Glucocorticoid treatment increases cholesterol availability during critical illness: effect on adrenal and muscle function.

Background: Hypocholesterolemia hallmarks critical illness though the underlying pathophysiology is incompletely understood. As low circulating cholesterol levels could partly be due to an increased conversion to cortisol/corticosterone, we hypothesized that glucocorticoid treatment, via reduced de novo adrenal cortisol/corticosterone synthesis, might improve cholesterol availability and as such affect adrenal gland and skeletal muscle function.

Methods: In a matched set of prolonged critically ill patients (n = 324) included in the EPaNIC RCT, a secondary analysis was performed to assess the association between glucocorticoid treatment and plasma cholesterol from ICU admission to day five.

Impact of critical illness on cholesterol and fatty acids: insights into pathophysiology and therapeutic targets.

Critical illness is characterized by a hypercatabolic response encompassing endocrine and metabolic alterations. Not only the uptake, synthesis and metabolism of glucose and amino acids is majorly affected, but also the homeostasis of lipids and cholesterol is altered during acute and prolonged critical illness. Patients who suffer from critically ill conditions such as sepsis, major trauma, surgery or burn wounds display an immediate and sustained reduction in low plasma LDL-, HDL- and total cholesterol concentrations, together with a, less pronounced, increase in plasma free fatty acids.

Dissecting the costs of a facultative symbiosis in an isopod living with ants.

The balance between costs and benefits is expected to drive associations between species. While these balances are well understood for strict associations, we have no insights to which extent they determine facultative associations between species. Here, we quantified the costs of living in a facultative association, by studying the effects of red wood ants on the facultatively associated isopod Porcellio scaber.

Impact of Hydrocortisone and of CRH Infusion on the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis of Septic Male Mice.

Purpose: Sepsis is hallmarked by high plasma cortisol/corticosterone (CORT), low adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and high pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). While corticotropin-releasing hormone-(CRH) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP)-driven pituitary POMC expression remains active, POMC processing into ACTH becomes impaired. Low ACTH is accompanied by loss of adrenocortical structure, although steroidogenic enzymes remain expressed.

CanMEDS Competencies in Family Medicine Residents: Can Criterion-Based Assessment Improve the Quality of Teacher Feedback?

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. The Université Laval family medicine program has developed an innovative computerized tool called the criterion-based Competency Assessment Tool (CAT), currently undergoing validity assessment.

Risk of human-to-wildlife transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

It has been a long time since the world has experienced a pandemic with such a rapid devastating impact as the current COVID-19 pandemic. The causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is unusual in that it appears capable of infecting many different mammal species. As a significant proportion of people worldwide are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and may spread the infection unknowingly before symptoms occur or without any symptoms ever occurring, there is a non-negligible risk of humans spreading SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife, in particular to wild non-human mammals.

GPS tracking data of Western marsh harriers breeding in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In this data paper three datasets are described containing GPS tracking and acceleration data of Western marsh harriers () breeding in Belgium and the Netherlands. The Western marsh harrier is included as a threatened bird species in Annex I of the European Bird Directive due to the steep decline in population densities. In order to collect data of habitat use and migration behaviour, Western marsh harriers were equipped with light-weight solar powered GPS trackers developed by the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam (University of Amsterdam Bird Tracking System, UvA-BiTS).

Key steps in environmental impact assessment: a comparative study of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has evolved as an environmental management and sustainability tool. Despite common principles shared by EIA globally, there are considerable variations in EIA processes across countries. In this paper, we reviewed and compared EIA processes of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal considering five key steps (selection of consultants, report preparation, public participation, report review and approval, and monitoring and evaluations) of EIA.

A retrospective cohort study on reasons to retain third molars.

The primary goal of this study was to identify and quantify indications for retaining third molars. This retrospective cohort study included 1682 patients (818 male, 864 female; mean age 31 years) who were referred to the University Hospitals Leuven for third molar removal. Eight reasons for retaining the third molars were identified: (1) risk of damaging adjacent structures, (2) compromised health status, (3) adequate space for eruption, (4) third molar serves as abutment tooth, (5) orthodontic reasons, (6) eruption into proper occlusion, (7) symptomless third molars in patients >30 years old, and (8) patient preference.

Is leaf pruning the key factor to successful biological control of aphids in sweet pepper?

Background: Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are a problematic pest in global sweet pepper cultivation. Control of aphids often relies on insecticides, leading to widespread resistance. Biological control of aphids is mainly based on releasing specialist natural enemies, but they often fail to control outbreaks.

Microbial population changes in patients with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw treated with systemic antibiotics.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the bacterial population in patients with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) after treatment with doxycycline and metronidazole.

Study Design: A total of 38 patients with MRONJ (age range 55-88, mean age 73 + 8.82 standard deviation) treated with doxycycline first and with metronidazole second were enrolled in this study.

No measurable adverse effects of Lassa, Morogoro and Gairo arenaviruses on their rodent reservoir host in natural conditions.

Background: In order to optimize net transmission success, parasites are hypothesized to evolve towards causing minimal damage to their reservoir host while obtaining high shedding rates. For many parasite species however this paradigm has not been tested, and conflicting results have been found regarding the effect of arenaviruses on their rodent host species. The rodent Mastomys natalensis is the natural reservoir host of several arenaviruses, including Lassa virus that is known to cause Lassa haemorrhagic fever in humans.

Aquatic acute species sensitivity distributions of ZnO and CuO nanoparticles.

Metal oxide nanoparticles are increasingly being produced and will inevitably end up in the aquatic environment. Up till now, most papers have studied individual nanoparticle effects. However, the implementation of these data into a risk assessment tool, needed to characterise their risk to the aquatic environment, is still largely lacking.

High levels of effective long-distance dispersal may blur ecotypic divergence in a rare terrestrial orchid.

Background: Gene flow and adaptive divergence are key aspects of metapopulation dynamics and ecological speciation. Long-distance dispersal is hard to detect and few studies estimate dispersal in combination with adaptive divergence. The aim of this study was to investigate effective long-distance dispersal and adaptive divergence in the fen orchid (Liparis loeselii (L.

Can damselfly larvae (Ischnura elegans) be used as bioindicators of sublethal effects of environmental contamination?

The present study measured various pesticides and trace metals, together with sublethal effect biomarkers (lipid, protein and glycogen levels, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities) in damselfly larvae (Ischnura elegans) at sixteen sampling sites in Flanders (Belgium). Four pesticides (chloridazon, dichlorvos, terbutylazine, metolachlor), some of them hardly measurable in surface water, and all trace metals were above the limit of quantification in damselfly tissue. A principal component analysis (PCA) on the accumulated pollutant concentrations returned five pollutant axes explaining 85.

Seasonal feeding activity of the tree-hole tick, Ixodes arboricola.

Bird-specific ticks do not infest humans and livestock, but these ticks often share their avian hosts with generalist ticks that do. Therefore, their feeding activity may have an impact on the transmission of pathogens outside bird-tick transmission cycles. Here we examined the seasonal feeding activity of the tree-hole tick (Ixodes arboricola) in relation to the activity of its hole-breeding hosts (Parus major and Cyanistes caeruleus).

Characterisation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in a terrestrial ecosystem near a fluorochemical plant in Flanders, Belgium.

Bioaccumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in a restricted terrestrial food chain was investigated with the omnivorous wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) on top of the studied food chain. The levels detected are very high compared with literature as a result of the presence of fluorochemical plant in the immediate vicinity of the study area. Soil, surface water, fruits of European elder and common blackberry, invertebrates, bank vole and wood mouse were collected at two sites, e.

[Considerations with respect to the use of corticosteroids in dentoalveolar surgical treatments].

Corticosteroids are used incidentally in dentoalveolar surgical treatments to reduce possible postsurgical problems. Natural corticosteroids are produced in the adrenal cortex. Synthetic corticosteroids are known to have anti-inflammatory effects when they are administered in doses exceeding the normal physiological amounts which the body produces.

Can volunteers collect data that are comparable to professional scientists? A study of variables used in monitoring the outcomes of ecosystem rehabilitation.

Having volunteers collect data can be a cost-effective strategy to complement or replace those collected by scientists. The quality of these data is essential where field-collected data are used to monitor progress against predetermined standards because they provide decision makers with confidence that choices they make will not cause more harm than good. The integrity of volunteer-collected data is often doubted.

Levels of persistent organic pollutants in larvae of the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae) from different ponds in Flanders, Belgium.

We investigated the accumulation of persistent organic pollutants in damselfly larvae (Ischnura elegans) in sixteen ponds in Flanders (Belgium), widely differing in the surrounding land use. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were measured. From all targeted PBDE-congeners, only three congeners (IUPAC nos.

Effect of long-term exposure to a randomly varied 50 Hz power frequency magnetic field on the fertility of the mouse.

A double blind study on BALB/c mice was conducted to examine the effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields on fertility. The mice were continuously exposed or sham-exposed from conception for two generations to magnetic fields varying between 0.5 and 77 muT.

Biodiversity differences between managed and unmanaged forests: meta-analysis of species richness in Europe.

Past and present pressures on forest resources have led to a drastic decrease in the surface area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Changes in forest structure, composition, and dynamics inevitably lead to changes in the biodiversity of forest-dwelling species. The possible biodiversity gains and losses due to forest management (i.

Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) adversely affects the life-cycle of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum.

We evaluated whether life-time exposure to PFOS affects egg development, hatching, larval development, survival, metamorphosis and body mass of Enallagma cyathigerum (Insecta: Odonata). Eggs and larvae were exposed to five concentrations ranging from 0 to 10000 microg/L. Our results show reduced egg hatching success, slower larval development, greater larval mortality, and decreased metamorphosis success with increasing PFOS concentration.