Inhaled particle counts on bicycle commute routes of low and high proximity to motorised traffic

Frequent exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) is associated with detrimental effects on cardiopulmonary function and health. UFP dose and therefore the associated health risk are a factor of exposure frequency, duration, and magnitude of (therefore also proximity to) a UFP emission source. Bicycle commuters using on-road routes during peak traffic times are sharing a microenvironment with high levels of motorised traffic, a major UFP emission source. Inhaled particle counts were measured along popular pre-identified bicycle commute route alterations of low (LOW) and high (HIGH) motorised traffic to the same inner-city destination at peak commute traffic times. During commute, real-time particle number concentration (PNC; mostly in the UFP range) and particle diameter (PD), heart and respiratory rate, geographical location, and meteorological variables were measured. To determine inhaled particle counts, ventilation rate was calculated from heart-rate-ventilation associations, produced from periodic exercise testing. Total mean PNC of LOW (compared to HIGH) was reduced (1.56 x e4 ± 0.38 x e4 versus 3.06 x e4 ± 0.53 x e4 ppcc; p = 0.012). Total estimated ventilation rate did not vary significantly between LOW and HIGH (43 ± 5 versus 46 ± 9 L•min; p = 0.136); however, due to total mean PNC, accumulated inhaled particle counts were 48% lower in LOW, compared to HIGH (7.6 x e8 ± 1.5 x e8 versus 14.6 x e8 ± 1.8 x e8; p = 0.003). For bicycle commuting at peak morning commute times, inhaled particle counts and therefore cardiopulmonary health risk may be substantially reduced by decreasing exposure to motorised traffic, which should be considered by both bicycle commuters and urban planners

Training Patient Stakeholders Builds Community Capacity, Enhances Patient Engagement in Research

Our philosophical framework for research with low-income Latino patients with diabetes prioritizes hiring research staff who share the culture and language of the population of study. Inclusive research design requires an active role by patient stakeholders with training opportunities in a collaborative learning environment to allow patient stakeholder data collectors (PSDCs) to build on existing strengths and expertise. To develop this manuscript, our team reflected on our collective experiences in implementing research-specific trainings for PSDCs. Although our population of study is known to be difficult to recruit and retain, our PSDCs have successfully enrolled participants on schedule, and attrition is low. Although language, institutional requirements, and funding restrictions presented training challenges, we overcame these by using a flexible approach and by incorporating the data collectors’ expertise in refining our protocols. We propose that our success in recruiting and retaining participants is a reflection of our engaged research strategy and framework and demonstrates that engagement promotes better science. However, our experience also demonstrates research institutions need to make policy and infrastructural improvements to reduce barriers and make engaged approaches more feasible

APICULTURA SUSTENTÁVEL: PRODUÇÃO E COMERCIALIZAÇÃO DE MEL NO MEIO OESTE CATARINENSE

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo fomentar a produção de mel em larga escala, utilizando-se da apicultura de forma sustentável. A organização dos atores locais em Arranjos Produtivos será o principal mecanismo estratégico para gerar capital social e fomentar o projeto. A produção e a comercialização de mel no meio oeste catarinense será realizado através da criação de uma associação entre os moradores residentes no interior dos municípios integrantes da AMMOC (Associação dos Municípios do Meio Oeste Catarinense), e em pareceria com entidades necessárias na execução, como o Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (SEBRAE), Associações de Apicultores e Meliponicultores de Santa Catarina (FAASC), Associação Brasileira dos Exportadores de Mel (ABEMEL), Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária e Extensão Rural de Santa Catarina (EPAGRI). A apicultura é uma atividade econômica de baixo impacto ambiental, que possibilita a utilização dos recursos naturais, de maneira que contribui com a manutenção e a preservação dos ecossistemas já existentes. O fato é que as abelhas atuam como polinizadores naturais tanto das espécies nativas como também das cultivadas, promovendo a preservação da biodiversidade e contribuindo com o equilíbrio do ecossistema.  Em sintese o projeto tem como meta a expansão no setor apiário na região da AMOC, e conclui-se ser uma atividade economicamente rentável e ecologicamente prudente, a fim de contribuir para o desenvolvimento, gerando emprego e renda para a regiã

A Merger Tree with Microsolar Mass Resolution: Application to γ\gamma-ray Emission from Subhalo Population

The hierarchical growth of dark matter haloes, in which galaxies are hosted, has been studied and modeled using various approaches. In this paper we use a modified version the Sheth & Lemson algorithm for a $\mathrm{\Lambda}$ cold dark matter power spectrum, and model the growth of a Milky-Way sized halo with microsolar mass resolution, corresponding to the typical Jeans mass for a dark matter Weakly Interacting Massive Particle with mass of 100 GeV. We then compute the \emph{unevolved} subhalo mass function and build-up a Milky-Way halo placing and evolving its satellites. This subhalo population is used to study the $\gamma$-ray emission from dark matter annihilation. In this case, the subhaloes which populate the host halo have been computed considering only progenitor haloes accreted by the main branch of the tree, so as to correctly treat the embedding of sub-subhaloes inside subhaloes. Each subhalo will indeed host atthe present-time sub-subhaloes accreted when it was an isolated system. In order to compute the sub-subhalo population of a Milky-Way dwarf galaxy, like Draco, and to study its $\gamma$-ray emission, we first estimate the Draco virial mass at merging redshift $z_m$ and then we run the merger tree from $z_m$ following the halo down to the dark matter Jeans mass. We then study the effect on the Fermi-LAT (GLAST) detectability for both subhaloes in the Milky-Way and in Draco, and we show how subhaloes cannot be responsible for the boost factor needed for detection.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS - 12 pages, 7 figures. Text improved and comments added. Name of a author fixe

The probability of seizures during EEG monitoring in critically ill adults

Objective: To characterize the risk for seizures over time in relation to EEG findings in hospitalized adults undergoing continuous EEG monitoring (cEEG). Methods: Retrospective analysis of cEEG data and medical records from 625 consecutive adult inpatients monitored at a tertiary medical center. Using survival analysis methods, we estimated the time-dependent probability that a seizure will occur within the next 72-h, if no seizure has occurred yet, as a function of EEG abnormalities detected so far. Results: Seizures occurred in 27% (168/625). The first seizure occurred early (<30 min of monitoring) in 58% (98/168). In 527 patients without early seizures, 159 (30%) had early epileptiform abnormalities, versus 368 (70%) without. Seizures were eventually detected in 25% of patients with early epileptiform discharges, versus 8% without early discharges. The 72-h risk of seizures declined below 5% if no epileptiform abnormalities were present in the first two hours, whereas 16 h of monitoring were required when epileptiform discharges were present. 20% (74/388) of patients without early epileptiform abnormalities later developed them; 23% (17/74) of these ultimately had seizures. Only 4% (12/294) experienced a seizure without preceding epileptiform abnormalities. Conclusions: Seizure risk in acute neurological illness decays rapidly, at a rate dependent on abnormalities detected early during monitoring. This study demonstrates that substantial risk stratification is possible based on early EEG abnormalities. Significance: These findings have implications for patient-specific determination of the required duration of cEEG monitoring in hospitalized patients

Interplay between phosphorylation and palmitoylation mediates plasma membrane targeting and sorting of GAP43.

Phosphorylation and lipidation provide posttranslational mechanisms that contribute to the distribution of cytosolic proteins in growing nerve cells. The growth-associated protein GAP43 is susceptible to both phosphorylation and S-palmitoylation and is enriched in the tips of extending neurites. However, how phosphorylation and lipidation interplay to mediate sorting of GAP43 is unclear. Using a combination of biochemical, genetic, and imaging approaches, we show that palmitoylation is required for membrane association and that phosphorylation at Ser-41 directs palmitoylated GAP43 to the plasma membrane. Plasma membrane association decreased the diffusion constant fourfold in neuritic shafts. Sorting to the neuritic tip required palmitoylation and active transport and was increased by phosphorylation-mediated plasma membrane interaction. Vesicle tracking revealed transient association of a fraction of GAP43 with exocytic vesicles and motion at a fast axonal transport rate. Simulations confirmed that a combination of diffusion, dynamic plasma membrane interaction and active transport of a small fraction of GAP43 suffices for efficient sorting to growth cones. Our data demonstrate a complex interplay between phosphorylation and lipidation in mediating the localization of GAP43 in neuronal cells. Palmitoylation tags GAP43 for global sorting by piggybacking on exocytic vesicles, whereas phosphorylation locally regulates protein mobility and plasma membrane targeting of palmitoylated GAP43

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707