Extending the applicability of the dose addition model to the assessment of chemical mixtures of partial agonists by using a novel toxic unit extrapolation method

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Dose addition, a commonly used concept in toxicology for the prediction of chemical mixture effects, cannot readily be applied to mixtures of partial agonists with differing maximal effects. Due to its mathematical features, effect levels that exceed the maximal effect of the least efficacious compound present in the mixture, cannot be calculated. This poses problems when dealing with mixtures likely to be encountered in realistic assessment situations where chemicals often show differing maximal effects. To overcome this limitation, we developed a pragmatic solution that extrapolates the toxic units of partial agonists to effect levels beyond their maximal efficacy. We extrapolated different additivity expectations that reflect theoretically possible extremes and validated this approach with a mixture of 21 estrogenic chemicals in the E-Screen. This assay measures the proliferation of human epithelial breast cancers. We found that the dose-response curves of the estrogenic agents exhibited widely varying shapes, slopes and maximal effects, which made it necessary to extrapolate mixture responses above 14% proliferation. Our toxic unit extrapolation approach predicted all mixture responses accurately. It extends the applicability of dose addition to combinations of agents with differing saturating effects and removes an important bottleneck that has severely hampered the use of dose addition in the past. © 2014 Scholze et al

Towards an analytical framework of science communication models

This chapter reviews the discussion in science communication circles of models for public communication of science and technology (PCST). It questions the claim that there has been a large-scale shift from a ‘deficit model’ of communication to a ‘dialogue model’, and it demonstrates the survival of the deficit model along with the ambiguities of that model. Similar discussions in related fields of communication, including the critique of dialogue, are briefly sketched. Outlining the complex circumstances governing approaches to PCST, the author argues that communications models often perceived to be opposed can, in fact, coexist when the choices are made explicit. To aid this process, the author proposes an analytical framework of communication models based on deficit, dialogue and participation, including variations on each

Overstating the evidence - double counting in meta-analysis and related problems

Background: The problem of missing studies in meta-analysis has received much attention. Less attention has been paid to the more serious problem of double counting of evidence. Methods: Various problems in overstating the precision of results from meta-analyses are described and illustrated with examples, including papers from leading medical journals. These problems include, but are not limited to, simple double-counting of the same studies, double counting of some aspects of the studies, inappropriate imputation of results, and assigning spurious precision to individual studies. Results: Some suggestions are made as to how the quality and reliability of meta-analysis can be improved. It is proposed that the key to quality in meta-analysis lies in the results being transparent and checkable. Conclusions: Existing quality check lists for meta-analysis do little to encourage an appropriate attitude to combining evidence and to statistical analysis. Journals and other relevant organisations should encourage authors to make data available and make methods explicit. They should also act promptly to withdraw meta-analyses when mistakes are found

Associations between health-related quality of life, physical function and fear of falling in older fallers receiving home care

Falls and injuries in older adults have significant consequences and costs, both personal and to society. Although having a high incidence of falls, high prevalence of fear of falling and a lower quality of life, older adults receiving home care are underrepresented in research on older fallers. The objective of this study is to determine the associations between health-related quality of life (HRQOL), fear of falling and physical function in older fallers receiving home care

Preliminary evidence of reductive stress in human cytotoxic T-cells following exercise

This study investigated immunophenotypic differences in intracellular thiol redox state of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from trained (TR, n=9, mean {plus minus} SD: age 28 {plus minus} 5 years; BMI 23.2 {plus minus} 2.6 kg·m2; VO2max 56.9 {plus minus} 6.1 ml·kg-1·min-1) and recreationally active (RA, n=11, mean {plus minus} SD: age 27 {plus minus} 6 years; BMI 24.2 {plus minus} 3.7 kg·m2; VO2max 45.1 {plus minus} 6.4 ml·kg-1·min-1) participants before and after a maximal aerobic exercise tolerance test. Blood samples were taken before (PRE), during (sample acquired at 70% HRmax), immediately (POST+0) and 15 minutes post-exercise (POST+15). PBMCs were isolated and reduced thiol analysis (fluorescein-5 maleimide (F5M)) by immunophenotype (CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+) was performed using flow cytometry. A significant increase in cellular F5M fluorescence was observed in CD3+ T-cells at POST+0, with changes driven to a greater extent by CD8+ T-cells (fold change in both groups CD4: +2.3, CD8: +2.8; p<0.05). Further analysis revealed a population of highly reduced CD8+ T-cells (CD8+T-reduced+) that significantly increased from PRE to POST+0 in RA participants only (RA: +272 cell/µL, p<0.05). To further understand these results, CD8+T-reduced+ and CD8+T-reduced- cells were analysed for immunophenotype in response to the same exercise protocol (n=6, mean {plus minus} SD: age 24 {plus minus} 5 years; BMI 25.7 {plus minus} 4.1 kg·m-2; VO2max 41.33 {plus minus} 7.63 ml·kg-1·min-1). CD8+T-reduced+ had significantly less lymphoid homing potential (CCR7) POST+0 compared to PRE. This study is the first to demonstrate that lymphocyte populations become more reductive in response to acute exercise

A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household's Welfare in Rural Rwanda

More than 1.3 billion people in developing countries are lacking access to electricity. Based on the assumption that electricity is a prerequisite for human development, the United Nations initiative Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) has proclaimed the goal of providing modern energy to all by 2030. In recent years, Pico-Photovoltaic kits have become a lower-cost alternative to investment-intensive grid electrification. Using a randomized controlled trial we examine uptake and impacts of a simple Pico-Photovoltaic kit that barely exceeds the benchmark of what the UN considers as modern energy. We find significant effects on households' budget, productivity and convenience. Despite these effects, the data shows that adoption will be impeded by affordability, suggesting that policy would have to consider more direct promotion strategies such as subsidies or financing schemes to reach the UN goal

Infection Parameters in the Sand Fly Vector That Predict Transmission of Leishmania major

To identify parameters of Leishmania infection within a population of infected sand flies that reliably predict subsequent transmission to the mammalian host, we sampled groups of infected flies and compared infection intensity and degree of metacyclogenesis with the frequency of transmission. The percentage of parasites within the midgut that were metacyclic promastigotes had the highest correlation with the frequency of transmission. Meta-analysis of multiple transmission experiments allowed us to establish a percent-metacyclic “cutoff” value that predicted transmission competence. Sand fly infections initiated with variable doses of parasites resulted in correspondingly altered percentages of metacyclic promastigotes, resulting in altered transmission frequency and disease severity. Lastly, alteration of sand fly oviposition status and environmental conditions at the time of transmission also influenced transmission frequency. These observations have implications for transmission of Leishmania by the sand fly vector in both the laboratory and in nature, including how the number of organisms acquired by the sand fly from an infection reservoir may influence the clinical outcome of infection following transmission by bite

“Excellence R Us”: university research and the fetishisation of excellence

The rhetoric of “excellence” is pervasive across the academy. It is used to refer to research outputs as well as researchers, theory and education, individuals and organisations, from art history to zoology. But does “excellence” actually mean anything? Does this pervasive narrative of “excellence” do any good? Drawing on a range of sources we interrogate “excellence” as a concept and find that it has no intrinsic meaning in academia. Rather it functions as a linguistic interchange mechanism. To investigate whether this linguistic function is useful we examine how the rhetoric of excellence combines with narratives of scarcity and competition to show that the hypercompetition that arises from the performance of “excellence” is completely at odds with the qualities of good research. We trace the roots of issues in reproducibility, fraud, and homophily to this rhetoric. But we also show that this rhetoric is an internal, and not primarily an external, imposition. We conclude by proposing an alternative rhetoric based on soundness and capacity-building. In the final analysis, it turns out that that “excellence” is not excellent. Used in its current unqualified form it is a pernicious and dangerous rhetoric that undermines the very foundations of good research and scholarship

Development and validation of A quasi-dimensional model for (M)Ethanol-Fuelled SI engines

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE - The use of methanol and ethanol in spark-ignition engines forms an interesting approach to decarbonizing transport and securing domestic energy supply. Experimental work has produced promising results, however, the full potential of light alcohols in modern engine technology remains to be explored. Today, this can be addressed at low cost using system simulations of the whole engine, provided that the employed models account for the effect of the fuel on engine operation. The goal of current work is to develop an engine cycle model that can accurately predict performance, efficiency, pollutant emissions and knock onset in state-of-the-art neat alcohol engines. METHODOLOGY - Two-zone thermodynamic engine modeling, in combination with 1D gas dynamics, is put forward as a useful tool for cheap and fast optimization of engines. Typically, this model class derives the mass burning rate of fuel from turbulent combustion models. A fundamental building block of turbulent combustion models is an expression for the laminar burning velocity of the fuel-air-residuals mixture at instantaneous cylinder pressure and temperature. This physicochemical property basically groups the contribution of the chemical reactions (of the fuel) to combustion. Consequently, an important part of our study consisted of calculating (using chemical kinetics) and measuring the laminar burning velocity of methanol and ethanol at engine-like conditions. In order to validate the developed engine model, its predictions were compared against a database of experimental results obtained on three different flex-fuel and dedicated alcohol engines. RESULTS - Comparison of the experimental and simulated cylinder, intake and exhaust pressure traces confirmed the predictive power of our engine model for methanol-fuelled engines. A wide variety of engine operating points were accurately reproduced thanks to a new laminar burning velocity correlation, which correctly accounts for changes in pressure, temperature, mixture richness and residual ratio. The Flame Closure Model of Zimont-Lipatnikov emerged as the most widely applicable model from a comparison of several turbulent combustion models. With regard to the gas dynamics it proved necessary to include a fuel puddling submodel to take the cooling effect due to alcohol injection into consideration. LIMITATIONS - The developed model was successfully validated for normal combustion in port-injected neat methanol engines. The validation of the routines for ethanol combustion and engines with direct injection is part of ongoing work. Now that normal combustion can be accurately simulated, further work will look at the prediction of pollutant emissions and knock onset in these engines. NOVELTY - This paper presents the first recent attempt to model the application of neat alcohols in modern and anticipated future engine technologies. Compared to previous work the effects of in-cylinder and mixture conditions on the combustion are more accurately predicted thanks to the inclusion of a new and widely validated laminar burning velocity correlation. In contrast to other studies, the current experimental database also includes measurements on turbocharged, high compression ratio engines with elevated amounts of EGR, which is representative of future dedicated alcohol engines. CONCLUSIONS - The current work focused on adapting the various submodels of quasi-dimensional engine codes to the properties of light alcohols. The developed simulation tools can be used with confidence to optimize current and future engines running on neat methanol and ethanol. This work also forms the starting point for an extension of the modelling concepts to alcohol-gasoline blends, which hold more industrial relevance