Time-dependent Effect of Graphene on the Microbial Activity of the Soil Under Single and Repeated Exposures

Graphene (GR) has huge industrial and biomedical potential, and its adverse effect on soil microorganisms has been evaluated in ecotoxicological studies. These studies focus on a single exposure to GR, but repeated exposures are more likely to occur. In this study, we compared the impact of single and repeated exposures of GR on structure, abundance and function of soil bacterial community based on soil enzyme activity and high-throughput sequencing. The activities of urease and fluorescein diacetate esterase and alpha diversity demonstrate that repeated exposure to GR increase the diversity of soil bacteria. The PCoA and sample level clustering tree showed single exposure to GR after 4 days alter the soil bacterial community to some extent. During the entire incubation process, no matter what kind of exposure scenarios to GR, the majority of bacterial phylotypes remained unchanged except for Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria according to the relative abundance of phylotypes.

A potential outcomes approach to defining and estimating gestational age-specific exposure effects during pregnancy

Many studies seek to evaluate the effects of potentially harmful pregnancy exposures during specific gestational periods. We consider an observational pregnancy cohort where pregnant individuals can initiate medication usage or become exposed to a drug at various times during their pregnancy. An important statistical challenge involves how to define and estimate exposure effects when pregnancy loss or delivery can occur over time. Without proper consideration, the results of standard analysis may be vulnerable to selection bias, immortal time-bias, and time-dependent confounding. In this study, we apply the “target trials” framework of Hernán and Robins in order to define effects based on the counterfactual approach often used in causal inference. This effect is defined relative to a hypothetical randomized trial of timed pregnancy exposures where delivery may precede and thus potentially interrupt exposure initiation. We describe specific implementations of inverse probability weighting, G-computation, and Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation to estimate the effects of interest. We demonstrate the performance of all estimators using simulated data and show that a standard implementation of inverse probability weighting is biased. We then apply our proposed methods to a pharmacoepidemiology study to evaluate the potentially time-dependent effect of exposure to inhaled corticosteroids on birthweight in pregnant people with mild asthma.

Inverse effect and receptor dynamics – Coffee, Opium and Wine's secondary pharmacology

A homeopathic widespread belief is that the inversion of effect of the drugs in homeopathic medical practice is due to dilution or very low doses, but there are many homeopathic incoherencies. For example the first conception of the similia principle was obtained through planned, small sample, clinical experiments with ponderal/pharmacological doses in healthy and diseased subjects1. Furthermore the classical foundations of the similia principle in Organon2, the primary and secondary actions of drugs, were thought to be connected with opposite, time-dependent reactions of the body to high doses and the inversion of effect was seen in temporal sequence after a strong dose and not after changes of doses, so the idea that dilutions are responsible for inversion of effects is not suitable to the classical theory. And lastly homeopathic provings or pathogenetic trials have frequently mixed, unregarded to the doses, occasional toxicological symptoms and symptoms obtained through diluted substances3, reinforcing the idea that, on healthy subjects, in several cases many substances produce the same symptoms in pharmacological or infinitesimal doses. So at least the dose-dependent inversion of effect is not generalized in a great part of the collected symptoms. Biological foundations to similia principle have to be searched in other directions4, as in different sensitivity to drugs between health and disease, or in different time-dependent effect of drugs on specific, but different, cell sensitivity set point. In the vision described here both these possibilities represent the same phenomenon of altered cell sensitivity. It is aim of this article to show that the original hahnemannian idea to explain homeopathic similia principle starting from a pharmacological and biological point of view with ponderal doses, seems correct, rationally comprehensible and based on modern knowledges. The three pharmacologic examples that best illustrate this reasoning, coffe, opium and wine, will be discussed.

Antioxidant, Antiprotoscolices Activity of Ethanolic Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants Against Echinococcus granulosus as Eco-friendly System

The principal objective of the study is to investigate the use of Mentha spicata, Thymus vulgaris and Ocimum basilicum as a good alternative option to Antiprotoscolices in-vitro. Hydatid disease, a zoonotic parasitic infection caused by Echinococcus granulosus, an important economic and human public health problem with a wide geographical distribution. Fertile hydatid cysts were collected from livestock and the viability of the protoscolices was confirmed. Protoscolices were subjected to four different concentrations of organic extracts (12.5, 25, 50 and 75 mg/ml) for 10, 20 and 30 min. Each extract was investigated and viability of the protoscolices was tested using 0.1% eosin staining. The highest efficacy was by T. vulgaris, M. spicata (100%), and O. basilicum (98.8%) respectively, after exposure of 20 minutes at 75 mg/ml, that lead to the significant reduction in the viability of protoscolices. The extract had time-dependent effect. Phytochemical were identified qualitatively and weighted quantitatively, that help in the identification of bioactive compounds involved in selective action on the protoscolices tegument layer. In conclusion, all the selected medicinal plants could be a promising source of potent antiprotoscolices effect. The mechanism by which plant extracts killed protoscolices and also their safety for living cells are unclear and need to be investigated further.

An Analysis of Acceleration, Deceleration and High-Intensity Skating during Elite Bandy Match-Play: A Case Study

Profiles of physical workload in sports are useful to optimize performance and reduce the risk of injury. The aim of the study was to investigate physical workload in 10 elite bandy players by describing acceleration, deceleration, and high-intensity skating during bandy match-play. During 13 home matches, 10 male elite bandy players wore a GPS unit to measure changes in the total distance, total distance skating in two speed zones, and total distance of acceleration and deceleration. A within-subject design was used to measure changes over time during match-play by comparing first and second halves as well as comparisons for consecutive 15 min intervals. No significant differences were observed for high-intensity or very high-intensity acceleration and deceleration for comparisons by halves or for 15-min intervals. For comparisons by halves, a significant time-dependent effect was observed on very fast skating (1337.6 m vs. 1160.9 m), sprint skating (300.0 m vs. 272.0 m), low-intensity acceleration (342.7 m vs. 333.0 m), and total distance covered (10,916.9 m vs. 10,450.3 m). These variables, along with low-intensity deceleration, were also significant for the 15 min interval comparisons. The results show that there is no time-dependent reduction in high-intensity acceleration and deceleration in elite bandy match-play. However, elite bandy players do not maintain the distance of high-intensity skating throughout a whole match.

Photo-Catalytic Remediation of Pesticides in Wastewater Using UV/TiO2

One of the most serious environmental concerns worldwide is the consequences of industrial wastes and agricultural usage leading to pesticide residues in water. At present, a wide range of pesticides are used directly to control pests and diseases. However, environmental damage is expected even at their low concentration because they are sustained a long time in nature, which has a negative impact on human health. In this study, photolysis and photocatalysis of the pesticides dieldrin and deltamethrin were tested at two UV wavelengths (254 and 306 nm) and in different test media (distilled water, wastewater, and agricultural wastewater) to examine their ability to eliminate pesticides. TiO2 (0.001 g/10 mL) was used as a catalyst for each treatment. The purpose was to determine the influence of UV wavelength, exposure time, and catalyst addition on the pesticide decomposition processes in different water types. Water was loaded with the tested pesticides (2000 µg) for 12 h under UV irradiation, and the pesticide concentrations were measured at 2 h intervals after UV irradiation. The results showed a clear effect of UV light on the pesticides photodegradations that was both a wavelength- and time-dependent effect. Photolysis was more effective at λ = 306 nm than at λ = 254 nm. Furthermore, TiO2 addition (0.001 g/10 mL) increased the degradation at both tested wavelengths and hence could be considered a potential catalyst for both pesticide degradations. Deltamethrin was more sensitive to UV light than dieldrin under all conditions.

Abstract P110: Intravenous Hydralazine Effect On Blood Pressure Following Severe Inpatient Hypertension Development

Background: BP elevations in the hospital are commonly treated with intravenous medications, specifically hydralazine. However, treatment guidelines are lacking. Our goal is to assess the effect of intravenous hydralazine on BP following severe inpatient HTN development. Methods: This is a cohort study of adults admitted for reasons other than HTN and developed severe HTN within a single healthcare system. We defined severe inpatient HTN as the first documentation of BP elevation (>180 systolic or >110 diastolic) at least 1 hour after admission. Pregnant women were excluded. Mixed-effects models with nonlinear time trend were used to assess and visualize the time-dependent effect of intravenous hydralazine on BP within 6 hours of BP elevation. Results: Of the 23,147 inpatients who developed severe HTN, 13,753 were untreated and 9,166 were treated of which 12% received intravenous hydralazine. Of the treated and untreated patients, 57 and 46% had a severe MAP reduction (drop ≥30%) (p-value<0.01). Risk factors for severe MAP drop include older age, history of drug and alcohol abuse, and higher BP on admission. Compared to inpatients with severe HTN who did not receive antihypertensives, those treated with intravenous hydralazine had a -12 [-14, -10], -19 [-22, -17], -8[-10, -7] mmHg greater reduction in MAP, SBP, and DBP after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. Moreover, intravenous hydralazine resulted in acute BP reduction ( Figure 1 ). Conclusion: Severe MAP reduction is observed in both treated and untreated inpatients with severe HTN, however adjusted absolute decrease in MAP is greater in inpatients treated with intravenous hydralazine.

Time-dependent effect of 1,6-hexanediol on biomolecular condensates and 3D chromatin organization

Background Biomolecular condensates have been implicated in multiple cellular processes. However, the global role played by condensates in 3D chromatin organization remains unclear. At present, 1,6-hexanediol (1,6-HD) is the only available tool to globally disrupt condensates, yet the conditions of 1,6-HD vary considerably between studies and may even trigger apoptosis. Results In this study, we first analyzed the effects of different concentrations and treatment durations of 1,6-HD and found that short-term exposure to 1.5% 1,6-HD dissolved biomolecular condensates whereas long-term exposure caused aberrant aggregation without affecting cell viability. Based on this condition, we drew a time-resolved map of 3D chromatin organization and found that short-term treatment with 1.5% 1,6-HD resulted in reduced long-range interactions, strengthened compartmentalization, homogenized A-A interactions, B-to-A compartment switch and TAD reorganization, whereas longer exposure had the opposite effects. Furthermore, the long-range interactions between condensate-component-enriched regions were markedly weakened following 1,6-HD treatment. Conclusions In conclusion, our study finds a proper 1,6-HD condition and provides a resource for exploring the role of biomolecular condensates in 3D chromatin organization.

Oral contraceptives use reduces ovarian and endometrial cancer risk

One of the greatest problems that patients and medical system confront worldwide nowadays is cancer. Even if there is a great focus on treatment improvement, it is equally or even more important to find cancer prevention pathways. If we concentrate on gynecological malignancies, we have as example cervical cancer which can now be prevented through vaccination, but less is known about prevention methods for endometrial and ovarian cancer. In 1992, Alice S. Whittemore first described the protective role of combined oral contraceptives (COC) use against ovarian cancer. After that, many other studies tried to find out how combined oral contraceptive use influence the risk of gynecological cancers. According to all researches, it is now known that COC are associated with risk reduction in ovarian and endometrial cancers. It was observed that their risk reduction depends on different factors such as length of use, the period of life when they were used, or some other associated risk factors. Moreover, it seems that they offer protection only against some histological types of endometrial and ovarian cancer. This review relates the most important findings regarding COC use and their risk reduction effect on ovarian and endometrial cancer in the recent studies. Even if some certain conclusions were made, such as time-dependent effect, more studies need to be conducted in order to have certain future recommendations.

Time Dependent Effect of flow properties on addition of heat to the air flow at Compressible Subsonic Speeds

Heat addition process is a governing phenomenon in turbojet and ramjet burners, where heat is added to the flow during the fuel-air combustion process. In the present work, an analytical study has been performed to investigate the effect of heat addition on the basic flow properties based on compressible Rayleigh flow model between the subsonic and sonic flow regime. The unsteady nature of flow properties in these regimes have been evaluated analytically by adding heat through the walls of a constant area, frictionless duct in which air flow occurs over different periods of time. Sudden variation of temperature, pressure, velocity and kinetic energy of the flow were found at flow Mach number M = 0.94. Flow velocity and kinetic energy increases until the flow approaches M = 0.94, afterwards there is a rapid increase in the flow velocity and kinetic energy until it reaches sonic conditions. Conversely, pressure decreased till the flow reaches M = 0.94, there after a sudden drop was observed. Flow enthalpy increased initially, reached maximum at flow M = 0.845 and then reduced till sonic conditions. Based on the observations, it has been concluded that the heat energy contributed to increase the kinetic energy thereby reducing the temperature of the flow.