Outcomes of Systematic Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Biopsy Performed by a Surgical Care Practitioner and Implications for Resource-Poor Countries.

Introduction Prostate cancer remains the most prevalent cancer among men and continues to present a significant public health challenge globally. The disease's growing prevalence has heightened the demand for skilled professionals capable of obtaining histological samples for accurate diagnosis, as tissue biopsy remains the cornerstone for diagnosing prostate cancer. Surgical care practitioners have become integral to the surgical team, and their roles have expanded to include performing biopsies.

Removal efficiencies of seven frequently detected antibiotics and related physiological responses in three microalgae species.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of mixtures of seven widely used human antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, metronidazole, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim) on the growth, pH, pigment production, and antibiotics removal of three microalgal species (Auxenochlorella protothecoides, Tetradesmus obliquus, and Chlamydomonas acidophila). Batch assays were conducted with media with antibiotic mixtures at 10, 50, and 100 μg L for each antibiotic. The three microalgae species effectively removed the antibiotics without any growth inhibition, even when exposed to the highest antibiotic concentrations.

Developing a Rational, Optimized Product of for Examination in Clinical Trials: Real World Challenges.

Botanical products are frequently sold as dietary supplements and their use by the public is increasing in popularity. However, scientific evaluation of their medicinal benefits presents unique challenges due to their chemical complexity, inherent variability, and the involvement of multiple active components and biological targets. Translation away from preclinical models, and developing an optimized, reproducible botanical product for use in clinical trials, presents particular challenges for phytotherapeutic agents compared to single chemical entities.

Multifactorial Evaluation of Atenolol, Caffeine, Carbamazepine and Ibuprofen on and .

Micropollutants in aquatic resources have raised global concerns regarding the conservation of ecosystems. Although they are usually found in the environment at trace concentrations to a maximum of several µg/L, it is still necessary to address the potential risks these pollutants may represent to organisms. A multifactor analysis was conducted using two algae as bioindicators.

Effect of eight common Brazilian drugs on Lemna minor and Salvinia auriculata growth.

The growth of two species of macrophytes (Lemna minor and Salvinia auriculata) under the effect of a mixture of amoxicillin, caffeine, carbamazepine, dipyrone, ibuprofen, losartan, omeprazole, and tenivastatin was investigated by bioassay. Three concentration levels were utilized in this study (10, 200, and 500 μg L) using a growth inhibition test based on the OECD 221/2006 guidelines. The frond number, total area, and chlorophyll a level were selected as suitable end points.

Pharmaceuticals effect and removal, at environmentally relevant concentrations, from sewage sludge during anaerobic digestion.

This paper investigates the performance of AD in the presence of high-risk pharmaceuticals found in sewage sludge and its removal capacity. The digestion process of synthetic sewage sludge was observed in two 7L glass reactors (D1 and D2) at 38 °C (OLR 1.3 gVS L d and HRT 43 d).

Amoxicillin removal by pre-denitrification membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR): Performance evaluation, degradation by-products, and antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are one of the treatment technologies with the potential to remove emerging compounds from wastewater. The present work evaluated the efficiency of an MBR pilot system in removing amoxicillin from synthetic wastewater using a continuous flow pre-denitrification MBR (A/O-MBR) pilot unit. The system operated in three phases: (1) synthetic wastewater and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 40 h; (2) adding amoxicillin 100 μg L to the influent, and (3) varying flowrate to HRT of 20 h.

Mechanistic and ecotoxicological studies of amoxicillin removal through anaerobic degradation systems.

Many studies have been conducted on the evaluation and monitoring of micropollutants and by-products in wastewater treatment plants. Considering the increase in the production and consumption of emerging contaminants, such as drugs, personal care products, and plasticisers, it is necessary to conduct studies that support the elaboration of laws and regulations that promote the environmentally sustainable use of sludge and effluents. In this work, the biological degradation of amoxicillin was studied under two anaerobic conditions: i) using a 6 L reactor operated under semi-continuous flow; and ii) a batch system with 100 mL sealed glass syringes.

Prolonged ethanol administration prevents the development of tolerance to morphine-induced respiratory depression.

Background: Opioid users regularly consume other drugs such as alcohol (ethanol). Acute administration of ethanol can rapidly reverse tolerance to morphine-induced respiratory depression. However, alcohol consumption by opioid users is likely to occur over prolonged time periods.

Identification of the acid-induced degradation products of omeprazole and 5-hydroxyomeprazole by high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Rationale: Omeprazole is used to treat gastric disorders and is one of the most commonly consumed drugs in the western world. It forms several metabolites but is mostly excreted unchanged and as 5-hydroxyomeprazole. Since omeprazole is widely prescribed, its excretion from the body has a potential environmental effect.

Ranking prescribed pharmaceuticals in terms of environmental risk: Inclusion of hospital data and the importance of regular review.

A newly available dataset on pharmaceuticals used in Scottish hospitals enabled an environmental risk assessment that includes hospital consumption of pharmaceuticals, as previous United Kingdom rankings have been based on community prescriptions only. Although health and the environment are devolved issues for the Scottish government, it is merited to consider a Scottish ranking separately; regional differentiation is particularly relevant in the spatial context of the European Commission's Water Framework Directive. Nine pharmaceuticals are identified as having a risk quotient greater than 1.

Ethanol Reversal of Tolerance to the Respiratory Depressant Effects of Morphine.

Opioids are the most common drugs associated with unintentional drug overdose. Death results from respiratory depression. Prolonged use of opioids results in the development of tolerance but the degree of tolerance is thought to vary between different effects of the drugs.

Longitudinal profiles of expressive vocabulary, syntax and pragmatic language in boys with fragile X syndrome or Down syndrome.

Background: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS) are the two leading genetic causes of intellectual disability, and FXS is the most common known genetic condition associated with autism. Both FXS and DS are associated with significant language impairment, but little is known about expressive language across domains over time or the role of autism in language development in FXS.

Aims: To compare three domains of language production (vocabulary, syntax, pragmatics) over time within and across groups of boys with FXS with and without autism spectrum disorder (FXS-ASD, FXS-O), boys with DS, and typically developing (TD) boys.

Perseveration in the connected speech of boys with Fragile X syndrome with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Verbal perseveration is a frequently reported language characteristic of males with Fragile X syndrome and may be a defining feature or hallmark of the syndrome. We compared the verbal perseveration of boys with Fragile X syndrome with (n  =  29) and without (n  =  30) autism spectrum disorder, boys with Down syndrome (n  =  27), and typically developing boys (n  =  25) at similar nonverbal mental ages. During a social interaction, boys with both Fragile X syndrome and autism spectrum disorder produced significantly more topic perseveration than all other groups.

Cognitive, environmental, and linguistic predictors of syntax in fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.

Purpose: To examine which cognitive, environmental, and speech-language variables predict expressive syntax in boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), boys with Down syndrome (DS), and typically developing (TD) boys, and whether predictive relationships differed by group.

Method: We obtained Index of Productive Syntax ( Scarborough, 1990) scores for 18 boys with FXS only, 20 boys with both FXS and an autism spectrum disorder, 27 boys with DS, and 25 younger TD boys of similar nonverbal mental age. Predictors included group (diagnosis), nonverbal cognition, phonological working memory (PWM), maternal education, speech intelligibility, and expressive vocabulary.

Narrative Skill in Boys with Fragile X Syndrome with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

We examined recalled narratives of boys with fragile X syndrome with autism spectrum disorder (FXS-ASD; N=28) and without ASD (FXS-O; N=29), and compared them to those of boys with Down syndrome (DS; N=33) and typically developing boys (TD; N=39). Narratives were scored for mentions of macrostructural Story Grammar elements (Introduction, Relationship, Initiating Events, Internal Response, Attempts/Actions, and Ending). We found that narrative recall is predicted by short-term memory and nonverbal mental age levels in almost all groups (except TD), but not by expressive syntax or caregiver education.

Expressive morphosyntax in boys with Fragile X syndrome with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability, and the most common single gene disorder associated with autism. Language impairments in this disorder are well documented, but the nature and extent of syntactic impairments are still unclear.

Aims: To compare the performance of boys with FXS with and without autism spectrum disorder on measures of verb (VM) and noun (NM) morphosyntax with that of typically developing boys of similar non-verbal mental ages.

Longitudinal predictors of reading and math trajectories through middle school for African American versus Caucasian students across two samples.

This study's primary purpose was to examine the relative contribution of social-behavioral predictors to reading and math skills. The study expands on Duncan et al.'s (2007) work by using longitudinal methodology from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) databases, and by focusing on potential differences in patterns of early predictors of later reading and math trajectories for African American versus Caucasian students.

Language Characteristics of Individuals with Down Syndrome.

On average, language and communication characteristics of individuals with Down syndrome (the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability) follow a consistent profile. Despite considerable individual variability, receptive language is typically stronger than expressive language, with particular challenges in phonology and syntax. We review the literature on language and literacy skills of individuals with Down syndrome, with emphasis on the areas of phonology, vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics.

Direct magnitude estimation of articulation rate in boys with fragile X syndrome.

Purpose: To compare the perceived articulation rate of boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) with that of chronologically age-matched (CA) boys and to determine segmental and/or prosodic factors that account for perceived rate.

Method: Ten listeners used direct magnitude estimation procedures to judge the articulation rates of 7 boys with FXS only, 5 boys with FXS and a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 12 CA boys during sentence repetition. Sentences had similar articulation rates in syllables per second as determined acoustically.

Phonological accuracy and intelligibility in connected speech of boys with fragile X syndrome or Down syndrome.

Purpose: To compare the phonological accuracy and speech intelligibility of boys with fragile X syndrome with autism spectrum disorder (FXS-ASD), fragile X syndrome only (FXS-O), Down syndrome (DS), and typically developing (TD) boys.

Method: Participants were 32 boys with FXS-O (3-14 years), 31 with FXS-ASD (5-15 years), 34 with DS (4-16 years), and 45 TD boys of similar nonverbal mental age. We used connected speech samples to compute measures of phonological accuracy, phonological process occurrence, and intelligibility.

Measurement of functional capacity requirements to aid in development of an occupation-specific rehabilitation training program to help firefighters with cardiac disease safely return to work.

We designed a study to measure the functional capacity requirements of firefighters to aid in the development of an occupation-specific training program in cardiac rehabilitation; 23 healthy male firefighters with no history of heart disease completed a fire and rescue obstacle course that simulated 7 common firefighting tasks. They wore complete personal protective equipment and portable metabolic instruments that included a data collection mask. We monitored each subject's oxygen consumption (VO(2)) and working heart rate, then calculated age-predicted maximum heart rates (220 - age) and training target heart rates (85% of age-predicted maximum heart rate).

Racial identity, social context, and race-related social cognition in African Americans during middle childhood.

This study examined the effect of changes in racial identity, cross-race friendships, same-race friendships, and classroom racial composition on changes in race-related social cognition from 3rd to 5th grade for 73 African American children. The goal of the study was to determine the extent to which preadolescent racial identity and social context predict expectations of racial discrimination in cross-race social interactions (social expectations). Expectations of racial discrimination were assessed using vignettes of cross-race social situations involving an African American child in a social interaction with European Americans.

Syntactic complexity during conversation of boys with fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.

Purpose: This study compared the syntax of boys who have fragile X syndrome (FXS) with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with that of (a) boys who have Down syndrome (DS) and (b) typically developing (TD) boys.

Method: Thirty-five boys with FXS only, 36 boys with FXS with ASD, 31 boys with DS, and 46 TD boys participated. Conversational language samples were evaluated for utterance length and syntactic complexity (i.

Social risk and protective factors for African American children's academic achievement and adjustment during the transition to middle school.

The transition to middle school is often marked by decreased academic achievement and increased emotional stress, and African American children exposed to social risk may be especially vulnerable during this transition. To identify mediators and protective factors, the authors related severity and timing of risk exposure to academic achievement and adjustment between 4th and 6th grade in 74 African American children. Longitudinal analyses indicated that severity more than timing of risk exposure was negatively related to all outcomes and that language skills mediated the pathway from risk for most outcomes.