Heterogeneous reactions of particulate matter-bound PAHs and NPAHs with NO3/N2O5, OH radicals, and O3 under simulated long-range atmospheric transport conditions: reactivity and mutagenicity.

The heterogeneous reactions of ambient particulate matter (PM)-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) with NO3/N2O5, OH radicals, and O3 were studied in a laboratory photochemical chamber. Ambient PM2.5 and PM10 samples were collected from Beijing, China, and Riverside, California, and exposed under simulated atmospheric long-range transport conditions for O3 and OH and NO3 radicals. Changes in the masses of 23 PAHs and 20 NPAHs, as well as the direct and indirect-acting mutagenicity of the PM (determined using the Salmonella mutagenicity assay with TA98 strain), were measured prior to and after exposure to NO3/N2O5, OH radicals, and O3. In general, O3 exposure resulted in the highest relative degradation of PM-bound PAHs with more than four rings (benzo[a]pyrene was degraded equally well by O3 and NO3/N2O5). However, NPAHs were most effectively formed during the Beijing PM exposure to NO3/N2O5. In ambient air, 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NF) is formed from the gas-phase NO3 radical- and OH radical-initiated reactions of fluoranthene, and 2-nitropyrene (2-NP) is formed from the gas-phase OH radical-initiated reaction of pyrene. There was no formation of 2-NF or 2-NP in any of the heterogeneous exposures, suggesting that gas-phase formation of NPAHs did not play an important role during chamber exposures. Exposure of Beijing PM to NO3/N2O5 resulted in an increase in direct-acting mutagenic activity which was associated with the formation of mutagenic NPAHs. No NPAH formation was observed in any of the exposures of the Riverside PM. This was likely due to the accumulation of atmospheric degradation products from gas-phase reactions of volatile species onto the surface of PM collected in Riverside prior to exposure in the chamber, thus decreasing the availability of PAHs for reaction

Becoming an Older Volunteer: A Grounded Theory Study

This Grounded Theory study describes the process by which older persons “become” volunteers. Forty interviews of older persons who volunteered for Habitat for Humanity were subjected to secondary content analysis to uncover the process of “becoming” a volunteer. “Helping out” (core category) for older volunteers occurs within the context of “continuity”, “commitment” and “connection” which provide motivation for volunteering. When a need arises, older volunteers “help out” physically and financially as health and resources permit. Benefits described as “blessings” of volunteering become motivators for future volunteering. Findings suggest that older volunteering is a developmental process and learned behavior which should be fostered in older persons by personally inviting them to volunteer. Intergenerational volunteering projects will allow older persons to pass on knowledge and skills and provide positive role modeling for younger volunteers

Eating disorder outcomes : findings from a rapid review of over a decade of research

Background Eating disorders (ED), especially Anorexia Nervosa (AN), are internationally reported to have amongst the highest mortality and suicide rates in mental health. With limited evidence for current pharmacological and/or psychological treatments, there is a grave responsibility within health research to better understand outcomes for people with a lived experience of ED, factors and interventions that may reduce the detrimental impact of illness and to optimise recovery. This paper aims to synthesise the literature on outcomes for people with ED, including rates of remission, recovery and relapse, diagnostic crossover, and mortality. Methods This paper forms part of a Rapid Review series scoping the evidence for the field of ED, conducted to inform the Australian National Eating Disorders Research and Translation Strategy 2021–2031, funded and released by the Australian Government. ScienceDirect, PubMed and Ovid/MEDLINE were searched for studies published between 2009 and 2022 in English. High-level evidence such as meta-analyses, large population studies and Randomised Controlled Trials were prioritised through purposive sampling. Data from selected studies relating to outcomes for people with ED were synthesised and are disseminated in the current review. Results Of the over 1320 studies included in the Rapid Review, the proportion of articles focused on outcomes in ED was relatively small, under 9%. Most evidence was focused on the diagnostic categories of AN, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder, with limited outcome studies in other ED diagnostic groups. Factors such as age at presentation, gender, quality of life, the presence of co-occurring psychiatric and/or medical conditions, engagement in treatment and access to relapse prevention programs were associated with outcomes across diagnoses, including mortality rates. Conclusion Results are difficult to interpret due to inconsistent study definitions of remission, recovery and relapse, lack of longer-term follow-up and the potential for diagnostic crossover. Overall, there is evidence of low rates of remission and high risk of mortality, despite evidence-based treatments, especially for AN. It is strongly recommended that research in long-term outcomes, and the factors that influence better outcomes, using more consistent variables and methodologies, is prioritised for people with ED

Improved Alere Determine Lipoarabinomannan Antigen Detection Test for the Diagnosis of Human and Bovine Tuberculosis by Manipulating Urine and Milk

Tuberculosis (TB) disease still kills 1-person every 21-seconds. Few TB diagnostic tests are considered truly appropriate for point of care settings. The WHO-endorsed immunodiagnostic Alere Determine Lipoarabinomannan Ag-test (LAM-test) detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex LAM in urine, and its use is recommended for TB diagnosis among HIV co-infected individuals with low CD4 T-cell counts. Here we found that a simple 15-minute enzymatic treatment at room temperature of LAM-spiked urine with \xCE\xB1-mannosidase (for human TB), and LAM-spiked milk with combined lactase and caseinase (for bovine TB), enhanced 10-fold the detection levels of the LAM-test and thus, improved the detection of LAM by the LAM-test in urine and milk that otherwise could be missed in the field. Future separate clinical research studies specifically designed to address the potential of these findings are required

Vascular endothelial growth factor is an important determinant of sepsis morbidity and mortality

Sepsis, the systemic inflammatory response to infection, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms of sepsis pathophysiology remain obscure but are likely to involve a complex interplay between mediators of the inflammatory and coagulation pathways. An improved understanding of these mechanisms should provide an important foundation for developing novel therapies. In this study, we show that sepsis is associated with a time-dependent increase in circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (PlGF) in animal and human models of sepsis. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of soluble Flt-1 (sFlt-1) in a mouse model of endotoxemia attenuated the rise in VEGF and PlGF levels and blocked the effect of endotoxemia on cardiac function, vascular permeability, and mortality. Similarly, in a cecal ligation puncture (CLP) model, adenovirus–sFlt-1 protected against cardiac dysfunction and mortality. When administered in a therapeutic regimen beginning 1 h after the onset of endotoxemia or CLP, sFlt peptide resulted in marked improvement in cardiac physiology and survival. Systemic administration of antibodies against the transmembrane receptor Flk-1 but not Flt-1 protected against sepsis mortality. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of VEGF but not PlGF exacerbated the lipopolysaccharide-mediated toxic effects. Together, these data support a pathophysiological role for VEGF in mediating the sepsis phenotype

Abiotic Stress‐Related Expressed Sequence Tags from the Diploid Strawberry Fragaria vesca

Strawberry ( spp.) is a eudicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Rosaceae family, which includes other agronomically important plants such as raspberry ( L.) and several tree-fruit species. Despite the vital role played by cultivated strawberry in agriculture, few stress-related gene expression characterizations of this crop are available. To increase the diversity of available transcriptome sequence, we produced 41,430 L. expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from plants growing under water-, temperature-, and osmotic-stress conditions as well as a combination of heat and osmotic stresses that is often found in irrigated fields. Clustering and assembling of the ESTs resulted in a total of 11,836 contigs and singletons that were annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Furthermore, over 1200 sequences with no match to available Rosaceae ESTs were found, including six that were assigned the “response to stress” GO category. Analysis of EST frequency provided an estimate of steady state transcript levels, with 91 sequences exhibiting at least a 20-fold difference between treatments. This EST collection represents a useful resource to advance our understanding of the abiotic stress-response mechanisms in strawberry. The sequence information may be translated to valuable tree crops in the Rosaceae family, where whole-plant treatments are not as simple or practical

Evidence that breast cancer risk at the 2q35 locus is mediated through IGFBP5 regulation.

GWAS have identified a breast cancer susceptibility locus on 2q35. Here we report the fine mapping of this locus using data from 101,943 subjects from 50 case-control studies. We genotype 276 SNPs using the 'iCOGS' genotyping array and impute genotypes for a further 1,284 using 1000 Genomes Project data. All but two, strongly correlated SNPs (rs4442975 G/T and rs6721996 G/A) are excluded as candidate causal variants at odds against >100:1. The best functional candidate, rs4442975, is associated with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) disease with an odds ratio (OR) in Europeans of 0.85 (95% confidence interval=0.84-0.87; P=1.7 × 10(-43)) per t-allele. This SNP flanks a transcriptional enhancer that physically interacts with the promoter of IGFBP5 (encoding insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5) and displays allele-specific gene expression, FOXA1 binding and chromatin looping. Evidence suggests that the g-allele confers increased breast cancer susceptibility through relative downregulation of IGFBP5, a gene with known roles in breast cell biology

Heterogeneous Reactions of PM-Bound PAHs and NPAHs with NO₃/N₂O₅, OH Radicals, and O₃ under Simulated Long-Range Atmospheric Transport Conditions: Reactivity and Mutagenicity

The heterogeneous reactions of ambient particulate matter (PM)-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) with NO₃/N₂O₅, OH radicals, and O₃ were studied in a laboratory photochemical chamber. Ambient PM[subscript 2.5] and PM₁₀ samples were collected from Beijing, China and Riverside, California, and exposed under simulated atmospheric long-range transport conditions for O₃ and OH and NO₃ radicals. Changes in the masses of 23 PAHs and 20 NPAHs, as well as the direct and indirect-acting mutagenicity of the PM (determined using the Salmonella mutagenicity assay with TA98 strain), were measured prior to and after exposure to NO₃/N₂O₅, OH radicals, and O₃. In general, O₃ exposure resulted in the highest relative degradation of PM-bound PAHs with more than four rings (benzo[a]pyrene was degraded equally well by O₃ and NO₃/N₂O₅). However, NPAHs were most effectively formed during the Beijing PM exposure to NO₃/N₂O₅. In ambient air 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NF) is formed from gas-phase NO₃ radical- and OH radical-initiated reactions of fluoranthene, and 2-nitropyrene (2-NP) is formed from gas-phase OH radical-initiated reaction of pyrene. There was no formation of 2-NF or 2-NP in any of the heterogeneous exposures, suggesting that gas-phase formation of NPAHs did not play an important role during chamber exposures. Exposure of Beijing PM to NO₃/N₂O₅ resulted in an increase in direct-acting mutagenic activity which was associated with the formation of mutagenic NPAHs. No NPAH formation was observed in any of the exposures of the Riverside PM. This was likely due to the accumulation of atmospheric degradation products from gas phase reactions of volatile species onto the surface of PM collected in Riverside prior to exposure in the chamber, thus decreasing the availability of PAHs for reaction