Citizen science highlights litter associated with COVID-19 as a potential threat on the island of Mindanao, Philippines: a marine biodiversity hotspot

The on-going COVID-19 pandemic is expected to exacerbate the marine litter problem. The use of disposable personal protective equipment (e.g., facemasks) will result to increase in marine plastics pollution. Here we explored the potential of citizen science to determine the distribution of marine litter associated with COVID-19 in Mindanao, Philippines. Volunteers were invited through social media, contributing geotagged photographs of marine litter associated with COVID-19. Although the information is limited, results showed the possible pervasiveness of marine litter associated with COVID-19. Since the waters surrounding the Southern Philippines is known to host high marine biodiversity, the potential negative interaction of marine litter associated with COVID-19 and marine species is inevitable. The contribution of citizen science to address some of the limitations on marine litter research is highlighted and is recommended to be explored further.

Microencapsulation of an Extract of Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw., with Antineoplastic Activity

Microencapsulation is a technique used in pharmaceuticals as an administration vehicle. Encapsulating secondary metabolites for therapeutic purposes has been promoted recently. Microencapsulation based on chitosan was developed for the methanol extract of cv. Perla negra (S. edule (Jacq.) Sw.) (Cucurbitaceae) fruits to evaluate its viability as an administration vehicle and to assess the possible negative interaction between the extract and chitosan. Microencapsulation was performed by coacervation, implementing a method with constant sonication. The microparticles obtained were registered by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy. The presence of the bioactive in aqueous medium was recorded for release tests, measuring with spectrophotometry its concentration as a function of time. The assessment of the biological effect of the microencapsulated extract was done on the HeLa cell line and control cells (lymphocytes). Microspheres with an average size of 20 µm and a loading capacity of 98% were obtained. The highest concentration of released extract was 24 µg mL−1 at 23 h. The mainly chitosan-based microspheres did not affect the antiproliferative activity of the extract of cv. Perla negra and proved to be a potential vehicle for its therapeutic administration. The empty microspheres made with chitosan also showed to have an antiproliferative effect, and those loaded with extract showed cellular inhibition (statistical IC50) of 8 µg mL−1 without affecting the lymphocytes. Chitosan does not interfere with the biological activity of the metabolites incorporated into the microspheres since they retain their inhibitory activity on proliferation in tumor cells, thus constituting a potential vehicle for the therapeutic administration of fruit extract.

Effectiveness of B Vitamins and Their Interactions with Aspirin in Improving Cognitive Functioning in Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Pooled Post-Hoc Analyses of Two Randomized Trials

Background and Objectives A randomized placebo-controlled trial found a significant negative interaction between aspirin and B vitamins in cognitive functioning in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). To validate this finding, we pooled data of this trial with that of a similar B-vitamin trial (VITACOG) to examine the effectiveness of B vitamins and their interactions with aspirin in improving global cognitive functioning and slowing brain atrophy in older people with MCI. Design Pooled post-hoc analyses of two randomized placebo-controlled trials. Participants In total, 545 older people with MCI were included in the study. Intervention Placebo or B-vitamin supplements (vitamin B12, folic acid with or without vitamin B6) for 24 months. Measurements The primary outcome was the Clinical Dementia Rating scale-global score (CDR-global). The secondary outcomes were CDR-sum of box score (CDR-SOB), memory Z-score, executive function Z-score, and whole brain atrophy rate. Results 71 (26.2%) and 83 (30.3%) subjects in the active and placebo group respectively were aspirin users. Overall, B vitamins reduced whole brain atrophy rate significantly (P = 0.003), but did not have significant effect on CDR-global, CDR-SOB, memory and executive function. Aspirin use had significant negative interaction effects on B vitamins in CDR-global and CDR-SOB (Beta = 0.993, P = 0.038, and Beta = 0.583, P = 0.009, respectively), but not in memory or executive function Z-scores. Among aspirin non-users, B-vitamin group subjects had more favourable changes in CDR-global and CDR-SOB (P = 0.019 and 0.057, respectively). B vitamins significantly slowed brain atrophy in aspirin non-users (P = 0.001), but not in aspirin users, though the interaction term was not significant (Beta = 0.192, P = 0.276). Conclusion In older people with MCI, B vitamins had significantly favourable effects on global cognitive functioning and whole brain atrophy rate in those who were not taking aspirin, but not in aspirin users.

Politically Connected Firms and the Environment

This paper examines the environmental effect of political connections at the individual and organizational levels. We integrate political connections at both levels in a four-stage game-theoretic framework to study the political interplay between an entrepreneur, a bureaucrat and a government. We distinguish individual-level political connections from bribery and argue that while the latter is generally more efficient for the firm aiming to reduce environmental tax payments, political connections become more appealing when the bureaucrat places a higher value on indirect non-monetary benefits. We find that individual-level political connections are associated with more emission discharges by the firm, while the effect of organizational-level political connections on emissions depends on a negative interaction effect between political connections at different levels and a positive resource-reallocation effect between abatement activities and production.

Electronic And Nonlinear Optical Features of Inorganic Ga12N12 Nanocage Decorated With Alkali Metals (Li, Na and K)

The effect of alkali metals (Li, Na and K) interaction on the nonlinear optical response (NLO) of Ga12N12 nanocage has been performed using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that the exo-M@Ga12N12 structures are energetically favorable with negative interaction energies in the range of ‒1.50 to ‒2.28 eV. The electronic properties of decorated structures are strongly sensitive to interaction with the alkali metals. The HOMO-LUMO gap of Ga12N12 is reduced by about 70% due to the decoration with alkali metals. It is obtained that the adsorption of alkali metals over the tetragonal ring of Ga12N12 nanocage remarkably enhances the first hyperpolarizability up to 6.5×104 au. The results display that decorating Ga12N12 nanocage with alkali metals can be introduced it as a novel inorganic nanomaterial with significant NLO properties.

The influence of probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and sleep insufficiency on fall risk in a community-dwelling elderly population

Background The objective was to investigate the individual effect and potential interactions of probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (pRBD) and sleep insufficiency on fall risk among a Chinese elderly population. Methods Community-dwelling population aged 55 years or above were recruited from the Beijing Longitudinal Study on Aging II cohort from 2010 to 2011. Odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariate logistic regression models. Multiplicative and additive interactions between pRBD and sleep insufficiency were examined using likelihood ratio tests and relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), respectively. Results Among 6891 included participants, 479 experienced at least once fall. pRBD and sleep insufficiency were both independently associated with elevated fall risk. Compared to the elderly without pRBD or sleep insufficiency, pRBD and sleep insufficiency was each associated with a 2.57-fold (OR = 2.57, 95%CI: 1.46–4.31) and 1.45-fold (OR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.11–1.88) risk of falls individually, while their coexistence was associated with a less-than-additive 17% (OR = 1.17, 95%CI: 0.43–2.63) increased risk of falls. The combination of these two factors demonstrated evidence of a negative interaction on both multiplicative (ratio of ORs = 0.31, 95%CI: 0.10, 0.86) and additive (RERI = − 1.85, 95%CI: − 3.61, − 0.09) scale. Conclusions Our study has provided robust evidence for the adverse effect of pRBD and sleep insufficiency, as well as their negative interaction on increasing fall risk in a Chinese elderly population.

Arousal State-Dependence of Interactions Between Short- and Long-Term Auditory Novelty Responses in Human Subjects

In everyday life, predictable sensory stimuli are generally not ecologically informative. By contrast, novel or unexpected stimuli signal ecologically salient changes in the environment. This idea forms the basis of the predictive coding hypothesis: efficient sensory encoding minimizes neural activity associated with predictable backgrounds and emphasizes detection of changes in the environment. In real life, the brain must resolve multiple unexpected sensory events occurring over different time scales. The local/global deviant experimental paradigm examines auditory predictive coding over multiple time scales. For short-term novelty [hundreds of milliseconds; local deviance (LD)], sequences of identical sounds (/xxxxx/) are interspersed with sequences that contain deviants (/xxxxy/). Long-term novelty [several seconds; global deviance (GD)] is created using either (a) frequent /xxxxx/ and infrequent /xxxxy/ sequences, or (b) frequent /xxxxy/ and infrequent /xxxxx/ sequences. In scenario (a), there is both an LD and a GD effect (LDGD, “double surprise”). In (b), the global deviant is a local standard, i.e., sequence of identical sounds (LSGD). Cortical responses reflecting LD and GD originate in different brain areas, have a different time course, and are differentially sensitive to general anesthesia. Neural processes underlying LD and GD have been shown to interact, reflecting overlapping networks subserving the detection of novel auditory stimuli. This study examined these interactions using intracranial electroencephalography in neurosurgical patients. Subjects performed a GD target detection task before and during induction of anesthesia with propofol. Recordings were made from the auditory cortex, surrounding auditory-related and prefrontal cortex in awake, sedated, and unresponsive states. High gamma activity was used to measure the neural basis of local-by-global novelty interactions. Positive interaction was defined as a greater response to the double surprise LDGD condition compared to LSGD. Negative interaction was defined as a weaker response to LDGD. Positive interaction was more frequent than negative interaction and was primarily found in auditory cortex. Negative interaction typically occurred in prefrontal cortex and was more sensitive to general anesthesia. Temporo-parietal auditory-related areas exhibited both types of interaction. These interactions may have relevance in a clinical setting as biomarkers of conscious perception in the assessment of depth of anesthesia and disorders of consciousness.

Abstract P156: Negative Interaction Of Fatty Liver And Hypertension On Cardiovascular Mortality In Non-diabetic Men

Fatty liver disease (FLD) and hypertension are separately associated with cardiovascular (CV) mortality. While the two conditions are established as separate predictors of CV outcomes, FLD and hypertension are interrelated in multiple ways. A biological interaction in respect to CV disease outcomes could exist between FLD and hypertension. In this study, we investigated the joint effect and interaction of FLD and hypertension regarding CV mortality using an interaction framework. Using a population-based cohort, we followed 1,569 middle-aged non-diabetic Finnish men for 34 years. We computed the fatty liver index and considered values ≥60 as indicative of FLD. We defined hypertension as either i) self-reported hypertension and a confirmed use of antihypertension medication, or ii) a mean systolic ≥160 or diastolic ≥105 blood pressure on baseline examination. The choice of the blood pressure measurement threshold to define hypertension was based on a sensitivity analysis. With adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption, separate and combined effects of FLD and hypertension and their interaction at the multiplicative and additive scales regarding all-cause and CV death were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. Among the men, 372 had FLD and 342 had hypertension. FLD and hypertension coexisted in 134 men. FLD and hypertension associated, independently and combined, with an increased hazard of all-cause and CV deaths. Non-cardiovascular mortality associated with FLD, but not with hypertension. We found a negative interaction between FLD and hypertension regarding the hazard of all-cause (relative excess risk due to interaction [RERI], -0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.65 to -0.28) and CV mortality (RERI, -1.74; 95% CI, -2.98 to -0.50). The interaction was also found on a multiplicative scale. We found evidence of a negative interaction between FLD and hypertension in respect to CV mortality. Our findings were robust to different definitions of hypertension but were more relevant at high blood pressure thresholds. We thus recommend adjusting for FLD or hypertension when studying the effect of the other condition on mortality or CV diseases in middle-aged men and call for further research on the topic.