1,062 research outputs found
Evaluating cycling programs for 10- to 14-year-old children
Children between the age of 10 to 14 increasingl.y use their bik.e as a means of transport. Unfortunately, they still show deficits in competencies needed for safe traffic participation ( e.g. erratic attention or self-awareness ). This is reflected in an increase in the risk of accidents involving bicylces for 10-to 14-year-olds: 56.8% of 10- to 14-year-old children who have bad road traffic accidents in 2020, had bicycle accidents.
In Germany, there are various programs to improve bicycle safety for children. In contrast to the ,,FahrradfĂŒhrerschein' (bicycle driving license which usually takes place in fourth grade), programs for 10 to 14 year-olds are less standardized and various offers exist. There has been no evaluation on the quality of these programs yet.
Therefore, we developed an evaluation standard for programs that aim to improve cycling safety for 10-to 14- year-olds. To do so, a catalogue of criteria was developed which helps describe and evaluate cycling projects for children in this age group. We then evaluated existing projects and collected them in a web-based database.
Our aim is to provide a gu.ideline to evaluating cycling safety programs for 10-to 14-year-olds and to offer an overview about various existing programs
An alternative for agriculture at Lake Alaotra, Madagascar: organic fertilizer and soil amendment from the invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
In the context of a globally increasing human population coupled with continuous environmental degradation, eco-friendly agricultural innovations are essential to reduce poverty and food insecurity in the world. This is particularly evident in developing countries where nature conservation and agricultural production remain in conflict. We investigated the effectiveness of using a locally free natural resource, the invasive plant species water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), as a source for organic fertilizer and soil amendment (composts, green manure and ash) at Lake Alaotra, one of the most important agricultural areas of Madagascar. Five different products were produced under the local conditions of Lake Alaotra. In addition, we conducted a growth experiment with Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis) to evaluate the effectiveness of the water hyacinth products in comparison to the mineral fertilizer NPKânitrogen, phosphorous, potassiumâand to cow dung. The results of our study show that it was easily possible to produce water hyacinth fertilizer/soil amendment under the remote conditions of Lake Alaotra. In addition, our results show that a higher biomass gain of Chinese cabbage treated with water hyacinth composts was achieved compared to NPK and cow dung. A higher biomass gain was mainly obtained due to an improvement of soil structure after compost addition. Water hyacinth green manure and ash showed low performance. Besides, applying composts was cheaper than buying NPK or cow dung. Our results show that water hyacinth can serve as a fertilizer and soil amendment and could help to improve agriculture at Lake Alaotra. RĂ©sumĂ©Dans un contexte dâaccroissement mondial de la population humaine couplĂ© dâune dĂ©gradation continue de lâenvironnement, les innovations agriculturales respectueuses de lâenvironnement sont essentielles pour rĂ©duire la pauvretĂ© et lâinsĂ©curitĂ© alimentaire mondiale. Cette situation est particuliĂšrement Ă©vidente au niveau des pays en voie de dĂ©veloppement oĂč la conservation de la nature et la production agricole sont en constant conflit. Nous avons Ă©tudiĂ© lâefficacitĂ© de lâusage dâune ressource naturelle locale, la plante envahissante jacinthe dâeau (Eichhornia crassipes) comme source de fertilisant organique (composts, engrais vert et cendre) au niveau du Lac Alaotra, une des plus importantes zones agricoles de Madagascar. Cinq types de fertilisants ont Ă©tĂ© produits Ă partir de la jacinthe dâeau selon les conditions locales du Lac Alaotra. De plus, nous avons conduit une expĂ©rience avec le chou de chine (Brassica rapa, ssp. chinensis) pour Ă©valuer les performances des fertilisants de la jacinthe dâeau en comparaison avec les fertilisants locaux NPK (11% dâazote, 22% de phosphore et 16% de potassium) et le fumier de bĂ©tail. Nos rĂ©sultats montrent que la production de fertilisants Ă partir de la jacinthe dâeau et son usage pour lâamendement du sol sont possibles et faciles Ă rĂ©aliser dans les conditions locales. De plus, un gain de biomasse important a Ă©tĂ© observĂ© avec les choux traitĂ©s avec les composts de jacinthe dâeau en comparaison avec le NPK et le fumier de bĂ©tail. Lâimportant gain de biomasse est certainement dĂ» Ă lâamĂ©lioration de la structure du sol aprĂšs lâapplication du compost. Lâengrais vert et les cendres de jacinthe dâeau ont montrĂ© cependant de maigres performances. De plus, lâutilisation du compost est moins chĂšre par rapport Ă celle du NPK et du fumier de bĂ©tail. Nos rĂ©sultats montrent que la jacinthe dâeau peut ĂȘtre appliquĂ©e en tant que fertilisant et pour lâamendement du sol, et par consĂ©quent peut contribuer Ă lâamĂ©lioration de lâagriculture au niveau du Lac Alaotra
Identification of a putatively novel trichomonad species in the intestine of a common quail (Coturnix coturnix)
AbstractA common quail (Coturnix coturnix) from a private keeping died unexpectedly and showed a moderate lymphocytic infiltration of the colonic mucosa associated with numerous protozoa-like objects at the pathological examination. These organisms were further identified using chromogenic in situ hybridization (ISH) and gene sequencing. ISH was performed on paraffin embedded tissue sections and produced a positive signal using a probe specific for the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene of the order Trichomonadida, but remained negative with probes specific for the 18S rRNA gene of the common bird parasites Histomonas meleagridis, Tetratrichomonas gallinarum or Trichomonas gallinae. The trichomonads were found on the mucosal surface, inside the crypts and also immigrating into the lamina propria mucosae. DNA was extracted from the paraffin embedded tissue and the entire 18S rRNA gene, ITS-1 region, 5.8S rRNA gene, ITS-2 region and a part of the 28S rRNA gene were sequenced using primer walking. The acquired sequence showed 95% homology with Tritrichomonas foetus, a trichomonad never described in birds. A phylogenetic analysis of a part of the 18S rRNA gene or of the ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 region clearly placed this nucleotide sequence within the family of Tritrichomonadidae. Therefore, the authors propose the detection of a putative new Tritrichomonas sp. in the intestine of a common quail
Phenethylamine-derived new psychoactive substances 2C-E-FLY, 2C-EF-FLY, and 2C-T-7-FLY: Investigations on their metabolic fate including isoenzyme activities and their toxicological detectability in urine screenings
Psychoactive substances of the 2Câseries are phenethylamineâbased designer drugs that can induce psychostimulant and hallucinogenic effects. The soâcalled 2CâFLY series contains rigidified methoxy groups integrated in a 2,3,6,7âtetrahydrobenzo[1,2âb:4,5âb']difuran core. The aim of the presented work was to investigate the in vivo and in vitro metabolic fate including isoenzyme activities and toxicological detectability of the three new psychoactive substances (NPS) 2CâEâFLY, 2CâEFâFLY, and 2CâTâ7âFLY to allow clinical and forensic toxicologists the identification of these novel compounds. Rat urine, after oral administration, and pooled human liver S9 fraction (pS9) incubations were analyzed by liquid chromatographyâhighâresolution tandem mass spectrometry (LCâHRMS/MS). By performing activity screenings, the human isoenzymes involved were identified and toxicological detectability in rat urine investigated using standard urine screening approaches (SUSAs) based on gas chromatography (GC)âMS, LCâMSn, and LCâHRMS/MS. In total, 32 metabolites were tentatively identified. Main metabolic steps consisted of hydroxylation and Nâacetylation. Phase I metabolic reactions were catalyzed by CYP2D6, 3A4, and FMO3 and Nâacetylation by NAT1 and NAT2. Methoxyamine was used as a trapping agent for detection of the deaminated metabolite formed by MAOâA and B. Interindividual differences in the metabolism of the 2CâFLY drugs could be caused by polymorphisms of enzymes involved or drugâdrug interactions. All three SUSAs were shown to be suitable to detect an intake of these NPS but common metabolites of 2CâEâFLY and 2CâEFâFLY have to be considered during interpretation of analytical findings
RootPainter3D: Interactive-machine-learning enables rapid and accurate contouring for radiotherapy
Organ-at-risk contouring is still a bottleneck in radiotherapy, with many
deep learning methods falling short of promised results when evaluated on
clinical data. We investigate the accuracy and time-savings resulting from the
use of an interactive-machine-learning method for an organ-at-risk contouring
task. We compare the method to the Eclipse contouring software and find strong
agreement with manual delineations, with a dice score of 0.95. The annotations
created using corrective-annotation also take less time to create as more
images are annotated, resulting in substantial time savings compared to manual
methods, with hearts that take 2 minutes and 2 seconds to delineate on average,
after 923 images have been delineated, compared to 7 minutes and 1 seconds when
delineating manually. Our experiment demonstrates that
interactive-machine-learning with corrective-annotation provides a fast and
accessible way for non computer-scientists to train deep-learning models to
segment their own structures of interest as part of routine clinical workflows.
Source code is available at
\href{https://github.com/Abe404/RootPainter3D}{this HTTPS URL}
Circulating cell adhesion molecules in metabolically healthy obesity
Background/Objectives
People with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) may still have an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality compared to metabolically healthy lean (MHL) individuals. However, the mechanisms linking obesity to cardiovascular diseases are not entirely understood. We therefore tested the hypothesis that circulating cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are higher in MHO compared to MHL individuals.
Subjects/Methods
Serum concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), E-selectin and P-selectin were measured in age- and sex-matched groups of MHL (nâ=â32), MHO categorized into BMI-matched insulin sensitive (IS, nâ=â32) or insulin resistant (IR) obesity (nâ=â32) and people with metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO, nâ=â32).
Results
Indeed, individuals with MHO have significantly higher sICAM-1, E-selectin, and P-selectin serum concentrations compared to MHL people. However, these CAMs are still significantly lower in IS compared to IR MHO. There was no difference between the groups in sVCAM-1 serum concentrations. Compared to all other groups, circulating adhesion molecules were significantly higher in individuals with MUO.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that obesity-related increased cardiovascular risk is reflected and may be mediated by significantly higher CAMs. The mechanisms causing elevated adhesion molecules even in the absence of overt cardio-metabolic risk factors and whether circulating CAMs could predict cardiovascular events need to be explored
Group 2i Isochrysidales produce characteristic alkenones reflecting sea ice distribution
Alkenones are biomarkers produced solely by algae in the order Isochrysidales that have
been used to reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST) since the 1980s. However, alkenone based SST reconstructions in the northern high latitude oceans show significant bias towards
warmer temperatures in core-tops, diverge from other SST proxies in down core records, and
are often accompanied by anomalously high relative abundance of the C37 tetra-unsaturated
methyl alkenone (%C37:4). Elevated %C37:4 is widely interpreted as an indicator of low sea
surface salinity from polar water masses, but its biological source has thus far remained
elusive. Here we identify a lineage of Isochrysidales that is responsible for elevated C37:4
methyl alkenone in the northern high latitude oceans through next-generation sequencing
and lab-culture experiments. This Isochrysidales lineage co-occurs widely with sea ice in
marine environments and is distinct from other known marine alkenone-producers, namely
Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. More importantly, the %C37:4 in seawater filtered
particulate organic matter and surface sediments is significantly correlated with annual mean
sea ice concentrations. In sediment cores from the Svalbard region, the %C37:4 concentration
aligns with the Greenland temperature record and other qualitative regional sea ice records
spanning the past 14 kyrs, reflecting sea ice concentrations quantitatively. Our findings imply
that %C37:4 is a powerful proxy for reconstructing sea ice conditions in the high latitude
oceans on thousand- and, potentially, on million-year timescales.publishedVersio
In Vitro Model for Hepatotoxicity Studies Based on Primary Human Hepatocyte Cultivation in a Perfused 3D Bioreactor System
Accurate prediction of the potential hepatotoxic nature of new pharmaceuticals
remains highly challenging. Therefore, novel in vitro models with improved
external validity are needed to investigate hepatic metabolism and timely
identify any toxicity of drugs in humans. In this study, we examined the
effects of diclofenac, as a model substance with a known risk of
hepatotoxicity in vivo, in a dynamic multi-compartment bioreactor using
primary human liver cells. Biotransformation pathways of the drug and possible
effects on metabolic activities, morphology and cell transcriptome were
evaluated. Formation rates of diclofenac metabolites were relatively stable
over the application period of seven days in bioreactors exposed to 300 ”M
diclofenac (300 ”M bioreactors (300 ”M BR)), while in bioreactors exposed to
1000 ”M diclofenac (1000 ”M BR) metabolite concentrations declined
drastically. The biochemical data showed a significant decrease in lactate
production and for the higher dose a significant increase in ammonia
secretion, indicating a dose-dependent effect of diclofenac application. The
microarray analyses performed revealed a stable hepatic phenotype of the cells
over time and the observed transcriptional changes were in line with
functional readouts of the system. In conclusion, the data highlight the
suitability of the bioreactor technology for studying the hepatotoxicity of
drugs in vitro
Paleoecological changes in Lake Funda (Flores Island, Azores): tracking human impacts in a remote island lake throughout the past millennium
III International Conference on Island Evolution, Ecology and Conservation - La RĂ©union 8-13 JulyPrevious studies on lacustrine sedimentary sequences in the Azores show that climate variability
and vulcanism along with the arrival of humans played a signi#12;cant role in the recent development of
these insular Azorean ecosystems. However, the timing and rate of anthropogenic impacts on these
lakes is poorly constrained. Paleoecological research allows us to reconstruct ecological conditions prior
to and after human settlement, thereby contributing to our understanding of how species and island
ecosystems responded to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. To assess both types of impacts
over the last 1000 years, we analysed the elemental geochemistry on bulk organic matter, diatoms, and
chironomid remains in a 994 cm-long sediment core recovered from Lake Funda (Flores Island, Azores)
in 2017. Preliminary results from Lake Funda show that human colonization was the main driver
of ecological changes. We identi#12;ed three major ecological phases: (1) 950-1350 yr AD, a pristine
lake ecosystem with mesotrophic diatom taxa, including benthic and tychoplanktonic life-forms, and
free-living chironomids species representing an undisturbed environment; 2) 1350-1450 yr AD, the release
of cattle and gradual forest clearance lead to an increase in nutrient inputs and the start of the
human-impacted phase; and, (3) after Portuguese settlement, from 1450 yr AD to present, a second
human-impacted phase resulted in lake eutrophication and the development of an anoxic hypolimnion
due to an increase of nutrient loading. The #12;rst anthropogenic phase resulted in a drastic 50% decline of
the overall biodiversity with a shift to planktonic diatom species and free-living chironomids, while the
second was characterised by a substantial reduction in the density of chironomids and diatom assemblage
shifts towards the dominance of Aulacoseira granulata and A. ambigua suggesting a shift in lake
trophy. Other external drivers like major climate oscillations likely play a role within these phases as
well. Our study demonstrates the sensitivity of aquatic ecosystems in remote islands to anthropogenic
impacts that have the ability to overtake natural forces of variability (i.e., climate).This research is funded by FCT (SFRH/BPD/99461/2014), and through the funded research projects PaleoNAO(CGL2010-15767), RapidNAO (CGL2013-40608-R), PaleoModes (CGL2016-75281-C2), DISCOVERA-ZORES (PTDC/CTA-AMB/28511/2017) and the Luso-America
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