The effect of residential greenness during pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment using propensity score weighting: A prospective mother-infant paired cohort study.

BACKGROUND: While prior studies have suggested an association between green spaces and infant neurodevelopment, the causal effect of green space exposure during pregnancy has not been fully investigated. This study aimed to identify with causal inference the effect of exposure to residential greenness during pregnancy on infants' mental-psychomotor development and the role of maternal education in modifying this association. METHODS: We prospectively collected data of pregnant women and their infants from Mothers and Children Environmental Health cohort study. Based on residential addresses, we compiled information on the percent of green space using different buffer distances (100 m, 300 m, and 500 m) and air pollution (PM2.5). Infant neurodevelopment was measured at 6 months of age using the Korean Bayley Scales of Infant Development II Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI). Generalized propensity scores (GPSs) were estimated from machine-learning (ML) algorithms. We deduced causal inference through GPS adjustment and weighting approaches. Further analyses confirmed whether the association was altered by maternal academic background. RESULTS: A total of 845 mother-infant pairs from the cohort study were included. We found that exposure to green spaces was robustly associated with infants' mental development. For example, an increase in % green space within 300 m increased the MDI by 14.32 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 3.44-25.2) in the weighting approach. Additionally, the association was even more noticeable for mothers with college degrees or above: an increase in % green space within 300 m increased the MDI by 23.69 (95 % CI, 8.53-38.85) and the PDI by 22.45 (95 % CI, 2.58-42.33) in the weighting approach. This association did not appear in mothers without college degrees. CONCLUSION: Exposure to green spaces during pregnancy showed a beneficial relationship with infant mental development. Maternal academic background could modify the impact of green space exposure on infant neurodevelopment.

A longitudinal study of the effect of individual and socio-cultural factors on students' creativity.

This longitudinal study investigated how characteristics of individual and social relationships affect Korean students' creativity development. Fifth graders (male: 3,623, female: 3,701) from 242 schools in Korea were followed annually from their 5th to 9th grades (indicating from the 5th elementary school grade to the 3rd middle school grade in the Korean school system). Exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability (coefficient alpha), confirmatory factor analysis, and two-level growth model methods were performed. We investigated all nine constructs and their related items by checking metric and scalar invariance assumptions. When the measurement invariance assumptions were satisfied, we used the mean of items that constitute respective factors. We checked growth trajectories of creativity and tapped the possibility of the existence of subgroups based on the growth/change pattern using latent class growth modeling. The results showed that no subgroups existed. Thus, we constructed a two-level growth model to investigate the overall growth pattern of the students. Regarding level 1, we included time-varying variables such as peer attachment, self-regulation habits (self-management), parents' academy-oriented involvement, parent affective support, individualized, interactive teaching methods, teachers' academic pressure, and academic achievement. At level 2, we used gender and parenting style that was obtained at time point 1. The final combined model incorporating level 1 and 2 variables showed that students' self-regulation had the most association with the student's creativity followed by peer attachment, parents' academic support, interaction with parents, interaction with teachers, academic pressure from teachers, and relationships with teachers. Methods for enhancing students' creativity were discussed.

Membrane-Free Stem Cell Extract Enhances Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity by Suppressing NF-κB-Mediated Activation of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Mice with Ischemic Stroke.

Membrane-free stem cell extract (MFSCE) of human adipose tissues possesses various biological activities. However, the effects of MFSCE on blood-brain barrier dysfunction and brain damage are unknown. In this study, we determined the role of MFSCE in an ischemic stroke mouse model. Mice were treated with MFSCE once daily for 4 days and 1 h before ischemic damage. Experimental ischemia was induced by photothrombosis. Pretreatment with MFSCE reduced infarct volume and edema and improved neurological, as well as motor functions. Evans blue leakage and water content in the brain tissue were reduced by MFSCE pretreatment relative to those in the vehicle group. MFSCE increased the expression of the tight junction proteins zonula occludens 1 and claudin-5, as well as vascular endothelial-cadherin, but decreased that of matrix metalloproteinase 9. Notably, MFSCE treatment decreased cell death and the level of NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome, consistent with the downregulated expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-18 in the ischemic brain. These effects might have occurred via the suppression of the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 and activation of nuclear factor-κB. The results highlighted the potential of MFSCE treatment as a novel and preventive strategy for patients at a high risk of ischemic stroke.

Strong suppression of heat conduction in a laboratory replica of galaxy-cluster turbulent plasmas.

In conventional gases and plasmas, it is known that heat fluxes are proportional to temperature gradients, with collisions between particles mediating energy flow from hotter to colder regions and the coefficient of thermal conduction given by Spitzer's theory. However, this theory breaks down in magnetized, turbulent, weakly collisional plasmas, although modifications are difficult to predict from first principles due to the complex, multiscale nature of the problem. Understanding heat transport is important in astrophysical plasmas such as those in galaxy clusters, where observed temperature profiles are explicable only in the presence of a strong suppression of heat conduction compared to Spitzer's theory. To address this problem, we have created a replica of such a system in a laser laboratory experiment. Our data show a reduction of heat transport by two orders of magnitude or more, leading to large temperature variations on small spatial scales (as is seen in cluster plasmas).

Membrane-Free Stem Cells and Pyridoxal 5'-Phosphate Synergistically Enhance Cognitive Function in Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model.

Accumulation of amyloid beta (Aß) is a major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we evaluated the protective effect of membrane-free stem cell extract (MFSCE), which is a component of adipose-tissue-derived stem cells, on cognitive impairment in Aß25-35-injected AD mice. The ICR mice were i.c.v. injected with Aß25-35 and then treated with MFSCE for 14 days (i.p.). The Aß25-35-injected mice showed deficits in spatial and object perception abilities, whereas treatment with MFSCE inhibited Aß25-35-induced learning and memory impairment in the T-maze, novel object recognition, and Morris water maze tests. Moreover, Aß25-35-induced lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide overproduction were attenuated by treatment with MFSCE. These antioxidant effects of MFSCE were related to the inhibition of the apoptotic signaling pathway. In particular, the combination treatment of MFSCE and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) showed greater suppression of Bax and cleaved caspase-3 protein expression compared to the MFSCE- or PLP-only treatment. Furthermore, the MFSCE and PLP combination significantly downregulated the amyloidogenic-pathway-related protein expressions, such as amyloid precursor protein, presenilin 1, and presenilin 2. Therefore, the MFSCE and PLP combination may synergistically prevent Aß25-35-induced neuronal apoptosis and amyloidogenesis, which contributes to cognitive improvement and has potential therapeutic implications for AD patients.

A longitudinal study investigating the relationships among multicultural receptivity, sense of community, and self-esteem of Korean adolescents.

The relative homogeneity in ethnicity and language of native Koreans and their highly competitive lifestyle, especially among adolescents preparing for college, have limited their solidarity with heterogeneous ethnic groups, which may cause problems in this global era. This study uses the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey to explore the relationships among multicultural receptivity, sense of community, and self-esteem for Korean adolescents over three time points. For this purpose this study conducted an autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis, controlling for covariates such as gender, parenting style, peer attachment, and satisfaction with academic achievement. The cross-lagged effects on each other of self-esteem and sense of community were positive over time. The cross-lagged effects on each other of multicultural receptivity and self-esteem were not statistically significant. The results were less symmetrical for the third pairing: the effects of multicultural receptivity on sense of community were consistently positive, but the effects of sense of community on multicultural receptivity were not statistically significant. To enhance the sense of community, promoting multicultural receptivity and self-esteem would therefore show good results.

Increasing prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia in adolescents aged 10-18 years and its relationship with metabolic indicators: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (KNHANES), 2007-2018.

PURPOSE: Pediatric diabetes is a common health burden worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia in Korean youth aged 10-18 years and to evaluate its association with metabolic indicators. METHODS: To assess the risk of diabetes in domestic children and adolescents, the prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia was calculated, a trend was evaluated using multi-year Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data, and multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships between hyperglycemia and metabolic factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia, defined as impaired fasting glucose (fasting glucose level > 100 mg/dL and < 125 mg/dL), or diabetes mellitus (fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL) was estimated in Korean teenagers. The prevalence increased from the fourth (2007-2009) to the fifth (2010-2012), sixth (2013-2015), and seventh (2016-2018) KNHANES surveys, from 5.39 to 4.79, 10.03, and 11.66 per 100 persons, respectively. In multivariate analysis, systolic blood pressure and serum triglycerides were higher in the fasting hyperglycemia group; systolic blood pressures were 109.83 mmHg and 112.64 mmHg and serum triglycerides were 81.59 mg/dL and 89.60 mg/dL in the normal blood glucose and fasting hyperglycemia groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia among children and adolescents has increased over the past decade, and this increase is potentially associated with metabolic abnormalities such as hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia. Effort is urgently required to reduce this chronic medical burden in adolescence.

Changes in the quality of pork loin after short-term (ten-day) storage in a supercooling refrigerator.

The study aimed to evaluate pork loin quality after short-term (ten-day) storage in a supercooling refrigerator. Pork loin samples were stored for 10 days in a traditional refrigerator (control) and a commercially available supercooling refrigerator (SC). Pork quality measurements included meat pH, meat color, water holding capacity (drip loss and cooking loss), tenderness (hardness), and a sensory evaluation. Temperature changes of 0.45 ± 0.2°C and 0.02 ± 0.25°C occurred in the control and the SC, respectively, during 10 days of storage. The temperature in the SC chamber did not remain below freezing point, failing to meet expectations. Regarding the pork quality measurements, only the drip losses in the control and the SC were significantly different (4.45% vs. 2.59%, p < 0.01) after 10 days of storage. There were no significant differences between the two types of refrigerator in terms of the other measurements. Additionally, the overall acceptability of the pork loin did not vary significantly between the control and the SC when the sensory evaluation was performed. Therefore, a commercial SC could prove beneficial in terms of water holding capacity during the short-term storage of meat. Further research should be performed to evaluate quality changes that occur during long-term storage of meat in SC s and evaluate a wide range of meat, such as beef and chicken.

Protective Effect of Membrane-Free Stem Cells against Lipopolysaccharide and Interferon-Gamma-Stimulated Inflammatory Responses in RAW 264.7 Macrophages.

Recently, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are considered to be ideal for application in cell therapy or tissue regeneration, mainly due to their wide availability and easy access. In this study, we examined the anti-inflammatory effects of membrane-free stem cell extract (MFSC-Ex) derived from ADSCs against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Exposure of RAW macrophages to LPS and IFN-γ stimuli induced high levels of nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. However, pretreatment with MFSC-Ex inhibited LPS/IFN-γ-induced these pro-inflammatory mediators. To clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory property of MFSC-Ex, we analyzed nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) protein expressions by Western blotting. Our study showed that treatment of MFSC-Ex significantly down-regulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and COX-2 protein expressions. Furthermore, phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 was also blocked by treatment with MFSC-Ex, indicating that inhibitory effect of MFSC-Ex on MAPK signaling cascade may attribute to inactivation of NF-κB. From these findings, we suggest that MFSC-Ex exert anti-inflammatory activities, which suppressed LPS/IFN-γ-induced production of NO, COX-2 and PGE2 by regulation of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 macrophages. In conclusion, MFSC-Ex might provide a new therapeutic opportunity to treatment of inflammatory-related diseases.

Radiographic areal density measurements on the OMEGA EP laser system.

We describe two orthogonal radiography geometries at the OMEGA EP laser facility, which we refer to as side-on and face-on radiography. This setup can be used to determine quantitative information about the areal densities in solid, particulate, or liquid samples. We show sample images from these two different platforms that use the radiography diagnostic, one of material microjetting by the Richtmeyer-Meshkov instability and one of a deforming tin sample by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, demonstrating the versatile applicability of such measurements in the field of high-energy density physics. The analytical methodology behind the quantitative Rayleigh-Taylor face-on radiography is also demonstrated and can be applied to other types of samples.

Time-resolved turbulent dynamo in a laser plasma.

Understanding magnetic-field generation and amplification in turbulent plasma is essential to account for observations of magnetic fields in the universe. A theoretical framework attributing the origin and sustainment of these fields to the so-called fluctuation dynamo was recently validated by experiments on laser facilities in low-magnetic-Prandtl-number plasmas ([Formula: see text]). However, the same framework proposes that the fluctuation dynamo should operate differently when [Formula: see text], the regime relevant to many astrophysical environments such as the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters. This paper reports an experiment that creates a laboratory [Formula: see text] plasma dynamo. We provide a time-resolved characterization of the plasma's evolution, measuring temperatures, densities, flow velocities, and magnetic fields, which allows us to explore various stages of the fluctuation dynamo's operation on seed magnetic fields generated by the action of the Biermann-battery mechanism during the initial drive-laser target interaction. The magnetic energy in structures with characteristic scales close to the driving scale of the stochastic motions is found to increase by almost three orders of magnitude and saturate dynamically. It is shown that the initial growth of these fields occurs at a much greater rate than the turnover rate of the driving-scale stochastic motions. Our results point to the possibility that plasma turbulence produced by strong shear can generate fields more efficiently at the driving scale than anticipated by idealized magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations of the nonhelical fluctuation dynamo; this finding could help explain the large-scale fields inferred from observations of astrophysical systems.

Adverse effects of prenatal mercury exposure on neurodevelopment during the first 3 years of life modified by early growth velocity and prenatal maternal folate level.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Previous studies have suggested that mercury exposure and folate levels during pregnancy may influence early childhood neurodevelopment. Rapid catch-up growth in children is associated with an increased risk of pathological nervous system development. We evaluated whether the association between prenatal folate and mercury-related neuropsychological dysfunction was modified by growth velocity during childhood. METHODS: The Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) birth cohort study began in 2006 and by 2010, 1751 women had been enrolled before the second trimester of their pregnancy along with their partners. Participants visited the research center at birth and 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. We measured mercury levels in maternal and cord blood and folate in maternal serum. Questionnaires to evaluate the environment and health of their child were administered and anthropometric factors including body weight and height were measured. Certified investigators used the Bayley test to measure neurobehavioral outcomes. We calculated postnatal growth change as the change in infant weight for-age z-score between birth and 3 years. Multiple linear regression and mixed models were used to examine the association between mercury exposure and children's neurodevelopment as well as the modifying effects of folate and growth velocity. RESULTS: A total of 30.6% of children experienced rapid growth during the first 3 years of life. Median values of mercury in the low folate group were significantly higher in rapid growers (3.41 µg/L in maternal blood and 5.63 µg/L in cord blood) than in average/slow growers (3.05 µg/L in maternal blood and 5.19 µg/L in cord blood). Rapid growers were also significantly associated with decreased psychomotor development scores during the first 3 years of life and with having mothers who had low prenatal folate levels, even after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSION: Prenatal mercury exposure adversely affects infant neurodevelopment and is associated with rapid growth during the first 3 years of life. This effect was limited to children whose mothers had low prenatal folate levels, suggesting a protective effect of folate against developmental neurotoxicity due to mercury exposure and rapid catch-up growth.

The Association Between Mercury Exposure and Atopic Dermatitis in Early Childhood: A Mothers and Children's Environmental Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory skin disease. Although mercury has been suggested as a risk factor, the underlying mechanism and the relationship between mercury and atopic dermatitis remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mercury exposure and the presence of atopic dermatitis in early childhood. METHODS: This study is part of the prospective Mothers and Children's Environmental Health cohort study. A total of 1,751 pregnant women were enrolled in Mothers and Children's Environmental Health. After delivery, children were followed up. Blood samples were collected and mothers were asked about the presence of atopic dermatitis in their children via a questionnaire at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 60 months of age. RESULTS: After excluding participants who did not meet the inclusion criteria, a total of 1,061 mother-children pairs were included in the analysis. The geometric mean of mercury concentrations in cord blood was 5.1 µg/L. In adjusted models, cord blood mercury exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0, 1.2 at 12-24 months) and postnatal mercury exposure (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.0, 1.5 at 24-36 months, OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1, 1.8 at 48-60 months) were associated with the presence of atopic dermatitis in children. CONCLUSIONS: Postnatal mercury exposure at 24 months of age increases the risk of atopic dermatitis in children.

Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in high-energy density settings on the National Ignition Facility.

The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability occurs at an interface between two fluids of differing density during an acceleration. These instabilities can occur in very diverse settings, from inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions over spatial scales of [Formula: see text] cm (10-1,000 µm) to supernova explosions at spatial scales of [Formula: see text] cm and larger. We describe experiments and techniques for reducing ("stabilizing") RT growth in high-energy density (HED) settings on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Three unique regimes of stabilization are described: (i) at an ablation front, (ii) behind a radiative shock, and (iii) due to material strength. For comparison, we also show results from nonstabilized "classical" RT instability evolution in HED regimes on the NIF. Examples from experiments on the NIF in each regime are given. These phenomena also occur in several astrophysical scenarios and planetary science [Drake R (2005) Plasma Phys Controlled Fusion 47:B419-B440; Dahl TW, Stevenson DJ (2010) Earth Planet Sci Lett 295:177-186].

Association between MKRN3 and LIN28B polymorphisms and precocious puberty.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the association between MKRN3 and LIN28B gene polymorphisms and precocious puberty in Korean boys and girls. RESULTS: Children 7 to 9 years of age in 2011 to 2012 who were part of the Ewha Birth & Growth Cohort Study were recruited for this study. A total of 103 girls and 70 boys were included in the analyses. Seven girls and 26 boys were identified to have precocious puberty. Among four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of MKRN3 and two SNPs of LIN28B examined, three SNPs (rs2239669, rs6576457, and rs12441827) showed significant associations with precocious puberty in additive models in boys but no significance was found in any SNPs in girls. From the logistic regression analysis, boys with TT alleles in rs12441827 had about a four-times greater risk for precocious puberty when compared to C allele carriers (OR = 3.95, 95% CI = 1.27-12.32 in model 1). eQTL analysis revealed that SNPs of statistical significance from our study did not show the variation in expression profiles nor found in the database. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the impact of MKRN3 SNP rs12441827 on precocious puberty in Korean boys. The results add a further aspect to genetic association in precocious puberty along with complex interactions of environmental, nutritional and socioeconomic factors.

Early Puberty, School Context, and Delinquency Among South Korean Girls.

Compared with chronological age, criminologists have paid less attention to the biological sense of age typically expressed by pubertal development. Studies that have examined pubertal timing's effects on delinquency have almost exclusively been conducted in Western countries using mostly White samples. To our knowledge, no study has ever examined this issue in the Asian context. The current study is the first attempt to bridge this research gap by examining the association among menarcheal timing, the sex composition of schools, and delinquency in a representative sample of 1,108 ninth-grade girls in South Korea. The results show that significant association between early menarche and delinquency exists only in mixed-sex schools but not in all-girls schools. In addition, the significant linkage between early menarche and delinquency in mixed-sex schools is mediated by delinquent peer associations.

Long working hours and overweight and obesity in working adults.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have identified a link between gender and the various risk factors associated with obesity. We examined obesity risk factors in working adults to identify the effects of differences in body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat (PBF) between women and men. METHODS: A total of 1,120 adults agreed to participate in the study. Data from 711 participants, including 411 women and 300 men, were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of risk factors on obesity and being overweight. In addition, the least-squares (LS) means of both BMI and PBF were estimated by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in a generalized linear model. RESULTS: Increases in BMI and PBF were significantly related to an age > 50 years and long working hours in women after compensating for confounding factors. Using the PBF criterion, the odds ratio (OR) of being overweight or obese in women > 50 years of age who worked for > 9 h a day was 3.9 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-11.00). For BMI, women who were > 50 years of age and worked for > 9 h a day were 3.82 times (95% CI, 1.31-11.14) more likely to be overweight or obese than those who were < 50 years of age and worked for < 9 h a day. CONCLUSION: Obesity in working adults was associated with > 50 years of age and long working hours in women. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this relationship and its potential implications for the prevention and management of excess weight and obesity.

International Classification of Diseases 10th edition-based disability adjusted life years for measuring of burden of specific injury.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop an International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th edition injury code-based disability-adjusted life year (DALY) to measure the burden of specific injuries. METHODS: Three independent panels used novel methods to score disability weights (DWs) of 130 indicator codes sampled from 1,284 ICD injury codes. The DWs were interpolated into the remaining injury codes (n=1,154) to estimate DWs for all ICD injury codes. The reliability of the estimated DWs was evaluated using the test-retest method. We calculated ICD-DALYs for individual injury episodes using the DWs from the Korean National Hospital Discharge Injury Survey (HDIS, n=23,160 of 2004) database and compared them with DALY based on a global burden of disease study (GBD-DALY) regarding validation, correlation, and agreement for 32 injury categories. RESULTS: Using 130 ICD 10th edition injury indicator codes, three panels determined the DWs using the highest reliability (person trade-off 1, Spearman r=0.724, 0.788, and 0.875 for the three panel groups). The test-retest results for the reliability were excellent (Spearman r=0.932) (P<0.001). The HDIS database revealed injury burden (years) as follows: GBD-DALY (138,548), GBD-years of life disabled (130,481), and GBD-years of life lost (8,117) versus ICD-DALY (262,246), ICD-years of life disabled (255,710), and ICD-years of life lost (6,537), respectively. Spearman's correlation coefficient of the DALYs between the two methods was 0.759 (P<0.001), and the Bland-Altman test displayed an acceptable agreement, with exception of two categories among 32 injury groups. CONCLUSION: The ICD-DALY was developed to calculate the burden of injury for all injury codes and was validated with the GBD-DALY. The ICD-DALY was higher than the GBD-DALY but showed acceptable agreement.

A Concept Analysis of Cultural Nursing Competence.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to conduct a concept analysis of cultural nursing competence. METHODS: Cultural nursing competence was analyzed using Rodgers' evolutionary concept development method. A literature search using the keywords "cultural nursing competence", "intercultural nursing competence", "cultural nursing", "cultural health nursing", and "cultural competence" was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC, and RISS on material published before 2015. Database and bibliographic searches yielded 35 records. RESULTS: Cultural nursing competence comprised cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains. The critical attributes of the concept were sensitivity, equality, and activity. The analysis identified the following dimensions: awareness, openness, and coherence. The consequences of cultural nursing competence were personal satisfaction and social justice. The definition contained competence on both an individual and social level. CONCLUSION: Cultural competency enhances quality of care by narrowing health disparities and increasing client satisfaction. The concept analysis of cultural nursing competence may offer an acceptable framework which can be used to develop psychometric tools of this concept and provide guidelines in nursing practice.

Developed turbulence and nonlinear amplification of magnetic fields in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.

The visible matter in the universe is turbulent and magnetized. Turbulence in galaxy clusters is produced by mergers and by jets of the central galaxies and believed responsible for the amplification of magnetic fields. We report on experiments looking at the collision of two laser-produced plasma clouds, mimicking, in the laboratory, a cluster merger event. By measuring the spectrum of the density fluctuations, we infer developed, Kolmogorov-like turbulence. From spectral line broadening, we estimate a level of turbulence consistent with turbulent heating balancing radiative cooling, as it likely does in galaxy clusters. We show that the magnetic field is amplified by turbulent motions, reaching a nonlinear regime that is a precursor to turbulent dynamo. Thus, our experiment provides a promising platform for understanding the structure of turbulence and the amplification of magnetic fields in the universe.