A Light Touch: Solar Photocatalysis Detoxifies Oil Sands Process-Affected Waters Prior to Significant Treatment of Naphthenic Acids.

Environmental reclamation of Canada's oil sands tailings ponds is among the single largest water treatment challenges globally. The toxicity of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) has been associated with its dissolved organics, a complex mixture of naphthenic acid fraction components (NAFCs). Here, we evaluated solar treatment with buoyant photocatalysts (BPCs) as a passive advanced oxidation process (P-AOP) for OSPW remediation.

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence and Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer to Answer Questions About Clinical Scenarios in Neuroanesthesiology.

Objective: We tested the ability of chat generative pretrained transformer (ChatGPT), an artificial intelligence chatbot, to answer questions relevant to scenarios covered in 3 clinical guidelines, published by the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC), which has published management guidelines: endovascular treatment of stroke, perioperative stroke (Stroke), and care of patients undergoing complex spine surgery (Spine).

Methods: Four neuroanesthesiologists independently assessed whether ChatGPT could apply 52 high-quality recommendations (HQRs) included in the 3 SNACC guidelines. HQRs were deemed present in the ChatGPT responses if noted by at least 3 of the 4 reviewers.

How did the use of ED change during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the UK? An observational study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to a sharp drop in ED attendance, but the exact reasons for this are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate differences between individuals attending the ED before and during the pandemic and the reasons for their choices.

Methods: Two population-based online surveys were conducted before (2019) and during (2020) the pandemic.

Extending the notion of customer value to surfing camps.

This study applies the germane principles of service-dominant logic by investigating how different dimensions of service value impact customers' satisfaction and related behavioral intentions in the surf camps context. An empirical model was developed and tested via survey responses from 300 Portuguese surf camps tourists who profiled their experience. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling, specifically Partial Least Squares (PLS-PM).

Lung function trajectories and bronchial hyperresponsiveness during childhood following severe RSV bronchiolitis in infancy.

Background: Children with severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in infancy have increased risks of asthma and reduced lung function in later life. There are limited studies on the longitudinal changes of lung function and bronchial hyperreactivity from early to late childhood in infants hospitalized for RSV bronchiolitis.

Methods: In a prospective cohort of 206 children with their first episode of RSV-confirmed bronchiolitis in the first year of life, 122 had spirometry performed at least twice between 5-16 years of age.

Impaired tumor necrosis factor-α secretion by CD4 T cells during respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis associated with recurrent wheeze.

Background: Infants with severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis have an increased risk of recurrent wheezing and asthma. We aimed to evaluate the relationships between regulatory T cell (Treg) percentage and cytokine production of in vitro-stimulated CD4+ T cells during acute bronchiolitis and the development of recurrent wheezing in the first 3 years of life.

Methods: We obtained peripheral blood from 166 infants hospitalized with their first episode of RSV-confirmed bronchiolitis.

Are more experienced clinicians better able to tolerate uncertainty and manage risks? A vignette study of doctors in three NHS emergency departments in England.

Background: Risk aversion among junior doctors that manifests as greater intervention (ordering of tests, diagnostic procedures and so on) has been proposed as one of the possible causes for increased pressure in emergency departments (EDs). Here we tested the prediction that doctors with more experience would be more tolerant of uncertainty and therefore less risk-averse in decision making.

Methods: In this cross-sectional, vignette-based study, doctors working in three EDs were asked to complete a questionnaire measuring experience (length of service in EDs), reactions to uncertainty (Gerrity , 1995) and risk aversion (responses about the appropriateness of patient management decisions).

The relationship between spindly leg syndrome incidence and water composition, overfeeding, and diet in newly metamorphosed harlequin frogs (Atelopus spp.).

Spindly Leg Syndrome (SLS) is a persistent animal welfare issue associated with the rearing of amphibians in captivity. We conducted two experiments to investigate the effects of diet, water composition and overfeeding on prevalence of SLS in newly metamorphosed harlequin frogs (Atelopus spp.).

Recurrent wheezing in children following human metapneumovirus infection.

We showed that early in life human metapneumovirus infection is associated with increased risk of subsequent wheezing episodes.

The Psychological Effects of Rapid Aeromedical Evacuation in a Predator Exposure Animal Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Recent conflicts have contributed to an escalation in combat-related psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although technological advances have increased the speed from which battlefield injuries reach definitive care, mental health conditions have continued to rise. This study sought to analyze the effects of flight stressors and the lack of a postcombat decompression period on stress-related behavior.

The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Blueberries in an Animal Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stressor-related disorder that results in a prolonged stress response. It is associated with increased oxidative stress and inflammation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HC). The only approved therapy for PTSD is selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), but their efficacy is marginal.

Temporal biological variability in dendritic cells and regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of healthy adults.

Background: Studies evaluating circulating dendritic cells (DCs) and natural and induced regulatory T cells (nTregs, iTregs) are often obtained at a single time point and difficult to interpret without understanding their intrinsic day-to-day biologic variability.

Methods: We investigated the day-to-day variability in quantifying DCs, nTregs (FoxP3(+)CD25(+)CD4(+)) and cytokine production by iTregs (granzyme B-GZB, Th1/2 cytokines following CD3 plus CD46 in vitro activation) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected on three consecutive days in healthy adults. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to evaluate intra-individual variability.

Using prediction markets to forecast research evaluations.

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) was conducted to assess the quality of research carried out at higher education institutions in the UK over a 6 year period. However, the process was criticized for being expensive and bureaucratic, and it was argued that similar information could be obtained more simply from various existing metrics. We were interested in whether a prediction market on the outcome of REF2014 for 33 chemistry departments in the UK would provide information similar to that obtained during the REF2014 process.

Using prediction markets to estimate the reproducibility of scientific research.

Concerns about a lack of reproducibility of statistically significant results have recently been raised in many fields, and it has been argued that this lack comes at substantial economic costs. We here report the results from prediction markets set up to quantify the reproducibility of 44 studies published in prominent psychology journals and replicated in the Reproducibility Project: Psychology. The prediction markets predict the outcomes of the replications well and outperform a survey of market participants' individual forecasts.

Vitamin D Levels Are Unrelated to the Severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis Among Hospitalized Infants.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency at birth has been reported as a risk factor for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection during the first year of life. Limited data are available on whether an infant's vitamin D status is associated with the severity of acute RSV bronchiolitis.

Methods: Infants < 1 year of age and hospitalized with their first episode of RSV bronchiolitis were enrolled into the RSV Bronchiolitis in Early Life II cohort.

Effect of Reducing Field of View on Multidetector Quantitative Computed Tomography Parameters of Airway Wall Thickness in Asthma.

Objective: We reduced the computed tomography (CT)-reconstructed field of view (FOV), increasing pixel density across airway structures and reducing partial volume effects, to determine whether this would improve accuracy of airway wall thickness quantification.

Methods: We performed CT imaging on a lung phantom and 29 participants. Images were reconstructed at 30-, 15-, and 10-cm FOV using a medium-smooth kernel.

Nutrition and health in amphibian husbandry.

Amphibian biology is intricate, and there are many inter-related factors that need to be understood before establishing successful Conservation Breeding Programs (CBPs). Nutritional needs of amphibians are highly integrated with disease and their husbandry needs, and the diversity of developmental stages, natural habitats, and feeding strategies result in many different recommendations for proper care and feeding. This review identifies several areas where there is substantial room for improvement in maintaining healthy ex situ amphibian populations specifically in the areas of obtaining and utilizing natural history data for both amphibians and their dietary items, achieving more appropriate environmental parameters, understanding stress and hormone production, and promoting better physical and population health.

Causes of mortality in anuran amphibians from an ex situ survival assurance colony in Panama.

The success of ex situ survival assurance populations as tools for amphibian conservation depends on the health and reproductive success of founder populations. Necropsy examination and histopathology of animals that die in assurance populations are useful for the identification of population-limiting disease problems and can help to direct applied research efforts in areas such as amphibian husbandry and nutrition. This study reviewed postmortem findings in 167 frogs from 13 species that died in a large Panamanian rescue and survival assurance population between 2006 and 2011.

Differential effects of sertraline in a predator exposure animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), and other neurotransmitters are modulated in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, pro-inflammatory cytokines (PIC) are elevated during the progression of the disorder. Currently, the only approved pharmacologic treatments for PTSD are the selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) sertraline and paroxetine, but their efficacy in treating PTSD is marginal at best.

Longitudinal changes in airway remodeling and air trapping in severe asthma.

Rationale And Objectives: Previous cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that airway wall thickness and air trapping are greater in subjects with severe asthma than in those with mild-to-moderate asthma. However, a better understanding of how airway remodeling and lung density change over time is needed. This study aimed to evaluate predictors of airway wall remodeling and change in lung function and lung density over time in severe asthma.

Valproic acid effects in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in an animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (PIC) are upregulated in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) modify genetic transcription and can diminish ROS and PIC escalation. They can also modulate levels of neurotransmitters such as catecholamines and serotonin (5-HT).

Central blockade of TLR4 improves cardiac function and attenuates myocardial inflammation in angiotensin II-induced hypertension.

Aims: Understanding the novel signalling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension is vital for the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Recent evidence suggests a role for Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Although brain has been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension, the role of brain TLR4 in hypertension is largely unexplored.

Predator exposure/psychosocial stress animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder modulates neurotransmitters in the rat hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop in response to a traumatic event involving a threat to life. To date, no diagnostic biomarkers have been identified for PTSD. Recent research points toward physiological abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, sympathoadrenal medullary and immune system that may be implicated in the disorder.

Differences in vision between clinic and home and the effect of lighting in older adults with and without glaucoma.

Importance: Patients often report greater visual difficulties at home than expected from vision testing in the clinic. Such discordance may be owing to worse vision in the home than measured in clinic.

Objective: To compare vision measured between the clinic and home and evaluate factors, including lighting, associated with these differences.