Background: This study investigates university students' digital health literacy and web-based information-seeking behaviours during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. It compares undergraduate and postgraduate students in non-health related subjects with health care students, many of whom were preparing for, or working in, frontline roles. The survey was conducted as part of a wider study by the COVID-HL research consortium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn in vitro gut sac technique was employed to study whether Cd and Zn uptake mechanisms in the gastro-intestinal tract of the rainbow trout are similar to those at the gills, where both metals are taken up via the Ca transport pathway. Metal accumulation in surface mucus, in the mucosal epithelium, and transport into the blood space were assayed using radiolabelled Cd or Zn concentrations of 50micromolL(-1) in the luminal (internal) saline. Elevated luminal Ca (10 or 100mmolL(-1)versus 1mmolL(-1)) reduced Cd uptake into all three phases by approximately 60% in the stomach, but had no effect in the anterior, mid, or posterior intestine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn in vitro gut sac technique was used to investigate whether reciprocal inhibitory effects occurred between Cu and Zn uptake in the gastrointestinal tract of the rainbow trout and, if so, whether there was regional variation among the stomach, anterior intestine, mid intestine, and posterior intestine in the phenomena. Metal accumulation in surface mucus and in the mucosal epithelium and transport into the blood space were assayed using radiolabeled Cu or Zn at environmentally realistic concentrations of 50 micromol L(-1) in the luminal saline, with 10-fold higher levels of the other metal (nonradioactive) as a potential inhibitor. Zn transport rates were generally higher than Cu transport rates in all compartments except the stomach, where they were lower.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn in vitro gut sac technique was used to compare the uptake rates of essential (copper, zinc and nickel) and non-essential metals (silver, cadmium and lead) at 50 micromol L(-1) each (a typical nutritive level in solution in chyme) in the luminal saline in four sections of the gastro-intestinal tract (stomach, anterior, mid and posterior intestines) of the freshwater rainbow trout. Cu, Zn, Cd and Ag exhibited similar regional patterns: on an area-specific basis, uptake rates for these metals were highest in the anterior intestine, lowest in the stomach, and approximately equal in the mid and posterior intestinal segments. When these rates were converted to a whole animal basis, the predominance of the anterior intestine increased because of its greater area, while the contribution of the stomach rose slightly to approach those of the mid and posterior intestines.
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