Clarkearnold2207

Extreme climate events always leave numerous fresh plant materials (FOM) in forests, thus increasing the input of carbon (C) resources to soil system. The input of exogenous C may accelerate or inhibit the decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC), which is defined as the positive or negative priming effect (PE), respectively. However, the characteristics and microbial mechanisms of PE caused by FOM remain unknown. A 110-day in situ soil incubation experiment was conducted in a subtropical forest, with 13C-labeled fresh leaves from four native species (Castanopsis fissa, CF; Pinus massoniana, PM; Machilus chekiangensis, MC; and Castanopsis chinensis, CC) serving as the FOM respectively. We measured the CO2 effluxes derived from 13C-labeled FOM and soil, and the composition and diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities throughout the incubation to explore the correlations between PE and microbial attributes. As a result, the PE caused by FOM inputs were negative initially but became positive after 61 d. The FOM decomposition rate was positively related to PE intensity, and there was a significant difference between coniferous and broadleaved species in the middle period of the study. More than 77% of the total C lost from FOM was emitted as CO2, indicating that FOM-C serves as an energy resource for soil microbes. The α-diversity of the bacterial community at genus-level showed significantly positive correlation with PE at 24 d, and the composition of bacterial community at OTU-level had a marked relationship with the PE between 24-110 d. The relationship between fungal community diversity and composition with PE was only observed at 7 and 110 d, respectively. This study firstly investigated the patterns of PE resulted from numerous FOM input, and the results suggested that soil bacterial community, in particular the Actinobacteria phyla, played a more important role in triggering such PEs than fungal community.Objective To explore barriers and facilitators for midwives working in a midwifery continuity of carer model, and to assess if an educational intervention could help address some of these barriers, designed to help achieve NHS England's target of majority of women receiving midwifery continuity of carer by March 2021. Design Two-day workshops were co-designed by experienced continuity midwives, service managers and midwifery educators using implementation theory delivered to maternity staff, with barriers assessed prior to training and re-assessed at the end. Setting and participants 1407 maternity healthcare professionals from 62 different National Health Service trusts across England attended 56 different workshops. Findings Perceived barriers to working in this model were reported more frequently than facilitators. Reported facilitators prior to training included perceived benefits to the midwife and to women. Reported barriers included personal and professional concerns, fear, issues with the national agenda and institutional and/or organisational issues. The educational intervention was able to address the majority of barriers raised. The training was well evaluated, with an average rating of 4.2 on a five-point Likert scale. Key conclusions While this specific educational intervention appears to have been useful in addressing concerns with working in a continuity model, further work is needed to identify barriers to change. This will aid more local designed interventions. Implications for practice If policy targets related to continuity of carer are to be achieved then working in this way needs to be sustainable and appeal to the current midwifery workforce.Several aggregation-prone RNA-binding proteins, including FUS, EWS, TAF15, hnRNP A1, hnRNP A2, and TDP-43, are mutated in neurodegenerative diseases. The nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution of these proteins is controlled by proteins in the karyopherin family of nuclear transport factors (Kaps). Recent studies have shown that Kaps not only transport these proteins but also inhibit their self-association/aggregation, acting as molecular chaperones. This chaperone activity is impaired for disease-causing mutants of the RNA-binding proteins. Here, we review physical data on the mechanisms of self-association of several disease-associated RNA-binding proteins, through liquid-liquid phase separation and amyloid fiber formation. In each case, we relate these data to biophysical, biochemical, and cell biological data on the inhibition of self-association by Kaps. Our analyses suggest that Kaps may be effective chaperones because they contain large surfaces with diverse physical properties that enable them to engage multiple different regions of their cargo proteins, blocking self-association.Quantifying traffic contribution to air pollution in urban settings is required to inform traffic management strategies and environmental policies that aim at improving air quality. Assessments and comparative analyses across multiple urban areas are challenged by the lack of datasets and methods available for global applications. In this study, we quantify the traffic contribution to particulate matter concentration in multiple cities worldwide by synthesising 155 previous studies reported in the World Health Organization (WHO)'s air pollution source apportionment data for PM10 and PM2.5. We employed a Bayesian multilevel meta-regression that accounts for uncertainties and captures both within- and between-study variations (in estimation methods, study protocols, etc.) through study-specific and location-specific explanatory variables. The final sample analysed in this paper covers 169 cities worldwide. Based on our analysis, traffic contribution to air pollution (particulate matter) varies from 5% to 61% in cities worldwide, with an average of 27%. We found that variability in the traffic contribution estimates reported worldwide can be explained by the region of study, publication year, PM size fraction, and population. Specifically, traffic contribution to air pollution in cities located in Europe, North America, or Oceania is on average 36% lower relative to the rest of the world. Traffic contribution is 28% lower among studies published after 2005 than those published on or before 2005. Traffic contribution is on average 24% lower among cities with less than 500,000 inhabitants and 19% higher when estimated based on PM10 relative to PM2.5. This quantitative summary overcomes challenges in the data and provides useful information for health impact modellers and decision-makers to assess impacts of traffic reduction policies.Background Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is the most serious environmental threat worldwide. The nephrotoxicity of PM2.5 has been demonstrated in older adults, but no study has addressed the impacts of PM2.5 exposure on renal function in pregnant women, who are recognized to be vulnerable and susceptible to PM2.5 exposure. Objective To evaluate whether exposures to PM2.5 total mass and its chemical constituents were associated with reduced renal function among pregnant women in China. Methods We measured serum concentrations of urea nitrogen (UN), uric acid (UA) and creatinine for 10,052 pregnant women in Shanghai, China. Exposures to PM2.5 total mass and its 5 key chemical constituents during the whole pregnancy and each trimester of pregnancy was represented by satellite-based models. Results Exposures to PM2.5 total mass and its chemical constituents of organic matter (OM), black carbon (BC), nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) were positively associated with serum levels of UN and UA, and negatively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). An interquartile rang (IQR) increase in PM2.5 total mass, OM, BC, NO3- and NH4+ exposure in third trimester was associated with 1.33 (β = -1.33, 95% CI, -1.79, -0.87), 1.67 (β = -1.67, 95% CI, -2.26, -1.07), 1.29 (β = -1.29, 95% CI,-1.89, -0.70), 1.16 (β = -1.16, 95% CI,-1.66, -0.65) and 0.76 (β = -0.76, 95% CI, -1.08, -0.44) mL/min/1.73 m2 decrease in eGFR, respectively. Conclusion We concluded that exposures to PM2.5 during pregnancy were associated with decreased renal function among pregnant women.Azithromycin and diminazene aceturate combination therapy in experimental multidrug-resistant Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection in albino rats was evaluated. A total of forty-five female albino rats were used. These rats were randomly assigned to nine groups of five rats each. Group 1 was the uninfected-untreated group while groups 2 - 6 were infected with 1 × 106 trypanosomes suspended in 0.3 ml of normal saline intraperitoneally. Following infection and parasitaemia, group 2 was untreated while group 3 was treated once with 7 mg/kg diminazene aceturate. Groups 4 - 6 were treated with 10, 20 and 30 mg/kg azithromycin respectively for 7 days. Groups 7 - 9 were treated with combination of 7 mg/kg diminazene aceturate (DA) once and 10, 20 and 30 mg/kg azithromycin (AZT) respectively for 7 days. Level of parasitaemia, haematological indices (packed cell volume, total erythrocyte count, total leukocyte count, haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), survivability, body weight and rectal temperature were used to assess the effectiveness of the combination therapy. A significant reduction in parasitaemia levels was observed in the DA-treated group and AZT-treated group 6 while clearance of parasitaemia was observed in the DA-AZT treated groups 7 - 9 for periods between 1 and 5 days post treatment. The haematological indices and survivability of the DA-AZT treated groups were better than the DA-treated group despite the relapse recorded in those groups. One rat each in the DA-AZT combination groups survived till the end of the experiment. In conclusion, the DA-AZT combination treatment can be used as a possible adjunct to DA in the treatment of multidrug-resistant T. brucei brucei. The combination also enhanced survivability and decreased the effect of the disease in rats.Annual antigen testing is a mainstay for diagnosing infection with Dirofiliaria immitis in dogs; yet, it has been documented that some heartworm-infected dogs and cats test false-negative for antigen due to the presence of antigen-antibody complexes. Several studies have reported the use of heat as a reliable means of immune-complex dissociation (ICD) in recent years; however, the data regarding the use of acid as a reliable method of ICD for D. immitis detection are limited. The objective of this study was to compare an acid-based form of ICD to the more established and evaluated method of heat-based ICD in experimentally infected and non-infected dogs. Plasma from class A dogs experimentally infected ∼4 months prior with D. immitis (infected; n = 24) and dogs reared indoors with no history of exposure to mosquitoes (non-infected; n = 75) were evaluated for presence of D. immitis antigen (DiroCHEK® Heartworm antigen test kit). Each sample was divided into three aliquots for testing [1] Control plasma (no acies.Perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have come to attention recently due to their widespread presence in the environment, recalcitrance, and potential negative health associations. Because of the long-term production of PFAS using ECF, which created branched isomers as byproducts in addition to the intended linear product, branched isomers of PFAS account for a significant portion of PFAS load in the environment. The distribution of isomers is not consistent in the environment, however. Geographic location appears to be a major factor in determining the isomer makeup of PFAS in surface and groundwater as well as in humans and animals. This is largely to differences in production methods; a region that produced PFAS via ECF for many years would have a higher ratio of branched isomers than one that produces PFAS using telomerization. In addition, the different structures of branched PFAS isomers as compared to linear PFAS appear to affect transport in the environment. Research suggests that linear PFAS sorb preferentially to soil and sediments, whereas branched isomers are more likely to remain in water.