1,601 research outputs found
Bioavailability of Microplastics to Marine Zooplankton: Effect of Shape and Infochemicals
The underlying mechanisms that influence microplastic ingestion in marine zooplankton remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate how microplastics of a variety of shapes (bead, fiber, and fragment), in combination with the algal-derived infochemicals dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), affect the ingestion rate of microplastics in three species of zooplankton, the copepods Calanus helgolandicus and Acartia tonsa and larvae of the European lobster Homarus gammarus. We show that shape affects microplastic bioavailability to different species of zooplankton, with each species ingesting significantly more of a certain shape: C. helgolandicusâfragments (P < 0.05); A. tonsaâfibers (P < 0.01); H. gammarus larvaeâbeads (P < 0.05). Thus, different feeding strategies between species may affect shape selectivity. Our results also showed significantly increased ingestion rates by C. helgolandicus on all microplastics that were infused with DMS (P < 0.01) and by H. gammarus larvae and A. tonsa on DMS-infused fibers and fragments (P < 0.05). By using a range of more environmentally relevant microplastics, our findings highlight how the feeding strategies of different zooplankton species may influence their susceptibility to microplastic ingestion. Furthermore, our novel study suggests that species reliant on chemosensory cues to locate their prey may be at an increased risk of ingesting aged microplastics in the marine environment
International comparison of pressure ulcer measures in long-term care facilities: Assessing the methodological robustness of 4 approaches to point prevalence measurement
INTRODUCTION: Pressure ulcer indicators are among the most frequently used performance measures in long-term care settings. However, measurement systems vary and there is limited knowledge about the international comparability of different measurement systems. The aim of this analysis was to identify possible avenues for international comparisons of data on pressure ulcer prevalence among residents of long-term care facilities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive analysis of the four point prevalence measurement systems programs used in 28 countries on three continents was performed. The criteria for the description and analysis were based on the scientific literature on criteria for indicator selection, on issues in international comparisons of data and on specific challenges of pressure ulcer measurements. RESULTS: The four measurement systems use a prevalence measure based on very similar numerator and denominator definitions. All four measurement systems also collect data on patient mobility. They differ in the pressure ulcer classifications used and the requirements for a head-to-toe resident examination. The regional or country representativeness of long-term care facilities also varies among the four measurement systems. CONCLUSIONS: Methodological differences among the point prevalence measurement systems are an important barrier to reliable comparisons of pressure ulcer prevalence data. The alignment of the methodologies may be improved by implementing changes to the study protocols, such as aligning the classification of pressure ulcers and requirements for a head-to-toe resident skin assessment. The effort required for each change varies. All these elements need to be considered by any initiative to facilitate international comparison and learning
S-wave Meson-Meson Scattering from Unitarized U(3) Chiral Lagrangians
An investigation of the s-wave channels in meson-meson scattering is
performed within a U(3) chiral unitary approach. Our calculations are based on
a chiral effective Lagrangian which includes the eta' as an explicit degree of
freedom and incorporates important features of the underlying QCD Lagrangian
such as the axial U(1) anomaly. We employ a coupled channel Bethe-Salpeter
equation to generate poles from composed states of two pseudoscalar mesons. Our
results are compared with experimental phase shifts up to 1.5 GeV and effects
of the eta' within this scheme are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure
Species-level functional profiling of metagenomes and metatranscriptomes.
Functional profiles of microbial communities are typically generated using comprehensive metagenomic or metatranscriptomic sequence read searches, which are time-consuming, prone to spurious mapping, and often limited to community-level quantification. We developed HUMAnN2, a tiered search strategy that enables fast, accurate, and species-resolved functional profiling of host-associated and environmental communities. HUMAnN2 identifies a community's known species, aligns reads to their pangenomes, performs translated search on unclassified reads, and finally quantifies gene families and pathways. Relative to pure translated search, HUMAnN2 is faster and produces more accurate gene family profiles. We applied HUMAnN2 to study clinal variation in marine metabolism, ecological contribution patterns among human microbiome pathways, variation in species' genomic versus transcriptional contributions, and strain profiling. Further, we introduce 'contributional diversity' to explain patterns of ecological assembly across different microbial community types
The MITRE trial protocol: a study to evaluate the microbiome as a biomarker of efficacy and toxicity in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
BACKGROUND: The gut microbiome is implicated as a marker of response toâ immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) based on preclinical mouse models and preliminary observations in limited patient series. Furthermore, early studies suggest faecal microbial transfer may have therapeutic potential, converting ICI non-responders into responders. So far, identification of specific responsible bacterial taxa has been inconsistent, which limits future application. The MITRE study will explore and validate a microbiome signature in a larger scale prospective study across several different cancer types. METHODS: Melanoma, renal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer patients who are planned to receive standard immune checkpoint inhibitors are being recruited to the MITRE study. Longitudinal stool samples are collected prior to treatment, then at 6âweeks, 3, 6 and 12âmonths during treatment, or at disease progression/recurrence (whichever is sooner), as well as after a severe (â„grade 3 CTCAE v5.0) immune-related adverse event. Additionally, whole blood, plasma, buffy coat, RNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is collected at similar time points and will be used for exploratory analyses. Archival tumour tissue, tumour biopsies at progression/relapse, as well as any biopsies from body organs collected after a severe toxicity are collected. The primary outcome measure is the ability of the microbiome signature to predict 1âyear progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced disease. Secondary outcomes include microbiome correlations with toxicity and other efficacy end-points. Biosamples will be used to explore immunological and genomic correlates. A sub-study will evaluate both COVID-19 antigen and antibody associations with the microbiome. DISCUSSION: There is an urgent need to identify biomarkers that are predictive of treatment response, resistance and toxicity to immunotherapy. The data generated from this study will both help inform patient selection for these drugs and provide information that may allow therapeutic manipulation of the microbiome to improve future patient outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04107168 , ClinicalTrials.gov, registered 09/27/2019. Protocol V3.2 (16/04/2021)
Second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls 2016
CEH contract report to the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) UK
Relationship between depression and frailty in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Aim
Depression and frailty are prevalent and burdensome in older age. However, the relationships between these entities are unclear and no quantitative meta-analysis exists. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the associations between depression and frailty.
Methods
Two authors searched major electronic databases from inception until November-2016 for cross- sectional/longitudinal studies investigating depression and frailty. The strength of the reciprocal associations between frailty and depression was assessed through odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for potential confounders.
Results
From 2306 non duplicated hits, 24 studies were included. The overall prevalence of depression in 8023 people with frailty was 38.60% (95% CI 30.07 to 47.10, I2=94%). Those with frailty were at increased odds of having depression (OR adjusted for publication bias 4.42, 95%CI 2.66-7.35, k=11), also after adjusting for potential confounders (OR=2.64; 95%CI: 1.59-4.37, I2=55%, k=4). The prevalence of frailty in 2167 people with depression was 40.40% (95%CI 27.00-55.30, I2=97%). People with depression were at increased odds of having frailty (OR=4.07, 95%CI 1.93-8.55, k=8). The pooled OR for incident frailty, adjusted for a median of 7 confounders, was 3.72 (95%CI 1.95-7.08, I2=98%, k=4), whilst in two studies frailty increased the risk of incident depression with an OR=1.90 (95%CI 1.55-2.32, I2=0%).
Conclusion
This meta-analysis points to a reciprocal interaction between depression and frailty in older adults. Specifically, each condition is associated with an increased prevalence and incidence of the other, and may be a risk factor for the development of the other. However, further prospective investigations are warranted
Neonatal Glycemia and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2 Years
From McKinlay, C. J. D., Alsweiler, J. M., Ansell, J. M., Anstice, N. S., Chase, J. G., Gamble, G. D., ⊠Harding, J. E. (2015). Neonatal Glycemia and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2 Years. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(16), 1507â1518. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1504909 Copyright © 2015 Massachusetts Medical Society. Reprinted with permission.Neonatal hypoglycemia is a common and readily treatable risk factor for neurologic impairment in children. Although associations between prolonged symptomatic neonatal hypoglycemia and brain injury are well established,1 the effect of milder hypoglycemia on neurologic development is uncertain.2 Consequently, large numbers of newborns are screened and treated for low blood glucose concentrations, which involves heel-stick blood tests, substantial costs, and the possibility of iatrogenic harm. Under current guidelines,3 up to 30% of neonates are considered to be at risk for hypoglycemia, 15% receive a diagnosis of hypoglycemia, and approximately 10% require admission to a neonatal intensive care unit,4 costing an estimated $2.1 billion annually in the United States alone.5 Associated formula feeding and possible separation of mother and baby reduce breast-feeding rates,6 with potentially adverse effects on broader infant health and development. In addition, pain-induced stress in neonates, such as repeated heel sticks, may itself impair brain development.7 Thus, to determine appropriate glycemic thresholds for treatment, there have been repeated calls for studies of the effect of neonatal hypoglycemia on long-term development.2,8 We report the results of the Children with Hypoglycaemia and Their Later Development (CHYLD) study, a large prospective cohort study of term and late-preterm neonates born at risk for hypoglycemia. The study investigated the relation between the duration, frequency, and severity of low glucose concentrations in the neonatal period and neuropsychological development at 2 years.Supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD069622), the Health Research Council of New Zealand (10-399), and the Auckland Medical Research Foundation (1110009)
Molecular Epidemiology of Canine Parvovirus, Europe
Canine parvovirus (CPV), which causes hemorrhagic enteritis in dogs, has 3 antigenic variants: types 2a, 2b, and 2c. Molecular method assessment of the distribution of the CPV variants in Europe showed that the new variant CPV-2c is widespread in Europe and that the viruses are distributed in different countries
Second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls 2017
CEH contract report to the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) UK. A wide range of avian and mammalian predators and scavengers in rural Britain is known to be exposed
to Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs). The barn owl Tyto alba is a sentinel for
species that are generalist predators of small mammals in rural areas in the UK and monitoring of liver
SGAR residues in barn owls has been adopted as an element of the monitoring undertaken as part of
anticoagulant rodenticide stewardship. Monitoring of liver SGAR residues in some 100 barn owls per
year is conducted in support of stewardship and annually collected data are compared with those from
395 barn owls that died between 2006 and 2012 (hereafter termed baseline years), prior to the 2016
changes in anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) authorisations and onset of stewardship.
The rationale for using data on SGAR residues in barn owls that died between 2006 and 2012 as a
baseline was that all measurements had been made using the same analytical techniques, there had
been little clear change in exposure over that time period, and the data were the most recent available.
The aim of the current study was to measure SGAR exposure in barn owls in 2017.
As in the baseline years, the compounds detected most frequently in barn owls that died in 2017 were
bromadiolone, difenacoum and brodifacoum. Overall, 90% of the owls had detectable liver residues of
one or more SGAR.
The metrics to be used for stewardship monitoring are reported below in terms of differences between
owls that died in 2017 and in baseline years.
Numbers of barn owls containing detectable residues of flocoumafen and difethialone.
There was no significant difference in the proportion of barn owls with detectable liver
residues of either flocoumafen or difethialone between the baseline years and 2017.
The ratio of birds with âlowâ (100 ng/g wet wt.)
concentrations for any single SGAR or for âSGARs. There was no significant difference
between barn owls from baseline years and from 2017 for any individual compound or
for summed SGARs (âSGARs)
Average concentrations of brodifacoum, difenacoum, bromadiolone and âSGARs in the
cohort of owls with âlowâ residues (100 ng/g
wet wt.). There was no significant difference between barn owls from baseline years and
from 2017 in the concentrations of either âlowâ or âhighâ residues for bromadiolone,
difenacoum and brodifacoum, or for all residues summed (âSGARs). Although not
statistically significant, the median and 75th percentile values of âlow residuesâ of most
compounds and âSGARs were lower in 2017 [and 2016] than in the baseline years
Overall, the lack of statistically significant differences in SGAR accumulation by barn owls in 2017
compared within baseline years suggests that full implementation of stewardship since 2016 has yet
to be reflected by a detectable general reduction in exposure of barn owls
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