Bishopdickinson4192

The highest levels of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in all media, except household dust, are typical for industrial areas. Street dust primarily reflects the influence of winter road maintenance and industrial activities, while characteristics of household dust are predominantly influenced by indoor activities and properties of dwellings. The comparison of the chemical composition of attic and street dust indicates that emissions of As, Cd, Pb, S and Zn were higher in the past. The characterisation of airborne PM and PM deposited in snow is essential for the identification of the most recent sources of PTE-bearing particles. Several industrial sources and the fate of some particle types in the environment have been determined based on the findings of the SEM/EDS analyses. This study confirms that various environmental media are carriers of diverse geochemical information and highlights the importance of a holistic approach in geochemistry of PM in urban areas.Topographic steering has been observed around Gran Canaria, a high-profile circular island located in the Canary Island Archipelago, Spain, culminating in a complex lee-side wind regime at the Maspalomas dunefield. Maspalomas has experienced rapid environmental changes since the 1960s, coincident with a boom in the tourism industry in the region and requires further examination on the linkages between meso-scale airflow patterns and aeolian processes modifying the landscape. The aim of this work is to simulate mean and turbulent airflow conditions at Maspalomas due to incremental changes in the regional wind direction and to compare these results to the predicted and observed aeolian dynamics taken from meteorological records, a global wind retro-analysis model, and remote sensing data. A Smagorinsky Large Eddy Simulation (S-LES) model was used to identify meso-scale airflow perturbations and turbulence at different locations around the island. Variability in meteorological data was also identified, with site island settings or similarly complex aeolian environments.The recent COVID-19 pandemic follows in its early stages an almost exponential expansion, with the number of cases as a function of time reasonably well fit by N(t) ∝ eαt, in many countries. We analyze the rate α in different countries, starting in each country from a threshold of 30 total cases and fitting for the following 12 days, capturing thus the early exponential growth in a rather homogeneous way. We look for a link between the rate α and the average temperature T of each country, in the month of the initial epidemic growth. We analyze a base set of 42 countries, which developed the epidemic at an earlier stage, an intermediate set of 88 countries and an extended set of 125 countries, which developed the epidemic more recently. Fitting with a linear behavior α(T), we find increasing evidence in the three datasets for a slower spread at high T, at 99.66% C.L., 99.86% C.L. and 99.99995% C.L. (p-value 5⋅10-7, or 5σ detection) in the base, intermediate and extended dataset, respectively. The doubling time at 25 °C is 40% ~ 50% longer than at 5 °C. Moreover we analyzed the possible existence of a bias poor countries, typically located in warm regions, might have less intense testing. By excluding countries below a given GDP per capita from the dataset, we find that this affects our conclusions only slightly and only for the extended dataset. The significance always remains high, with a p-value of about 10-3 - 10-4 or less. Our findings give hope that, for northern hemisphere countries, the growth rate should significantly decrease as a result of both warmer weather and lockdown policies. In general, policy measures should be taken to prevent a second wave, such as safe ventilation in public buildings, social distancing, use of masks, testing and tracking policies, before the arrival of the next cold season.Histerosalpingography (HSG) remains the dominant diagnostic tool for investigation of infertility in women. Conversion factors used to estimate effective (E) and organ doses (HT) from air Kerma area product (KAP) are needed to estimate patient doses in HSG, performed with state-of-the-art fluoroscopic X-ray systems with digital detectors. In this study, estimates of E and HT for six critical organs/tissues, were derived on an individual basis in 120 HSG procedures and in 1410 irradiation events, performed on two X-ray systems from information available through the radiation dose structured report using Monte Carlo methods. Mean values of E and Hovaries were1.0 ± 0.9 mSv and 5.6 ± 5.4 mGy. E/KAP conversion factors of 0.13; 0.18; 0.28 and 0.35 mSv Gy-1cm-2 were established for irradiation events with a Cu filtration of 0.0; 0.1; 0.4 and 0.9 mm. A high agreement was obtained between E estimated through Monte Carlo methods and E/KAP conversion factors accounting separately for the different modes of fluoroscopy and the radiography component of HSG, with a systematic error of 0 mSv and lower/upper limits of agreement of -0.6 and 0.5 mSv. On the contrary, the use of a single coefficient of conversion did not provide accurate estimates of E, showing a bias of -0.4 mSv and lower and upper limits of agreement of -1.9 and 1.2 mSv. An algorithm for the estimation of effective and organ doses from KAP has been established in HSG procedures depending on the Cu filtration in the X-ray irradiation events.There are increasing concerns regarding intracellular accumulation of gadolinium (Gd) after multiple dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI scans. We investigated whether a low dose (LD) of Gd-based contrast agent is as effective as a high dose (HD) for quantitative analysis of DCE-MRI data, and evaluated the use of a split dose protocol to obtain new diagnostic parameters. Female C3H mice (n = 6) were injected with mammary carcinoma cells in the hind leg. MRI experiments were performed on 9.4 T scanner. DCE-MRI data were acquired with 1.5 s temporal resolution before and after a LD (0.04 mmol/kg), then again after 30 min followed by a HD (0.2 mmol/kg) bolus injection of Omniscan. The standard Tofts model was used to extract physiological parameters (Ktrans and ve) with the arterial input function derived from muscle reference tissue. In addition, an empirical mathematical model was used to characterize maximum contrast agent uptake (A), contrast agent uptake rate (α) and washout rate (β and γ). There were moderate to strong correlations (r = 0.69-0.97, p less then 0001) for parameters Ktrans, ve, A, α and β from LD versus HD data. On average, tumor parameters obtained from LD data were significantly larger (p less then 0.05) than those from HD data. GSK690693 Akt inhibitor The parameter ratios, Ktrans, ve, A and α calculated from the LD data divided by the HD data, were all significantly larger than 1.0 (p less then 0.003) for tumor. T2* changes following contrast agent injection affected parameters calculated from HD data, but this was not the case for LD data. The results suggest that quantitative analysis of LD data may be at least as effective for cancer characterization as quantitative analysis of HD data. In addition, the combination of parameters from two different doses may provide useful diagnostic information.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adults are often undiagnosed and overlap in psychopathology. Here we investigated the transdiagnostic traits of emotion recognition and mind wandering in a sample of 103 adults (43 with ADHD and 14 with ASD). The ability to correctly identify a facial expression of anger, fear, disgust or surprise was no different between the adults with ADHD or ASD and neurotypical (NT) adults. However, adults with ADHD or ASD were on average almost 200 ms slower in making a correct decision, suggesting a larger speed-accuracy trade-off in facial emotion recognition compared to NT adults. General processing speed was associated with excessive mind wandering in adults with ADHD, but not with ASD. The deficits in emotional processing were independent from mind wandering in both adults with ADHD or ASD. Emotional dysregulation and functional impairment scales separated adults with ADHD and ASD from the NT adults, but not from each other. When controlling for self-reported ADHD and ASD symptom severity, mind wandering in ADHD was independent from both ADHD and ASD symptom severity. In ASD, mind wandering was related to ASD but not ADHD symptom severity. Our results suggest that ASD and ADHD share a slower ability to recognize emotions, which is exacerbated by excessive mind wandering in ADHD, and by decreased processing speed in ASD.Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading known inherited cause for intellectual disability. Due to mutations in the FMR1 gene, affected individuals are at risk for serious cognitive and behavioral symptoms and developmental disability. Clinical presentation varies considerably, and investigation of genetic factors not directly related to FMR1 may help better understand variability. The present study examined the BclI polymorphism of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 in 43 individuals with FXS (28 females, age 16 to 25). Females with FXS who presented with one or more G alleles demonstrated attenuated symptoms of anxiety/depression (p = 0.038) and externalizing behaviors (p = 0.042) relative to individuals with the C/C allele. In the combined sample (males and females) structural neuroimaging data differentiated individuals with a G allele from those with the C/C genotype (p less then 0.001). Key components of anxiety/fear neurocircuitry (amygdala, insula) contributed more (relative to other regions) to the model differentiating groups. These results indicate that GR polymorphisms are associated with an altered pattern of behavioral and brain development in FXS. This information is important for understanding and treating mood disorders and altered brain development among individuals with FXS. With further research, these findings could be informative for understanding anxiety and mood disorders more broadly.Osteocytes, the most abundant bone cell type, are derived from osteoblasts through a process in which they are embedded in an osteoid. We previously showed that nutrient restriction promotes the osteocyte transcriptional program and is associated with increased mitochondrial biogenesis. Here, we show that increased mitochondrial biogenesis increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and consequently, NRF2 activity during osteocytogenesis. NRF2 activity promotes osteocyte-specific expression of Dmp1, Mepe, and Sost in IDG-SW3 cells, primary osteocytes, and osteoblasts, and in murine models with Nfe2l2 deficiency in osteocytes or osteoblasts. Moreover, ablation of Nfe2l2 in osteocytes or osteoblasts generates osteopenia and increases osteoclast numbers with marked sexual dimorphism. Finally, treatment with dimethyl fumarate prevented the deleterious effects of ovariectomy in trabecular bone masses of mice and restored osteocytic gene expression. Altogether, we uncovered the role of NRF2 activity in osteocytes during the regulation of osteocyte gene expression and maintenance of bone homeostasis.

Little is known about the specific experience people living with bipolar disorder in rural, low resource settings, where conditions that disrupt normal social interactions are often highly stigmatized and evidence-based treatments are rare.

To explore illness experience, coping strategies, help-seeking practices, and consequences of illness among people with bipolar disorder (PBD) and their family members in rural Ethiopia as an initial step for developing psychosocial intervention grounded by the experiences of PBD.

A qualitative methods using in-depth interviews were carried out with 27 individuals (15 PBD and 12 caregivers). The participants were identified on the basis of previous community-based research among people with severe mental illness. Interviews were carried out in Amharic, audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Our approach was informed by phenomenological theory.

Three major themes emerged expressions and experiences of illness, managing self and living with otherness, and the costs of affliction.