A recipe for plastic: Expert insights on plastic additives in the marine environment.

The production and consumption of plastic products had been steadily increasing over the years, leading to more plastic waste entering the environment. Plastic pollution is ubiquitous and comes in many types and forms. To enhance or modify their properties, chemical additives are added to plastic items during manufacturing.

Recruitment and Retention Strategies Used in Dietary Randomized Controlled Interventions with Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review.

Background: The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate the quality of reporting of recruitment and retention methods in diet-related intervention trials among cancer survivors.

Methods: A systematic search of five databases in Spring 2023 identified dietary intervention randomized controlled trials with a minimum of 50 cancer survivors, an intervention of at least eight weeks, and at least six months of study duration. Outcomes investigated include methodologic description and reporting of recruitment and retention rates.

Multi-dimensional and region-specific planning for coal retirements.

Early retirement of coal-fired power is essential for remaining in line with the 2°C target set in the Paris Agreement. Plant age plays the major role in designing retirement pathways, however, this overlooks the economic and health costs associated with coal-fired power. We introduce multi-dimensional retirement schedules that account for age, operating cost, and air pollution hazards.

Perspective-taking is spontaneous but not automatic.

Data from a range of different experimental paradigms-in particular (but not only) the dot perspective task-have been interpreted as evidence that humans automatically track the perspective of other individuals. Results from other studies, however, have cast doubt on this interpretation, and some researchers have suggested that phenomena that seem like perspective-taking might instead be the products of simpler behavioural rules. The issue remains unsettled in significant part because different schools of thought, with different theoretical perspectives, implement the experimental tasks in subtly different ways, making direct comparisons difficult.

Designer Drugs and the Impact on the Adolescent User.

There are serious concerns regarding adolescent use of designer drugs. Designer drug usage is often undetected and can result in life-threatening physical and psychiatric reactions. This article explores the history of designer drugs, identifies some of the more recent designer drugs available, distinguishes the symptoms of designer drugs usage, and identifies reasons the designer drugs are popular with our young population.

A parallel implementation of the Wuchty algorithm with additional experimental filters to more thoroughly explore RNA conformational space.

We present new modifications to the Wuchty algorithm in order to better define and explore possible conformations for an RNA sequence. The new features, including parallelization, energy-independent lonely pair constraints, context-dependent chemical probing constraints, helix filters, and optional multibranch loops, provide useful tools for exploring the landscape of RNA folding. Chemical probing alone may not necessarily define a single unique structure.

IL-27 receptor signalling restricts the formation of pathogenic, terminally differentiated Th1 cells during malaria infection by repressing IL-12 dependent signals.

The IL-27R, WSX-1, is required to limit IFN-γ production by effector CD4⁺ T cells in a number of different inflammatory conditions but the molecular basis of WSX-1-mediated regulation of Th1 responses in vivo during infection has not been investigated in detail. In this study we demonstrate that WSX-1 signalling suppresses the development of pathogenic, terminally differentiated (KLRG-1⁺) Th1 cells during malaria infection and establishes a restrictive threshold to constrain the emergent Th1 response. Importantly, we show that WSX-1 regulates cell-intrinsic responsiveness to IL-12 and IL-2, but the fate of the effector CD4⁺ T cell pool during malaria infection is controlled primarily through IL-12 dependent signals.

Observer error: are medical students good observers?

Observer error affects virtually all aspects of medicine. Our objective was to find a way to reduce it among clinical students. A minority need to be shown how to observe.

Reflecting on forced medication.

There are multiple concerns regarding the practice of forced medication of clients with mental illness. Clients often report that side effects outweigh the benefits of psychotropic medication, while mental health clinicians often think the client may become dangerous without medication. Who should have the right to decide whether a client takes medication? Nursing plays an integral role in the decision making by considering alternative therapies and current research, addressing the diversity among our clients, and ensuring comprehensive assessments.

Finding, confirming, and managing gonorrhoea in a population screened for chlamydia using the Gen-Probe Aptima Combo2 assay.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) within a population screened for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). To monitor confirmatory microscopy, culture, and partner findings following reactive Aptima Combo2 assay (AC2) gonorrhoea screening tests.

Methods: Between June and December 2004, all gonorrhoea screening tests performed using AC2 for clients taking part in the Liverpool Chlamydia Screening Programme were monitored.

Science, technology and ethics: from critical perspective to dialectical perspective.

It has been agreed upon, according to critical perspective, to distinguish the problems raised by scientific issues on the one hand and the problems raised by moral issues on the other. This distinction, at the genesis of theoretical ideology, postulates that experimental science is mere knowledge which, since it has nothing to do with action, cannot raise a moral problem. Yet the use of experimental techniques turns out to be a necessary means, although an insufficient one, to put to the test and to confirm the theoretical hypothesis of science.

Effect of irradiation, asbestos and chemical cocarcinogens on incidence of sarcoma on implants.

An implant can act as a physical carcinogen. Chemicals applied to its surface can augment that. To explore if cocarcinogenesis would affect the incidence of tumour on implants, we tested several physical (asbestos, beta irradiation) and chemical (acridine orange, phorbol methyl ester, cigarette smoke tar, extract of Agaricus bisporus mushroom) carcinogens on 25 mm diameter nitrocellulose filters implanted in groups of BALB/c mice in 9 experiments.

Inhibition of foreign-body sarcoma by mammalian RNA?

Long-implanted foreign bodies can provoke sarcoma in several species, although rarely in man. In neoplasia, RNA metabolism is highly active. Several kinds of RNA from 5 species were tested for prevention of foreign-body sarcoma in 8 experiments.

MMPI-2 fake-bad scales: an attempted cross-validation of proposed cutting scores for outpatients.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) results were compared in 118 psychiatric outpatients given standard instructions, instructions to exaggerate their problems, instructions to feign a disorder they did not have, or instructions to feign global psychological disturbance. The groups were comparable on demographic, occupational and diagnostic characteristics as well as intake MMPI-2 results. Experimental MMPI-2 results showed that clinical scales were generally elevated in the feigning groups, with only modest differences across dissimulating instruction sets.

Foreign body sarcoma: effects of foreign DNA, beta-carotene and paprika applied to the implant surface.

Sarcoma arises extremely rarely on foreign bodies in man, but is aggressive and often lethal. A coating for implants which would further reduce the risk in man is desirable. The incidence in mice is much greater, and responds to chemical treatment of the implant surface.

Validation of ICTERUS, a knowledge-based expert system for Jaundice diagnosis.

The study aimed to describe an example of the assessment and validation of knowledge-based clinical expert systems. The paper focuses on ICTERUS, an expert system for jaundice diagnosis. It describes system design, the methodology applied for upgrading and validating the program, and the most important outcomes of the validation procedure.

Objective assessment of the contribution of each diagnostic test and of the ordering sequence in jaundice caused by pancreatobiliary carcinoma.

Background: Computer-assisted diagnostic systems are not substantially more accurate than the clinician in the differential diagnosis of jaundice but may help in optimal selection and sequencing of tests. The present study aimed to assess with an electronic diagnostic tool the pattern of ordering tests and the diagnostic contribution and related financial cost of each test in jaundiced patients with pancreatobiliary carcinoma, in an effort to make the clinician's diagnostic behaviour more efficient and economical.

Methods: Clinical and diagnostic test data were prospectively gathered from 356 jaundiced patients with pancreatobiliary carcinoma and entered in a Bayesian diagnostic programme.

Effect of 3 growth control substances on foreign body sarcomagenesis: IFN, IUdR, MGBG.

The purpose was to observe the effect on sarcomagenesis of 3 substances reported to inhibit neoplastic growth--interferon alpha-2/alpha-1 hybrid (IFN), 5-iodo-2-deoxyuridine (IUdR) and methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG). Inhibitory effect might help diminish the sarcoma risk of human implants. The substances were applied respectively to groups of 25mm cellulose filters which were implanted subcutaneously 1 per animal in randomly assigned respective groups of 50 female BALB/c mice.

Bleeding times and the antithrombotic effects of high-dose aspirin, hirudin and heparins in the rat.

Bleeding can occur unexpectedly during antithrombotic therapy. Impaired haemostasis is commonly measured by the bleeding time. We measured it by 3 methods in controls and in anticoagulated animals and related it to their antithrombotic status.

Some effects of prophylactic aspirins and heparins on concurrent arterial and venous thrombosis in the same animal.

The antithrombotic effect of unfractionated heparin, a low-molecular weight heparin, oral acetylsalicylic acid, intravenous lysine-aspirin and oral soluble aspirin was measured on platinum wire simultaneously in artery and vein, in groups of 12-20 rats with concurrent untreated controls. Subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin reduced mean thrombus weight by 26% in the artery only. Venous thrombosis was reduced 56% by oral soluble acetylsalicylic acid and 27% by oral aspirin.

Effect of film size on production of foreign body sarcoma by perforated film implants.

Sarcoma may arise on unabsorbable foreign bodies in rodents and more rarely in man. Perforations of the implant reduce its carcinogenicity so that nitrocellulose filters of pore size 0.45 micron have failed to induce tumour.

Assessment of liver cirrhosis severity in 1015 patients of the Euricterus database with Campbell-Child, Pugh-Child and with ascites and ascites-nutritional state (ANS) related classifications. Euricterus Project Management Group.

Background/aims: The assessment of disease stage in cirrhosis is important for the individual patient (prognosis, timing and risk for requiring surgical intervention) and also for population comparisons and trials. There are several established methods, and we have aimed at comparison of the methods within a large cirrhosis population.

Methodology: In the European Union Euricterus database, there are 1015 patients with a "certain" diagnosis of cirrhosis, each of whom in one session had a protocol work-up of history, physical examination and all laboratory investigations needed for this study.