Biological Plausibility of the Pace of Creation Written in the Genesis

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the biological plausibility of the pace of creation written in the genesis. A fascinating hypothesis is made on the central role of serotonin as a guide, as the director of the phenomena that enable the best use of light by the plant world, the growth, the regulation of mood in the complex molecular interactions that characterize the varying levels of consciousness. This hypothesis provides biological interpretations of the

Ion Exchange-Precipitation for Nutrient Recovery from Dilute Wastewater

Regulated phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) discharges and the cost of fertilizer provide economic drivers for nutrient removal and recovery from wastewater. This study used ion exchange (IX) in dilute (domestic) wastewater to concentrate nutrients with subsequent recovery by struvite precipitation. This is the first tertiary wastewater treatment study directly comparing P removal using a range of Fe, Cu, and Al-based media followed by clinoptilolite IX columns for N removal and precipitation using the combined regenerants. Phosphate removal prior to breakthrough was 0.5–2.0 g P Lmedia−1, providing effluent concentrations −1 PO4-P and −1 NH4-N for ≥80 bed volumes. Dow-FeCu resin provided effective P removal, efficient neutral pH regeneration and 560 mg P L−1 in the regeneration eluate (≥100× concentration factor). Exchange capacity of clinoptilolite in column mode was 3.9–6.1 g N Lmedia−1 prior to breakthrough. Precipitation using the combined cation and anion regenerants resulted in a maximum of 74% P removal using Dow-FeCu. Precipitates contained impurities, including Al3+, Ca2+, and Fe. Overall, the IX-precipitation recovery process removed ≥98% P and 95% N and precipitates contained 13% P and 1.6% N. This sequential process can satisfy increasingly stringent wastewater standards and offers an effective alternative to traditional treatment technologies that simply remove nutrients. Approximately 84% of total P and 97% of total Kjeldahl N entering a treatment plant can be captured (accounting for primary clarifier removal), whereas most existing technologies target side streams that typically contain only 20–30% of influent P and 15–20% of influent N

Age Determination on Long Bones in a Skeletal Subadults Sample (b-12 Years)

The skeletal age on the basis of the diaphyseal length of long bones was assessed. To this aim a sample of subadults skeleton, dated to last century, coming from the cemetery of Bologna was studied. The sample is composed by 79 males and 70 females between 0 and 12 years, whose chronological age and sex are known. Some information can be obtained by the means, standard deviation and graphs of the specimens grouped in age classes. The comparison with other studies confirms the interest of using standards based on direct measurements on long bones of known age and similar to the skeletal populations under study

Vaaratapahtumat psykiatrisessa hoitoympäristössä

Potilasturvallisuus on terveydenhuollon laadun olennainen osa-alue, joka heikkenee, kun potilaat kohtaavat turvallisuusongelmia. Nämä ongelmat haittaavat potilaiden toipumista ja aiheuttavat merkittäviä inhimillisiä ja taloudellisia seurauksia. Tutkimus vaaratapahtumista tarjoaa arvokasta tietoa niistä tekijöistä, jotka vaikuttavat potilasturvallisuuteen. Erityisesti psykiatrisen hoidon alalla on ollut vähän tutkimusta potilasturvallisuusongelmista. Tämän tutkielman päätavoitteena oli tutkia vaaratapahtumia psykiatrisen hoidon ympäristössä. Tutkimuksen pyrkimyksenä oli koota tietoa erilaisista vaaratapahtumista, niiden taustatekijöistä sekä potilasturvallisuuden ja raportoinnin kehittämistarpeista. Tutkielman menetelmänä käytettiin kartoittavaa kirjallisuuskatsausta, jonka tietokantahaku suoritettiin syyskuussa 2023 käyttäen Medline Ovidia, CINAHL:ia, PsycINFO:a ja Medic:iä. Haku tuotti yhteensä 1072 viitettä, joista analysoitavaksi valittiin ennalta määrättyjen kriteerien perusteella 38 artikkelia. Tutkimuksessa analysoitiin 38 vertaisarvioitua tutkimusartikkelia ajalta 2003–2023. Tutkimuksista 27 keskittyi psykiatrisiin vuodeosastoihin, kuusi oikeuspsykiatrisiin yksiköihin ja yksi avohoidon mielenterveysyksiköihin. Neljän tutkimuksen otos sisälsi tiedot sekä psykiatrisen sairaalahoidon että avohoidon tai oikeuspsykiatrian ympäristöstä. Tutkimukset käsittelivät vaaratapahtumien kokonaisaineiston analyysiä ja tyypittelyä sekä tarkentuvat erityyppisiin vaaratapahtumiin kuten lääkevirheisiin, kaatumisiin, väkivaltaan, turvallisuusongelmiin ja tapahtumien raportointiin vaikuttaviin tekijöihin. Tutkimuksissa yleisimmät vaaratapahtumat liittyivät lääkitykseen, väkivaltaiseen käytökseen, itsetuhoisuuteen ja kaatumistapahtumiin. Vaaratapahtumiin vaikuttavina tekijöinä tunnistettiin potilaan sairauden oireet, desorientaatio, psykotrooppisten lääkkeiden haittavaikutukset, henkilökunnan osaamisen puutteet, ympäristön puutteet, riittämättömät resurssit ja viestinnän puutteet tai konfliktit. Vaaratapahtumien aliraportointi oli yleistä henkilöstöresurssien puutteen, aikarajoitusten, pelon ja puutteellisen organisaation turvallisuuskulttuurin vuoksi. Ehdotetut parannukset sisältävät raportointijärjestelmien tehostamisen, raporttien tiedon paremman hyödyntämisen, organisaation turvallisuuskulttuurin ja osaamisen kehittämisen sekä yhteistyön ja tutkimuksen lisäämisen. Lisätutkimusta tarvitaan selvittämään tapahtumien ominaispiirteitä eri ikäryhmissä ja psykiatrisen avohoidon kontekstissa. Lisäksi tarvitaan organisaatiokulttuurin tutkimusta psykiatrisissa hoito-organisaatioissa selvittämään sen potilasturvallisuuteen vaikuttavia tekijöitä.Background: Patient safety is an aspect of healthcare quality, and it becomes compromised when patients experience patient safety incidents. Patient safe incidents hinder patient recovery, causing significant human and financial burdens. The research on patient safety incidents provides information about factors of patient safety. There has been limited research on patient safety incidents in psychiatric care. Purpose: to investigate the research conducted on patient safety incidents in the psychiatric care setting. The aim was to find information on the types of incidents reported in studies, which factors are associated with incidents, and what improvements related to incident reporting have been identified. Methods: A scoping literature review, conducted in September 2023 using Medline Ovid, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Medic, yielded a total of 1072 references. Based on predetermined criteria, 38 articles were selected for content analysis. Results: 38 peer-reviewed research articles from the years 2003 to 2022, 27 from psychiatric inpatient units, six from forensic psychiatric units, and one from outpatient psychiatric units. The sample of four studies included responses from both inpatient and outpatient settings, or inpatient and forensic psychiatry environments. The studies addressed the distribution of adverse events, medication incidents, falls, violence, safety issues, and factors influencing incident reporting. The most common incidents were associated with medication management, violence, and self-harming behaviors. Incidents were linked to symptoms of the illness, disorientation, and adverse effect of psychotropic medications. Factors influencing incidents included staffing resource shortages and problems related to unsafe working culture. The majority of the studies described underreporting. Fear, high workload, and weak organizational safety culture were identified as significant underlying factors for underreporting. Conclusion: : Research on patient safety incidents in psychiatric care is limited and focused on the context of psychiatric inpatient care. Underreporting is a significant challenge to the reliability of incident data. Further research is needed to address the characteristics of incidents in age-specific populations, psychiatric outpatient care, and organizational culture aspects, contributing to the development patient safety in psychiatric settings

A prospective, longitudinal study of platelet serotonin and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentrations in major depression: effects of vortioxetine treatment

BACKGROUND: Various antidepressants occupy brain serotonin transporter (SERT), decrease platelet serotonin (5-HT) concentration, and normalize reduced plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations in depressed patients. Vortioxetine is a recently introduced antidepressant with a multimodal mechanism of action. In addition to SERT inhibition, vortioxetine acts via different 5-HT receptors. To further elucidate its mechanism of action, we have investigated the effects of vortioxetine on platelet 5-HT and plasma BDNF concentrations in patients with major depression. ----- METHODS: Platelet 5-HT and plasma BDNF concentrations were determined in 44 healthy subjects at baseline and in 44 depressed patients before and after 4 weeks of treatment with vortioxetine (5-15 mg daily). Platelet 5-HT concentration was determined using the ortho-phthalaldehyde-enhanced fluorometric method, and plasma BDNF concentration using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Quantikine ELISA, R&D Systems). ----- RESULTS: At baseline, platelet 5-HT concentrations did not differ between depressed and control subjects, but plasma BDNF values were lower (p = 0.011; ω = 0.80) in depressed patients than in healthy subjects. Vortioxetine treatment significantly (p < 0.0001; ω = 0.80) decreased platelet 5-HT concentration and significantly (p = 0.004; ω = 0.80) increased plasma BDNF concentration in depressed patients compared to their baseline values. Age, gender, and smoking were not significantly associated with platelet 5-HT and plasma BDNF concentrations. ----- CONCLUSION: Despite a novel mechanism of action, vortioxetine shares some common effects with other antidepressants. This study is the first to show that, in addition to clinical improvement, 4 weeks of treatment with vortioxetine (5-15 mg daily), decreased platelet 5-HT and increased plasma BDNF concentrations in depressed patients