Avoidance behavior of Hyalella azteca in response to three common-use insecticides.

Non-target organisms in aquatic environments may experience lethal or sublethal effects following exposure to contaminants. Most protocols and regulations, however, are designed to provide protection from lethal effects and are thus based on conventional estimates of population lethality. The relative lack of reliable behavioral endpoints makes it challenging to implement regulations that are similarly protective against sublethal toxicity.

Evaluating the trophic transfer of PCBs from fish to humans: Insights from a synergism of environmental monitoring and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling.

Accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) within fish tissues has prompted many states to issue consumption advisories. In Pennsylvania such advisories suggest one meal per month for most game species harvested from Lake Erie; however, these advisories do not account for the emergent properties of regional PCB mixtures, and the downstream accumulation of PCB congeners into human tissues is poorly documented. This study aimed to demonstrate the utility of pairing environmental monitoring with pharmacokinetic modeling for the purpose of estimating dietary PCB exposure in humans.

Purified Chlorine Dioxide as an Alternative to Chlorine Disinfection to Minimize Chlorate Formation During Postharvest Produce Washing.

The washwater used to wash produce within postharvest washing facilities frequently contains high chlorine concentrations to prevent pathogen cross-contamination. To address concerns regarding the formation and uptake of chlorate (ClO) into produce, this study evaluated whether switching to chlorine dioxide (ClO) could reduce chlorate concentrations within the produce. Because ClO exhibits lower disinfectant demand than chlorine, substantially lower concentrations can be applied.

Formation of Oleic Acid Chlorohydrins in Vegetables during Postharvest Chlorine Disinfection.

High chlorine doses (50-200 mg/L) are used in postharvest washing facilities to control foodborne pathogen outbreaks. However, chlorine can react with biopolymers (e.g.

A comparison of activated carbon remediation success in floodplain soils contaminated with DDT and its metabolites using ex situ and in situ experimentation.

Remediation of hydrophobic organic contaminants using activated carbon is an effective means by which to clean up contaminated areas. Predicting remediation success using laboratory experimentation with soil, however, is unclear. Current remediation efforts involving activated carbon addition to floodplain soils downstream of the Velsicol Chemical Corporation Superfund Site (VCCSS) have offered the opportunity to directly compare in situ activated carbon remediation with laboratory experimentation.

Long-Term Functional Outcomes After Sepsis for Adult and Pediatric Critical Care Patients-Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Sepsis is responsible for a massive burden of disease, with a global estimate of 48.9 million cases resulting in approximately 11 million deaths annually. Survivors of sepsis may also experience long-term impairments that can persist for years after hospital discharge.

Evaluation of Histidine Reactivity and Byproduct Formation during Peptide Chlorination.

The covalent modifications resulting from chlorine reactions with peptide-bound amino acids contribute to pathogen inactivation and disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation. Previous research suggested that histidine is the third most reactive of the seven chlorine-reactive amino acids, leading to the formation of 2-chlorohistidine, 2-oxohistidine, or low-molecular-weight byproducts such as trihalomethanes. This study demonstrates that histidine is less reactive toward formation of chlorine transformation products (transformation time scale of hours to days) than five of the seven chlorine-reactive amino acids, including tyrosine (transformation time scale of minutes).

Optimised force-velocity training during pre-season enhances physical performance in professional rugby league players.

The effectiveness of 8-week force-velocity optimised training was assessed in highly trained professional rugby league athletes. Players (age 24 ± 3 years; body mass 94.9 ± 21.

Bridging the Information Gap Between Science and Society: A Solution to Nonpoint Source Contamination?

The dissemination of information associated with scientific achievement serves to advance research and guide future experimentation. In the sphere of environmental science, such advancements aim to better characterize harmful chemicals and the factors that influence in situ toxicity, which is central to the protection of the environments upon which humans depend. While some information regarding the dangers associated with common anthropogenic contaminants reaches wider audiences, the nuance of this information is often lost, potentially leading to ineffective solutions, specifically as it relates to nonpoint source contamination.

Serum electrolytes can promote hydroxyl radical-initiated biomolecular damage from inflammation.

Chronic inflammatory disorders are associated with biomolecular damage attributed partly to reactions with Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), particularly hydroxyl radicals (OH). However, the impacts of serum electrolytes on ROS-associated damage has received little attention. We demonstrate that the conversion of OH to carbonate and halogen radicals via reactions with serum-relevant carbonate and halide concentrations fundamentally alters the targeting of amino acids and loss of enzymatic activity in catalase, albumin and carbonic anhydrase, three important blood proteins.

Bioenergetics-adverse outcome pathway: Linking organismal and suborganismal energetic endpoints to adverse outcomes.

Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) link toxicity across levels of biological organization, and thereby facilitate the development of suborganismal responses predictive of whole-organism toxicity and provide the mechanistic information necessary for science-based extrapolation to population-level effects. Thus far AOPs have characterized various acute and chronic toxicity pathways; however, the potential for AOPs to explicitly characterize indirect, energy-mediated effects from toxicants has yet to be fully explored. Indeed, although exposure to contaminants can alter an organism's energy budget, energetic endpoints are rarely incorporated into ecological risk assessment because there is not an integrative framework for linking energetic effects to organismal endpoints relevant to risk assessment (e.

Chlorotyrosines versus Volatile Byproducts from Chlorine Disinfection during Washing of Spinach and Lettuce.

Following the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 in the U.S., guidelines for disinfection washes in food packaging facilities are under consideration to control pathogen risks.

Science map metaphors: a comparison of network versus hexmap-based visualizations.

Most maps of science use a network layout; few use a landscape metaphor. Human users are trained in reading geospatial maps, yet most have a hard time reading even simple networks. Prior work using general networks has shown that map-based visualizations increase recall accuracy of data.

Assessment of biochemical mechanisms of tolerance to chlorpyrifos in ancient and contemporary Daphnia pulicaria genotypes.

The evolution of tolerance to environmental contaminants in non-target taxa has been largely studied by comparing extant populations experiencing contrasting exposure. Previous research has demonstrated that "resurrected" genotypes from a population of Daphnia pulicaria express temporal variation in sensitivity to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Ancient genotypes (1301-1646AD.

Variation in toxicity of a current-use insecticide among resurrected Daphnia pulicaria genotypes.

This study examined how genotypes of Daphnia pulicaria from a single population, separated by thousands of generations of evolution in the wild, differ in their sensitivity to a novel anthropogenic stressor. These genotypes were resurrected from preserved resting eggs isolated from sediments belonging to three time periods: 2002-2008, 1967-1977, and 1301-1646 A.D.

Is CRT pro-arrhythmic? A comparative analysis of the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias between patients implanted with CRTs and ICDs.

Unlabelled: Aim and Hypothesis: Despite the proven symptomatic and mortality benefit of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), there is anecdotal evidence it may be pro-arrhythmic in some patients. We aimed to identify if there were significant differences in the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in patients undergoing CRT-D and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) implantation for primary prevention indication. We hypothesized that CRT is unlikely to be pro-arrhythmic based on the positive mortality and morbidity data from large randomized trials.

Investigation of insecticide leaching from potted nursery stock and aquatic health benefits of bioretention cells receiving nursery runoff.

Tree nurseries and greenhouses within the USDA red imported fire ant (RIFA) quarantine zone are required to incorporate insecticides into their potting media to prevent artificial spread of RIFA. Bifenthrin and fipronil are two common insecticides that are incorporated into potting media. During irrigation and stormwater events, there is potential for insecticides to leach from nursery pots, resulting in the contamination of nearby surface waters.

Making referrals: a guide for foundation doctors.

Junior doctors rotate through different specialities as part of their foundation and early speciality training. One responsibility commonly shared by all specialities at all levels is that of making and receiving referrals. According to the General Medical Council's Good Medical Practice, a referral is defined as: 'transferring some or all of the responsibility for the patient's care, usually temporarily and for a particular purpose, such as additional investigation, care or treatment that is outside your competence' (General Medical Council, 2009).

Virtual cystoscopy.

Bladder cancer is a common problem facing urologists worldwide. The gold standard for its diagnosis and follow-up is the direct visualization of the tumor using conventional cystoscopy. Despite having high sensitivity and specificity for detecting bladder cancer, conventional cystoscopy is regarded as an invasive procedure which is associated with several complications.