The effects of salinity and N:P on N-rich toxins by both an N-fixing and non-N-fixing cyanobacteria.

Freshwater ecosystems are experiencing increased salinization. Adaptive management of harmful algal blooms (HABs) contribute to eutrophication/salinization interactions through the hydrologic transport of blooms to coastal environments. We examined how nutrients and salinity interact to affect growth, elemental composition, and cyanotoxin production/release in two common HAB genera.

Neuregulin-1 attenuates hemolysis- and ischemia induced-cerebrovascular inflammation associated with sickle cell disease.

Objectives: Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at severely heightened risk for cerebrovascular injury and acute cerebrovascular events, including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, potentially leading to impaired development and life-long physical and cognitive disabilities. Cerebrovascular injury specific to SCD includes inflammation caused by underlying conditions of chronic hemolysis and reduced cerebrovascular perfusion. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether expression of neuregulin-1β (NRG-1), an endogenous neuroprotective polypeptide, is increased in SCD or experimental conditions mimicking the hemolysis and ischemic conditions of SCD, and to determine if treatment with exogenous NRG-1 reduces markers of cerebrovascular inflammation.

Comparative Analysis of RNA-Extraction Approaches and Associated Influences on RT-qPCR of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a University Residence Hall and Quarantine Location.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) provides an early warning and trend analysis approach for determining the presence of COVID-19 in a community and complements clinical testing in assessing the population level, even as viral loads fluctuate. Here, we evaluate combinations of two wastewater concentration methods (i.e.

Two-dimensional mapping of the ultrasonic attenuation and speed of sound in brain.

Brain is inhomogeneous due to its composition of different tissue types (gray and white matter), anatomical structures (e.g. thalamus and cerebellum), and cavities in the brain (ventricles).

Associations of Strength and Spatiotemporal Gait Variables With Knee Loading During Gait After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Context: Altered knee moments are common during gait in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Modifiable factors that influence knee moments and are feasible to record in clinical settings such as strength and spatiotemporal values (eg, step length, step width) have not been identified in persons after ACLR.

Objective: To identify strength and spatiotemporal gait values that can predict knee moments in persons after ACLR.

Effects of Iron Supplements on Heme Scavengers in Pregnancy.

In malaria endemic countries, anemia in pregnant women occurs as a result of erythrocyte destruction by Plasmodium infections and other causes including malnutrition. Iron supplementation is recommended as treatment of iron-deficiency anemia. Erythrocyte destruction results in increased release of cytotoxic free heme that is scavenged by haptoglobin (Hp), hemopexin (Hx) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1).

Differential influences of (±) anatoxin-a on photolocomotor behavior and gene transcription in larval zebrafish and fathead minnows.

Background: Though anatoxin-a (antx-a) is a globally important cyanobacterial neurotoxin in inland waters, information on sublethal toxicological responses of aquatic organisms is limited. We examined influences of (±) antx-a (11-3490 μg/L) on photolocomotor behavioral responses and gene transcription associated with neurotoxicity, oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity, in two of the most common alternative vertebrate and fish models, (zebrafish) and (fathead minnow). We selected environmentally relevant treatment levels from probabilistic exposure distributions, employed standardized experimental designs, and analytically verified treatment levels using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Identification of strength and spatiotemporal gait parameters associated with knee loading during gait in persons after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Context: Altered knee moments are common during gait in patients following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Modifiable factors that influence knee moments and are feasible to record in clinical settings such as strength and spatiotemporal parameters (e.g.

Elevated neuregulin-1 levels correlate with plasma biomarkers of cerebral injury and high stroke risk in children with sickle cell anemia.

Stroke, or cerebral infarction, is one of the most serious complications of sickle cell anemia (SCA) in childhood, potentially leading to impaired development and life-long physical and cognitive disabilities. About one in ten children with SCA are at risk for developing overt stroke and an additional 25% may develop silent cerebral infarcts. This is largely due to underlying cerebral injury caused by chronic cerebral ischemia and vascular insult associated with SCA.

Nitrogen form, concentration, and micronutrient availability affect microcystin production in cyanobacterial blooms.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing in magnitude, frequency, and duration caused by anthropogenic factors such as eutrophication and altered climatic regimes. While the concentrations and ratios of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus are correlated with bloom biomass and cyanotoxin production, there is less known about how N forms and micronutrients (MN) interact to regulate HABs and cyanotoxin production. Here, we used two separate approaches to examine how N and MN supply affects cyanobacteria biomass and cyanotoxin production.

Sustaining University Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Colleges and universities around the world engaged diverse strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baylor University, a community of ˜22,700 individuals, was 1 of the institutions which resumed and sustained operations. The key strategy was establishment of multidisciplinary teams to develop mitigation strategies and priority areas for action.

Long term absence of invasive breast cancer diagnosis in 2,402,672 pre and postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Invasive Breast Cancer (IBC) risk estimates continue to be based on data collated from cancer registries, i.e., retrospective research that excludes disease-free women.

Sunlight concurrently reduces Prymnesium parvum elicited acute toxicity to fish and prymnesins.

Prymnesium parvum continues to spread globally, producing harmful algal blooms that release toxins known to cause fish kills. While previous work has identified possible P. parvum toxin(s) (e.

Periphyton, bivalves and fish differentially accumulate select pharmaceuticals in effluent-dependent stream mesocosms.

Pharmaceuticals and other ionizable contaminants from municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent can bioaccumulate in fish, particularly in effluent dominated and dependent systems in semi-arid and arid regions. However, invertebrate bioaccumulation of these compounds has been less studied. Using municipal wastewater effluent as source water in outdoor stream mesocosms to simulate effluent-dependent lotic systems, we examined bioaccumulation of several widely-used pharmaceuticals including acetaminophen (nonsteroidal anti-inflamatory), caffeine (stimulant), carbamazepine (anti-epileptic), diltiazem (calcium channel blocker), diphenhydramine (anti-histamine), fluoxetine (anti-depressant), norfluoxetine (anti-depressant metabolite), and sertraline (anti-depressant) in freshwater clams (Corbicula fluminea), periphyton and stoneroller minnows (Campostoma anomalum), a commonly studied grazer in stream ecology, during a replicated outdoor stream mesocosm study at the Baylor Experimental Aquatic Research facility.

Effects of Environmentally Relevant Concentration Exposure Profiles on Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler (POCIS) Sampling Rates.

Polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) is a passive sampling device that offers many advantages over traditional discrete sampling methods, but quantitative time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations rely heavily on the robustness of sampling rates. The effects of changing chemical concentration exposures on POCIS sampling rates and its ability to operate in an integrative regime were investigated for 12 pesticides across a range of environmentally relevant concentrations. In five independent 21-day experiments, POCIS devices were exposed to these compounds at constant concentrations ranging from 3 to 60 μg/L and multiple pulsed concentrations with maximum peaks ranging from 5 to 150 μg/L (TWA concentrations = 3 to 92 μg/L).

Pharmaceutical uptake kinetics in rainbow trout: In situ bioaccumulation in an effluent-dominated river influenced by snowmelt.

Whether seasonal instream flow dynamics influence bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals by fish is not well understood, specifically for urban lotic systems in semi-arid regions when flows are influenced by snowmelt. We examined uptake of select pharmaceuticals in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) caged in situ upstream and at incremental distances downstream (0.1, 1.

Suspect and non-target screening of acutely toxic Prymnesium parvum.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing in frequency, magnitude, and duration around the world. Prymnesium parvum is a HAB species known to cause massive fish kills, but the toxin(s) it produces contributing to this acute toxicity to fish have not been confirmed. In the present study, a 2 × 2 factorial design was employed to examine influences of salinity (2.

Low dissolved oxygen increases uptake of a model calcium channel blocker and alters its effects on adult Pimephales promelas.

Human population growth accompanied with urbanization is urbanizing the water cycle in many regions. Urban watersheds, particularly with limited upstream dilution of effluent discharges, represent worst case scenarios for exposure to multiple environmental stressors, including down the drain chemicals (e.g.

Biological Stoichiometry Regulates Toxin Production in (UTEX 2385).

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing in magnitude, frequency, and duration globally. Even though a limited number of phytoplankton species can be toxic, they are becoming one of the greatest water quality threats to public health and ecosystems due to their intrinsic toxicity to humans and the numerous interacting factors that undermine HAB forecasting. Here, we show that the carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) stoichiometry of a common toxic phytoplankton species, , regulates toxin quotas during blooms through a tradeoff between primary and secondary metabolism.

Effects of suspended sediment on POCIS sampling rates.

Effects of chemical uptake onto polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) exposed to total suspended solid (TSS) sediment concentrations of 0 and 3600 ppm were investigated for 12 pesticides at constant concentration, temperature, and flow velocity. The effects of sediment exposure on POCIS uptake were negligible for compounds with polyethersulfone-water partition coefficients greater than three (i.e.

Influence of salinity and pH on bioconcentration of ionizable pharmaceuticals by the gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis.

Estuaries routinely receive discharges of contaminants of emerging concern from urban regions. Within these dynamic estuarine systems, salinity and pH can vary across spatial and temporal scales. Our previous research identified bioaccumulation of the calcium channel blocker diltiazem and the antihistamine diphenhydramine in several species of fish residing in multiple urban estuaries along the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, where field-measured observations of diltiazem in fish plasma exceeded human therapeutic plasma doses.

Determination of microcystins, nodularin, anatoxin-a, cylindrospermopsin, and saxitoxin in water and fish tissue using isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Cyanobacteria can form dense blooms under specific environmental conditions, and some species produce secondary metabolites known as cyanotoxins, which present significant risks to public health and the environment. Identifying toxins produced by cyanobacteria present in surface water and fish is critical to ensuring high quality food and water for consumption, and protectionn of recreational uses. Current analytical screening methods typically focus on one class of cyanotoxins in a single matrix and rarely include saxitoxin.

Corbicula fluminea rapidly accumulate pharmaceuticals from an effluent dependent urban stream.

Freshwater bivalve populations are stressed by watershed development at the global scale. Though pharmaceuticals released from wastewater treatment plant effluent discharges are increasingly reported to bioaccumulate in fish, an understanding of bioaccumulation in bivalves is less defined. In the present study, we examined accumulation of 12 target pharmaceuticals in C.

Spatial and temporal influence of onsite wastewater treatment systems, centralized effluent discharge, and tides on aquatic hazards of nutrients, indicator bacteria, and pharmaceuticals in a coastal bayou.

In the rapidly urbanizing watersheds and estuaries flowing to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, USA, instream flows are increasingly influenced by point source and nonpoint source discharges. Spatial and temporal tidal influences on water quality, especially for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), is poorly understood in estuaries and coastal systems. We selected Dickinson Bayou, an urban estuary in Galveston County, Texas, for study because it has historically impaired water quality, receives point source discharge from one major wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), while also being influenced by high densities of onsite sewage facilities upstream in the watershed.