β-Lactoglobulin Enhances Clay and Activated Carbon Binding and Protection Properties for Cadmium and Lead.

The removal of heavy metals from wastewater remains a challenge due to the limitations of current remediation methods. This study aims to develop multicomponent composites as inexpensive and environmentally friendly sorbents with enhanced capture of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). The composites are based on calcium montmorillonite (CM) and activated carbon (AC) because of their proven effectiveness as sorbents for diverse toxins in environmental settings.

Ethnic identity centrality across the adult lifespan: Aging, cohort, and period effects among majority and minority group members.

Ethnic identity is a major area of study across many disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. Yet, little is known about changes in ethnic identity across the adult lifespan, and whether such changes are driven by normal aging processes (aging effects), unique societal influences linked with one's formative years (cohort effects), or social changes during a specific time frame (period effects). We address these key oversights by utilizing 13 annual waves of longitudinal panel data from a nationwide random sample of both ethnic majority ( = 49,660) and Indigenous ethnic minority ( = 8,325) group members in New Zealand to examine changes in ethnic identity centrality using cohort-sequential latent growth modeling.

Green-engineered clay- and carbon-based composite materials for the adsorption of benzene from air.

Benzene is a carcinogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) that is ubiquitously detected in enclosed spaces due to emissions from cooking activities, building materials, and cleaning products. To remove benzene and other VOCs from indoor air and protect public health, traditional fabric filters have been modified to contain activated carbons to enhance the filtration efficacy. In this study, composites derived from natural clay minerals and activated carbon were individually green-engineered with chlorophylls and were attached to the surface of filter materials.

Communicating about sexual activity and intimacy after a heart attack: a cross-sectional survey of Australian health professionals.

Aims: Sexual activity and intimacy improve quality of life for heart attack survivors. After a heart attack, patients frequently experience sexual dysfunction and anxiety about resuming sexual activity. However, most health professionals do not discuss sex or intimacy with their patients.

Fixed or Fluid? Sexual Identity Fluidity in a Large National Panel Study of New Zealand Adults.

Sexual orientation has been defined as an enduring aspect of the self, but emerging evidence reveals that people's sexual attractions, behaviors, and identities can shift over time. To examine this possibility, we present a large longitudinal analysis of sexual orientation identity fluidity among New Zealand adults ( = 45,856; age = 18-99; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority (LGB+) s = 746-3,387). Over seven years, 5.

Australian health professionals' perspectives on discussing sexual activity and intimacy with people who have had a heart attack: a qualitative study.

Background: Sexual activity and intimacy contribute to wellbeing throughout adult life, including after a heart attack. Providing support and information about sexual activity and intimacy after a heart attack is recognised as part of a comprehensive approach to cardiac rehabilitation. Previous research shows that patients expect health professionals to initiate discussions about sexual activity and intimacy, but that this seldom occurs.

Adsorption and removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from water by green-engineered clays.

Human exposure to micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) commonly occurs through the consumption of contaminated drinking water. Among these, polystyrene (PS) is well-characterized and is one of the most abundant MNPs, accounting for 10 % of total plastics. Previous studies have focused on carbonaceous materials to remove MNPs by filtration, but most of the work has involved microplastics since nanoplastics (NPs) are smaller in size and more difficult to measure and remove.

Thinking twice: examining gender differences in repetitive negative thinking across the adult lifespan.

Background: A wealth of literature shows that women report greater levels of repetitive negative thinking, particularly rumination, than men in adolescence and adulthood. However, little research has examined how these gender differences develop or change across the entire adult lifespan.

Methods: The present study addresses these oversights using a nationwide longitudinal probability sample of adults over 12 annual assessment points ( = 64,901; = 42.

Examining the indirect effect of income on well-being via individual-based relative deprivation: Longitudinal mediation with a random intercept cross-lagged panel model.

Although the positive relationship between income and well-being is well established, the psychological mechanisms underlying this process are less understood. One underexplored explanation is that objective wealth (or lack thereof) fosters relative comparisons, which, in turn, predicts well-being. Extant work has, however, mostly focused on objective indicators of relative deprivation rather than on how people perceive their societal status.

Is cardioplegia system pressure the optimal measure of coronary perfusion during antegrade cardioplegia delivery? A critical review of pressure measurements for optimal antegrade delivery.

Antegrade cardioplegia is routinely given during cardiac surgery. The delivery of antegrade cardioplegia from the cardiopulmonary bypass machine has many variables. Many perfusionists rely exclusively on cardioplegia system pressure to ensure safe antegrade delivery.

Perceived Relative Deprivation Across the Adult Lifespan: An Examination of Aging and Cohort Effects.

Despite being a core psychological construct for over 70 years, research has yet to examine how perceptions of deprivation relative to other individuals and/or groups across adulthood. As such, this preregistered study uses cohort-sequential latent growth modeling to examine changes in individual- and group-based relative deprivation (IRD and GRD, respectively) across the adult lifespan. Across 10 annual assessments of a nationwide random sample of adults ( = 58,878; ethnic minority = 11,927; 62.

Factors of the policy process influencing Health in All Policies in local government: A scoping review.

Objectives: This review aimed to identify factors in the policymaking environment that influence a Health in all Policies approach in local government, how these vary across different municipal contexts, and the extent that theories of the policy process are applied.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted to include sources published in English, between 2001 and 2021 in three databases, and assessed for inclusion by two blind reviewers.

Results: Sixty-four sources were included.

Successful demand management in diagnostic immunology testing.

Aims: We investigated whether we could have a material and sustained impact on immunology test ordering by primary care clinicians by building evidence-based and explanatory algorithms into test ordering software.

Methods: A service evaluation revealed cases of over-requesting of antinuclear antibody, allergen-specific IgE and total IgE tests, and under-requesting of urine protein electrophoresis. We conducted a quality improvement programme to address this.

Development and characterization of chlorophyll-amended montmorillonite clays for the adsorption and detoxification of benzene.

After disasters, such as forest fires and oil spills, high levels of benzene (> 1 ppm) can be detected in the water, soil, and air surrounding the disaster site, which poses a significant health risk to human, animal, and plant populations in the area. While remediation methods with activated carbons have been employed, these strategies are limited in their effectiveness due to benzene's inherent stability and limited retention to most surfaces. To address this problem, calcium and sodium montmorillonite clays were amended with a mixture of chlorophyll (a) and (b); their binding profile and ability to detoxify benzene were characterized using in vitro, in silico, and well-established ecotoxicological (ecotox) bioassay methods.

Early Welsh cervical screening programme learning as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Background: The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on the cervical screening programme in Wales for the eligible women, sample takers, and laboratory and colposcopy services.

Aims: To explore what changes due to the pandemic have adversely affected screening outcomes in Wales and what lessons can be learned to improve cervical screening in Wales and elsewhere.

Methods: A review of the screening performance in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 in Wales as well as a comparison with other cervical screening programme responses to the pandemic.

Donor derived hepatitis B virus infection: Analysis of the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing Ad Hoc Disease Transmission Advisory Committee.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be transmitted from organ donor to recipient, but details of transmission events are not widely published. The Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC) evaluated 105 cases of potential donor derived transmission events of HBV between 2009-2017. Proven, probable or possible transmission of HBV occurred in 25 (23.

Oxidative stress in alcohol-related liver disease.

Alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of the global burden of disease and results in high healthcare and economic costs. Heavy alcohol misuse leads to alcohol-related liver disease, which is responsible for a significant proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths globally. Other than reducing alcohol consumption, there are currently no effective treatments for alcohol-related liver disease.

Pair housing, but not using a controlled reinforcer frequency procedure, attenuates the modulatory effect of probability presentation order on amphetamine-induced changes in risky choice.

Probability discounting is often measured with independent schedules. Independent schedules have several limitations, such as confounding preference for one alternative with frequency of reward presentation and generating ceiling/floor effects at certain probabilities. To address this potential caveat, a controlled reinforcer frequency schedule can be used, in which the manipulandum that leads to reinforcement is pseudo-randomly determined before each trial.

Insights into local health and wellbeing policy process in Australia.

To investigate factors that enable or challenge the initiation and actioning of health and wellbeing policy in Australian local governments using political science frameworks. An online survey was distributed to staff and elected members of Australian local governments. The survey sought responses to a range of variables as informed by political science frameworks.

A One Health investigation of Salmonella enterica serovar Wangata in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, 2016-2017.

Salmonella enterica serovar Wangata (S. Wangata) is an important cause of endemic salmonellosis in Australia, with human infections occurring from undefined sources. This investigation sought to examine possible environmental and zoonotic sources for human infections with S.

Innovative approaches to enhancing maternal and newborn survival: Indonesia's experience in an era of global commitments to reducing mortality.

Globally, countries have made impressive strides toward achieving targets set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce maternal mortality. The subsequent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have further challenged countries to accelerate these reductions. While Indonesia invested in several initiatives to improve care for mothers and newborns and made large gains in improving skilled care at birth, the country fell short of its MDG target.

Investigating locally relevant risk factors for infection in Australia: protocol for a case-control study and genomic analysis.

Introduction: The CampySource project aims to identify risk factors for human infection in Australia. We will investigate locally relevant risk factors and those significant in international studies in a case-control study. Case isolates and contemporaneous isolates from food and animal sources will be sequenced to conduct source attribution modelling, and findings will be combined with the case-control study in a source-assigned analysis.

Retrospective use of whole genome sequencing to better understand an outbreak of serovar Mbandaka in New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction: serovar Mbandaka is an infrequent cause of salmonellosis in New South Wales (NSW) with an average of 17 cases reported annually. This study examined the added value of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for investigating a non-point source outbreak of ser. Mbandaka with limited geographical spread.