of Descartes's laws—they are universal, play a causal role in nature, and determine every outcome in nature—whose provenance she seeks to trace. Hattab shows that the first two features are presaged in the works of late fifteenth-century Aristotelians, but since these same thinkers posit bottom-up active powers that determine changes, the third is not. Sebastian Basso, contrariwise, is a more direct precursor to Descartes since one finds all three characteristics of laws in his oeuvre. Domski defends Descartes against the criticisms of Newtonians that his derivation of the laws of nature from God's immutable nature compromises divine freedom and overstates the capacity of human reason to comprehend the God's essence. On her reading, Descartes's laws are certain and necessary only from the vantage point of human reason. Similarly, Newton's laws are best understood as principles that, as applied to mathematical bodies, are indubitable and rationally certain. The differences between Descartes and Newton are therefore not as sharp as might initially appear. Angela Breitenbach elucidates Kant's views on laws of nature in a way that simultaneously preserves their nomic necessity and knowability. Arguing against alternative accounts that achieve one at the expense of the other, Breitenbach maintains that our access to specific natural laws is through "empirical reflection." This means that empirical inquiry searches for laws that systematically unify nature and that take the necessary form imposed by a priori principles of reason. Several of the later essays revolve around the Best System Account, which sees laws as true generalizations that supervene on nonnomic facts and are part of the system that achieves the best balance between strength and simplicity. Especially notable here is Michela Massimi's convincing argument in favor of a perspectivalist version of the BSA that recognizes that, rather than being fixed, standards of simplicity and strength differ throughout the history of science. Natural laws are nomically necessary just in case they figure in perspectives that vary across time and scientific communities. This account both remains grounded in the actual practice of scientific communities and yields laws resilient to theory change. Of the entries not principally historically oriented, those by Stephen Mumford and by...

Wealth Conditions and Feasibility of Equivalence Between Funds Managers' and Investors' Risk Tolerances

Whereas risk tolerance is an important parameter of financial intermediation in markets for mutual funds, formal theoretical predictions show funds managers' choices of portfolio risk tolerances can be induced in entirety by wealth considerations. An important implication of this finding is the prediction that funds' incentives for adoption of a generalist focus vary intertemporally (increase) with funds managers' equilibrium minimum wealth conditions. Within markets characterized as `Attrition Markets', resulting generalist funds are more likely to be value funds. Within markets characterized as `Indifference Markets', resulting generalist funds equally are likely to be either of value or growth funds. Formal theoretical predictions show choices of funds on basis of funds' risk tolerance alone engender transfers of wealth from investors to funds managers. These theoretically predicted transfers of wealth rationalize evidence for presence of systemic inefficiencies within markets for mutual funds. Choices of funds on basis of ability are shown to mitigate wealth transfers from investors to funds managers. Study findings provide a formal theoretical rationale for theoretical or empirical searches in quest of robust proxies for funds managers' intrinsic ability. In aggregate, formal predictions provide evidence that markets for mutual funds are indifference markets that subsume attrition markets within each specific cadre of risk tolerance.

Traditional and Current Food Use of Wild Plants Listed in the Russian Pharmacopoeia.

Historically Russia can be regarded as a “herbophilious” society. For centuries the multinational population of Russia has used plants in daily diet and for self-medication. The specificity of dietary uptake of medicinal plants (especially those in the unique and highly developed Russian herbal medical tradition) has remained mostly unknown in other regions. Based on 11th edition of the State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR, we selected 70 wild plant species which have been used in food by local Russian populations. Empirical searches were conducted via the Russian-wide applied online database E-library.ru, library catalogs of public libraries in St-Petersburg, the databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and search engine Google Scholar. The large majority of species included in Russian Pharmacopoeia are used as food by local population, however, aerial parts are more widely used for food. In this review, we summarize data on medicinal species published in Russia and other countries that are included in the Russian Pharmacopoeia and have being used in food for a long time. Consequently, the Russian Pharmacopoeia is an important source of information on plant species used traditionally at the interface of food and medicine. At the same time, there are the so-called “functional foods”, which denotes foods that not only serves to provide nutrition but also can be a source for prevention and cure of various diseases. This review highlights the potential of wild species of Russia monographed in its pharmacopeia for further developing new functional foods and—through the lens of their incorporation into the pharmacopeia—showcases the species' importance in Russia.

Scene Construction, Visual Foraging, and Active Inference.

This paper describes an active inference scheme for visual searches and the perceptual synthesis entailed by scene construction. Active inference assumes that perception and action minimize variational free energy, where actions are selected to minimize the free energy expected in the future. This assumption generalizes risk-sensitive control and expected utility theory to include epistemic value; namely, the value (or salience) of information inherent in resolving uncertainty about the causes of ambiguous cues or outcomes. Here, we apply active inference to saccadic searches of a visual scene. We consider the (difficult) problem of categorizing a scene, based on the spatial relationship among visual objects where, crucially, visual cues are sampled myopically through a sequence of saccadic eye movements. This means that evidence for competing hypotheses about the scene has to be accumulated sequentially, calling upon both prediction (planning) and postdiction (memory). Our aim is to highlight some simple but fundamental aspects of the requisite functional anatomy; namely, the link between approximate Bayesian inference under mean field assumptions and functional segregation in the visual cortex. This link rests upon the (neurobiologically plausible) process theory that accompanies the normative formulation of active inference for Markov decision processes. In future work, we hope to use this scheme to model empirical saccadic searches and identify the prior beliefs that underwrite intersubject variability in the way people forage for information in visual scenes (e.g., in schizophrenia).

Disease Ecology Meets Ecosystem Science

Growing evidence indicates that parasites—when considered—can play influential roles in ecosystem structure and function, highlighting the need to integrate disease ecology and ecosystem science. To strengthen links between these traditionally disparate fields, we identified mechanisms through which parasites can affect ecosystems and used empirical literature searches to explore how commonly such mechanisms have been documented, the ecosystem properties affected, and the types of ecosystems in which they occur. Our results indicate that ecosystem-disease research has remained consistently rare, comprising less than 2% of disease ecology publications. Existing studies from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems, however, demonstrate that parasites can strongly affect (1) biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nutrients, and trace elements, (2) fluxes of biomass and energy, and (3) temporal ecosystem dynamics including disturbance, succession, and stability. Mechanistically, most studies have demonstrated density-mediated indirect effects, rather than trait-mediated effects, or direct effects of parasites, although whether this is representative remains unclear. Looking forward, we highlight the importance of applying traits-based approaches to predict when parasites are most likely to exert ecosystem-level effects. Future research should include efforts to extend host–parasite studies across levels of ecological organization, large-scale manipulations to experimentally quantify ecosystem roles of parasites, and the integration of parasites and disease into models of ecosystem functioning.

The Biochemical Role of Macro and Micro-Minerals in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus and its Associated Complications: A Review.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic physiological glucose metabolic disorder. Its high prevalence globally has a significant impact on the quality of life. The management of diabetes includes non-pharmacological and glucose lowering agents. Although these methods are effective, they have drawbacks. This has led to a search for alternative therapy in macro and micro-minerals from dietary foods and plants. There is therefore a need to review, identify and classify their modes of action in diabetes mellitus therapy. This review was carried out using comprehensive literature reports on the use of mineral elements in the management of diabetes. Empirical online searches were conducted for different elements that have been studied for their anti-diabetic potentials both in vivo and in vitro. The University of Fort Hare's online database was also used. The results indicate that magnesium, molybdenum, zinc, vanadium and manganese facilitate glucose catabolism. Chromium, vanadium, zinc, molybdenum and magnesium can enhance insulin activity while molybdenum, manganese and zinc stimulate lipogenesis. Zinc and iron can modulate glucose, metabolizing enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract and limit oxidative stress, respectively. These agents have similar mechanisms to conventional drugs in ameliorating diabetic status and other associated complications. The mechanisms of these elements are well known, however, the synergetic effects of their combinations are still obscure. Literature on their safe dose(s) is still scanty. Evaluation of other useful macro and micro-minerals should also be undertaken. It is envisaged that the use of mineral supplements will promote good health in diabetics.

Graduate Students Reference Open Access Content in Literature Review Assignments

A Review of:
 Allen, E. J., & Weber, R. A. (2014). The library and the web: Graduate students’ selection of open access journals for empirical literature searches. Journal of Web Librarianship, 8(3), 243-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2014.927745 
 
 Abstract
 
 Objective – This study seeks to understand to what degree education graduate students cite open access, peer-reviewed journals in their coursework and whether patterns of open access referencing change over time.
 
 Design – Longitudinal reference list analysis.
 
 Setting – Public university in the United States of America.
 
 Subjects – Reference lists collected from final literature review papers in a graduate-level education class (n = 382).
 
 Methods – The authors collected reference lists from final literature review papers in a graduate-level education class for a nine-year time frame from the 2005 to 2013 academic years. The authors analyzed 2,594 reference entries from the 382 reference lists in the sample.
 
 The authors organized reference entries into spreadsheets for analysis, creating one spreadsheet per class section and sorting references by type (e.g., book, journal article, website, etc.) and source. The authors also created a cumulative list of journal titles that they analyzed for open access status and how often the journals appeared in the sample. Other information collected about each journal included "ISSNs, national origin, journal sponsorship, frequency and years of student usage, presence of empirical research, [and] peer review status" (p. 249). Finally, the authors organized open access journals into the following four categories based on their access method:
 
 • Category A "OA Platform and Publisher"
 • Category B "Publisher Only"
 • Category C "Delay or Hybrid from Host or Publisher"
 • Category D "Subscription Based, but Self Archived" (p. 249)
 
 Main Results – A total of 594 unique journals appeared in reference lists over the study period, and 11.5% (n=68) of the total were open access journals. Of the open access journals, 96% (n=65) included original research articles, and the majority (n=51) fell into Category A "OA Platform and Publisher." Nine, six, and two journal titles fell into categories B, C, and D, respectively. The authors found no pattern or change in the use of open access titles during the nine-year study period. Open access journals appeared in reference lists an average of 14 times per year with the highest usage observed in 2009.
 
 Conclusion – The results show that graduate students in the sample used a range of open access journals. The presence of open access resources in reference lists signals that students may use both library subscription databases and open web search tools to complete their literature review assignments. The authors suggest potential reasons why open access use did not grow during the study period, including a possible mismatch between student research interests and the topics present in open access titles, the lack of discussion about open access publishing during library instruction, or student satisfaction with the resources provided through library-sponsored subscriptions. Librarians are encouraged to include high-quality open access resources within their catalogues or other electronic resources to increase open access discoverability and to include popular open web search tools as a means to retrieve open access materials during information literacy instruction.

Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and Biological Activities of Bulbine abyssinica Used in the Folk Medicine in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Bulbine abyssinica A. Rich. is used in traditional medicine to treat rheumatism, dysentery, bilharzia, cracked lips, back pain, infertility, diabetes mellitus, and gastrointestinal, vaginal, and bladder infections. Therefore, preliminary phytochemical screening, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties of the whole plant (acetone and aqueous extracts) were determined using standard procedures. The in vitro antioxidant model assays revealed that the plant possesses free radical scavenging potential varying with free radical species. The species showed significant protein denaturation inhibitory activity with good protection against erythrocyte membrane lysis indicating anti-inflammatory potential. The results also showed that the species was active against the growth of all the selected eight diabetic status opportunistic bacteria except one. Moreover, the species is characterized by appreciable amounts of total phenols, flavonoids, flavanols, proanthocyanidins, and alkaloids. Traces amounts of saponins and tannins were also observed. Amongst the identified phytochemicals present, empirical searches identified them being antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial agents. The identification of these phytochemical constituents with their known pharmacological properties indicates that this plant is a good source of the free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial agents. These findings also account for the multipharmacological use of B. abyssinica in fork medicine.

Dietary supplements in the management of hypertension and diabetes - a review.

The use of alternative therapies like herbs and dietary supplements is very common among hypertensive and diabetic patients all over the globe. Hypertension is a silent disease that causes increase in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, renal morbidity and mortality whereas diabetic complications cause heart attack, stroke, blindness and kidney disease. These are serious and chronic metabolic disorders that have a significant impact on the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of patients, as well as on the health care systems. Orthodox drugs used for the treatment of hypertension and diabetes produce side effects such as headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue and erectile dysfunction. The need for considering alternate therapies in the form of dietary supplements known to promote good health, having little or no side effects therefore arises. This review was carried out using comprehensive and systematic literature reports on the concurrent use of dietary supplements in the management of diabetes and hypertension. Empirical searches were conducted using Google scholar (http://scholar.google.com), and Science Direct (http://www.sciencedirect.com). In addition to these databases, the University database was also used. Searches were also undertaken using keyword combinations such as dietary supplements and the names of the diseases in question. This review chronicled the therapeutic values of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fruits, vegetables, herbs and other botanicals used as dietary supplements. Results show that these supplements provided better and safe substitutes to toxic and expensive conventional drugs. Generally dietary supplements are free from major side effects, readily available and affordable. It is envisaged that the use of dietary supplement will promote good health and improve the status of hypertensive and diabetic patients. Medical doctors are therefore encouraged to incorporate dietary supplements into the regimen employed for hypertension and diabetes management.

Improving both the performance benefits and speed of optimization phase sequence searches

The issues of compiler optimization phase ordering and selection present important challenges to compiler developers in several domains, and in particular to the speed, code size, power, and cost-constrained domain of embedded systems. Different sequences of optimization phases have been observed to provide the best performance for different applications. Compiler writers and embedded systems developers have recently addressed this problem by conducting iterative empirical searches using machine-learning based heuristic algorithms in an attempt to find the phase sequences that are most effective for each application. Such searches are generally performed at the program level, although a few studies have been performed at the function level. The finer granularity of function-level searches has the potential to provide greater overall performance benefits, but only at the cost of slower searches caused by a greater number of performance evaluations that often require expensive program simulations. In this paper, we evaluate the performance benefits and search time increases of function-level approaches as compared to their program-level counterparts. We, then, present a novel search algorithm that conducts distinct function-level searches simultaneously, but requires only a single program simulation for evaluating the performance of potentially unique sequences for each function. Thus, our new hybrid search strategy provides the enhanced performance benefits of function-level searches with a search-time cost that is comparable to or less than program-level searches.

A rational approach to heavy-atom derivative screening

Despite the development in recent times of a range of techniques for phasing macromolecules, the conventional heavy-atom derivatization method still plays a significant role in protein structure determination. However, this method has become less popular in modern high-throughput oriented crystallography, mostly owing to its trial-and-error nature, which often results in lengthy empirical searches requiring large numbers of well diffracting crystals. In addition, the phasing power of heavy-atom derivatives is often compromised by lack of isomorphism or even loss of diffraction. In order to overcome the difficulties associated with the 'classical' heavy-atom derivatization procedure, an attempt has been made to develop a rational crystal-free heavy-atom derivative-screening method and a quick-soak derivatization procedure which allows heavy-atom compound identification. The method includes three basic steps: (i) the selection of likely reactive compounds for a given protein and specific crystallization conditions based on pre-defined heavy-atom compound reactivity profiles, (ii) screening of the chosen heavy-atom compounds for their ability to form protein adducts using mass spectrometry and (iii) derivatization of crystals with selected heavy-metal compounds using the quick-soak method to maximize diffraction quality and minimize non-isomorphism. Overall, this system streamlines the process of heavy-atom compound identification and minimizes the problem of non-isomorphism in phasing.

Dual standards of school performance and funding? Empirical searches of school funding adequacy in Kentucky and Maine

This study examines potential consequences of the discrepancies between national and state performance standards for school funding in Kentucky and Maine. Applying the successful schools observation method and cost function analysis method to integrated data‐sets that match schools’ eight‐grade mathematics test performance measures to district funding, this study conducts empirical searches for adequate instructional expenditures per pupil to meet desired proficiency targets on national versus state assessments. While Kentucky (high‐stakes testing state) had a lower performance standard than Maine (low‐stakes testing state), this study reveals a relatively lower level of school funding adequacy and a weaker relationship between school expenditures and performance for Kentucky than for Maine. The study suggests that state educational accountability systems and policies may influence the level of state performance standards and the proficiency gaps between national and state assessments, which in turn lead to potential gaps in school funding. Implications for policy and research are discussed to address problems with dual standards of school performance and to improve school funding adequacy and efficiency.

Solid state chemistry

Even though non-molecular solids comprise only a small fraction of all known compounds, they have been technologically very important. These materials are the focus of Solid State Science. Once a new compound is synthesized, we have powerful tools of analysis to determine its structure and a host of physical properties and to connect these through increasingly sophisticated theoretical models. With perhaps the exception of high temperature superconductivity, the understanding of physical phenomena in solids is impressive. A similar understanding of the chemistry of solids is still, however, rather elusive in that we are quite unable to predict new crystal structures or the composition of compounds that are more than derivatives of known materials. In spite of this shortcoming, new discoveries through empirical searches and focused inquiries are accelerating. This article gives a short, admittedly biased and certainly incomplete, view of current progress and challenges in Solid State Chemistry and points out promising new developments in experimental and theoretical research.

Estimates for ELF effects: noise-based thresholds and the number of experimental conditions required for empirical searches.

Interactions between physical fields and biological systems present difficult conceptual problems. Complete biological systems, even isolated cells, are exceedingly complex. This argues against the pursuit of theoretical models, with the possible consequence that only experimental studies should be considered. In contrast, electromagnetic fields are well understood. Further, some subsystems of cells (viz. cell membranes) can be reasonably represented by physical models. This argues for the pursuit of theoretical models which quantitatively describe interactions of electromagnetic fields with that subsystem. Here we consider the hypothesis that electric fields, not magnetic fields, are the source of interactions, From this it follows that the cell membrane is a relevant subsystem, as the membrane is much more resistive than the intra- or extracellular regions. A general class of interactions is considered: electroconformational changes associated with the membrane. Expected results of such as approach include the dependence of the interaction on key parameters (e.g., cell size, field magnitude, frequency, and exposure time), constraints on threshold exposure conditions, and insight into how experiments might be designed. Further, because it is well established that strong and moderate electric fields interact significantly with cells, estimates of the extrapolated interaction for weaker fields can be sought. By employing signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio criteria, theoretical models can also be used to estimate threshold magnitudes. These estimates are particularly relevant to in vitro conditions, for which most biologically generated background fields are absent. Finally, we argue that if theoretical model predictions are unavailable to guide the selection of experimental conditions, an overwhelmingly large number of different conditions will be needed to find, establish, and characterize bioelectromagnetic effects in an empirical search. This is contrasted with well-established chemical dosimetry, which is much simpler. Because of the large number of possible electromagnetic field conditions, we also conclude that in vitro studies, rather than in vivo studies, should be emphasized in studies aimed at discovering and characterizing mechanisms for bioelectromagnetic effects.

An explicit empirical formula for fine-structure separations of2P0and2D terms for ions in the Cu isoelectronic sequence

A screened hydrogen-like model has been used to re-express available measurements of fine-structure separations for 2P0 and 2D terms in the Cu isoelectronic sequence as screening parameters, which are found to be very regular and slowly varying as functions of Z, n and l. These regularities have been quantified by empirical searches for linearising mapping functions, which indicate that the screening parameter S is very well represented by a linear function of the reciprocal screened charge S=a+b/(Z-S), with a slope a and intercept b which follow the relationships a varies as (n-3)k and a+2 square root b=constant. This yields an explicit empirical formula for the fine structure for any value of Z and n for the isoelectronic sequence of these Rydberg series. Predictions for the fine-structure separations for the n=4-8 2P0 and n=4-6 2D terms for all ions from As V to U LXIV are presented.