Applying quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models to extend the mixture toxicity prediction of scrubber water.

Marine organisms are constantly exposed to complex chemical mixtures from natural and anthropogenic sources. One source that has raised concerns is the discharge water from ships equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems, commonly known as scrubbers. During operation, ships with scrubbers discharge large volumes of scrubber water, known to adversely affect marine organisms, into the environment.

Regulation of the chemokine receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 by receptor activity-modifying proteins.

The chemokine CXCL12 and its two cognate receptors-CXCR4 and ACKR3-are key players in various homeostatic and pathophysiological processes, including embryonic development, autoimmune diseases, tissue repair, and cancer. Recent reports identified an interaction of CXCR4 and ACKR3 with receptor activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs), and RAMP3 has been shown to facilitate ACKR3's recycling properties. Yet, the functional effects of RAMPs on the CXCL12 signaling axis remain largely elusive.

20 years of bibliometric data illustrates a lack of concordance between journal impact factor and fungal species discovery in systematic mycology.

Journal impact factors were devised to qualify and compare university library holdings but are frequently repurposed for use in ranking applications, research papers, and even individual applicants in mycology and beyond. The widely held assumption that mycological studies published in journals with high impact factors add more to systematic mycology than studies published in journals without high impact factors nevertheless lacks evidential underpinning. The present study uses the species hypothesis system of the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi and other eukaryotes to trace the publication history and impact factor of sequences uncovering new fungal species hypotheses.

Implementation of a magnet hospital model: attracting and retaining healthcare staff in a Swedish hospital.

Purpose: Staff shortages in the healthcare sector increase the competition for qualified staff. A magnet hospital is intended to attract, and retain healthcare professionals. This article aims to investigate the challenges related to implementation of a magnet hospital model, and given these challenges, to analyse the interplay between different organisational levels in a Swedish hospital.

Bilayer lipids modulate ligand binding to atypical chemokine receptor 3.

Chemokine receptors belong to the large class of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and are involved in a number of (patho)physiological processes. Previous studies highlighted the importance of membrane lipids for modulating GPCR structure and function. However, the underlying mechanisms of how lipids regulate GPCRs are often poorly understood.

Transformers enable accurate prediction of acute and chronic chemical toxicity in aquatic organisms.

Environmental hazard assessments are reliant on toxicity data that cover multiple organism groups. Generating experimental toxicity data is, however, resource-intensive and time-consuming. Computational methods are fast and cost-efficient alternatives, but the low accuracy and narrow applicability domains have made their adaptation slow.

"Being prevented from providing good care: a conceptual analysis of moral stress among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic".

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are susceptible to moral stress and distress when they are faced with morally challenging situations where it is difficult to act in line with their moral standards. In times of crisis, such as disasters and pandemics, morally challenging situations are more frequent, due to the increased imbalance between patient needs and resources. However, the concepts of moral stress and distress vary and there is unclarity regarding the definitions used in the literature.

Insights into the rapid metabolism of Geobacillus sp. LC300: unraveling metabolic requirements and optimal growth conditions.

This study investigated the metabolism of Geobacillus sp. LC300, a promising biorefinery host organism with high substrate utilization rates. A new defined medium was designed and tested that allows for exponential growth to elevated cell densities suitable for quantitative physiological studies.

Dataset on aquatic ecotoxicity predictions of 2697 chemicals, using three quantitative structure-activity relationship platforms.

Empirical and data on the aquatic ecotoxicology of 2697 organic chemicals were collected in order to compile a dataset for assessing the predictive power of current Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) models and software platforms. This document presents the dataset and the data pipeline for its creation. Empirical data were collected from the US EPA ECOTOX Knowledgebase (ECOTOX) and the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) report "Completion of data entry of pesticide ecotoxicology Tier 1 study endpoints in a XML schema - database".

Distinct Activation Mechanisms of CXCR4 and ACKR3 Revealed by Single-Molecule Analysis of their Conformational Landscapes.

The canonical chemokine receptor CXCR4 and atypical receptor ACKR3 both respond to CXCL12 but induce different effector responses to regulate cell migration. While CXCR4 couples to G proteins and directly promotes cell migration, ACKR3 is G protein-independent and scavenges CXCL12 to regulate extracellular chemokine levels and maintain CXCR4 responsiveness, thereby indirectly influencing migration. The receptors also have distinct activation requirements.

ACKR3-arrestin2/3 complexes reveal molecular consequences of GRK-dependent barcoding.

Atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3, also known as CXCR7) is a scavenger receptor that regulates extracellular levels of the chemokine CXCL12 to maintain responsiveness of its partner, the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), CXCR4. ACKR3 is notable because it does not couple to G proteins and instead is completely biased towards arrestins. Our previous studies revealed that GRK2 and GRK5 install distinct distributions of phosphates (or "barcodes") on the ACKR3 carboxy terminal tail, but how these unique barcodes drive different cellular outcomes is not understood.

Thermal conductivity vs depth profiling using the hot disk technique-Analysis of anisotropic, inhomogeneous structures.

A recently developed method for analyzing the thermal conductivity vs depth variation near a sample surface has been extended to include inhomogeneous samples with anisotropy. If not considered, the anisotropy ratio in the sample structure can distort the depth-position data of the original test method. The anisotropy ratio is introduced in the original computational scheme in order to improve the depth-position estimations for inhomogeneous structures with anisotropy.

Investigating survival, quality of life and cognition in PROton versus photon therapy for mutated diffuse grade 2 and 3 GLIOmas (PRO-GLIO): a randomised controlled trial in Norway and Sweden.

Introduction: The use of proton therapy increases globally despite a lack of randomised controlled trials demonstrating its efficacy and safety. Proton therapy enables sparing of non-neoplastic tissue from radiation. This is principally beneficial and holds promise of reduced long-term side effects.

"Glyco-sulfo barcodes" regulate chemokine receptor function.

Chemokine ligands and receptors regulate the directional migration of leukocytes. Post-translational modifications of chemokine receptors including O-glycosylation and tyrosine sulfation have been reported to regulate ligand binding and resulting signaling. Through in silico analyses, we determined potential conserved O-glycosylation and sulfation sites on human and murine CC chemokine receptors.

Risk assessment of chemicals and their mixtures are hindered by scarcity and inconsistencies between different environmental exposure limits.

In chemical risk assessment, measured or modelled environmental concentrations are compared to environmental exposure limits (EELs), such as Predicted No Effect Concentrations (PNECs) or hazardous concentrations for 5% of species (HC05s) derived from species sensitivity distributions (SSDs). However, for many chemicals the EELs include large uncertainties or, in the worst case, the necessary data for their estimation are completely missing. This makes the assessment of chemical risks and any subsequent implementation of management strategies challenging.

Genome-scale reconstruction and metabolic modelling of the fast-growing thermophile sp. LC300.

Thermophilic microorganisms show high potential for use as biorefinery cell factories. Their high growth temperatures provide fast conversion rates, lower risk of contaminations, and facilitated purification of volatile products. To date, only a few thermophilic species have been utilized for microbial production purposes, and the development of production strains is impeded by the lack of metabolic engineering tools.

Economic interests cloud hazard reductions in the European regulation of substances of very high concern.

Here we investigate how the conflicts between hazard reduction and economic interests have shaped the regulation of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) under the Authorization program of the European chemical regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). Since regulation starts with listing SVHCs on the Candidate List, we analyze the relative importance of toxicological properties, economic motivations, and available scientific knowledge on the probability of inclusion on the Candidate List. We find that the most important factor in whether a substance is listed is whether it is being produced in, or imported into, the European Economic Area (EEA), with the regulators less likely to place a substance on the list if it is currently being produced or imported in the EEA.

Older people's experiences of visiting social day centres: The importance of doing and being for health and well-being.

Background: Social day centres can support active and healthy ageing amongst older people. However, little is known regarding the importance of social day centres.

Aims/objectives: The aim of this study was to explore how older people visiting social day centres perceive the day centres' social influence on their health and well-being.

Structures of atypical chemokine receptor 3 reveal the basis for its promiscuity and signaling bias.

Both CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3) are activated by the chemokine CXCL12 yet evoke distinct cellular responses. CXCR4 is a canonical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), whereas ACKR3 is intrinsically biased for arrestin. The molecular basis for this difference is not understood.

Dealing with difficult choices: a qualitative study of experiences and consequences of moral challenges among disaster healthcare responders.

Background: Disasters are chaotic events with healthcare needs that overwhelm available capacities. Disaster healthcare responders must make difficult and swift choices, e.g.

A Scintillation Proximity Assay for Real-Time Kinetic Analysis of Chemokine-Chemokine Receptor Interactions.

Chemokine receptors are extensively involved in a broad range of physiological and pathological processes, making them attractive drug targets. However, despite considerable efforts, there are very few approved drugs targeting this class of seven transmembrane domain receptors to date. In recent years, the importance of including binding kinetics in drug discovery campaigns was emphasized.

Identification of a conserved chemokine receptor motif that enables ligand discrimination.

Extensive ligand-receptor promiscuity in the chemokine signaling system balances beneficial redundancy and specificity. However, this feature poses a major challenge to selectively modulate the system pharmacologically. Here, we identified a conserved cluster of three aromatic receptor residues that anchors the second extracellular loop (ECL2) to the top of receptor transmembrane helices (TM) 4 and 5 and enables recognition of both shared and specific characteristics of interacting chemokines.

Stroke-related health problems and associated actions identified with the post-stroke checklist among nursing home residents.

Background: Little is known about the needs of permanent nursing home residents after a stroke; comprehensive descriptions of needs are rare. The Post-Stroke Checklist facilitates the identification of health problems. The study aimed to use the Post-Stroke Checklist to identify the extent of health problems, and how they were addressed, in nursing home residents that experienced strokes in Sweden.

Moral Distress Among Operating Room Personnel During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the reallocation of healthcare resources, and a minimization of elective activities. Healthcare personnel involved in COVID-19 care have been negatively affected by the associated excess stress. The existing COVID-19 research has focused on the experiences among healthcare personnel in general, and not particularly on the operating room team members, who have often been relocated to overburdened workplaces.