Predictions of groundwater PFAS occurrence at drinking water supply depths in the United States.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known colloquially as "forever chemicals," have been associated with adverse human health effects and have contaminated drinking water supplies across the United States owing to their long-term and widespread use. People in the United States may unknowingly be drinking water that contains PFAS because of a lack of systematic analysis, particularly in domestic water supplies. We present an extreme gradient-boosting model for predicting the occurrence of PFAS in groundwater at the depths of drinking water supply for the conterminous United States.

Hypoxia evokes a sequence of raphe-pontomedullary network operations for inspiratory drive amplification and gasping.

Hypoxia can trigger a sequence of breathing-related behaviors, from tachypnea to apneusis to apnea and gasping, an autoresuscitative behavior that, via large tidal volumes and altered intrathoracic pressure, can enhance coronary perfusion, carotid blood flow, and sympathetic activity, and thereby coordinate cardiac and respiratory functions. We tested the hypothesis that hypoxia-evoked gasps are amplified through a disinhibitory microcircuit within the inspiratory neuron chain and a distributed efference copy mechanism that generates coordinated gasp-like discharges concurrently in other circuits of the raphe-pontomedullary respiratory network. Data were obtained from 6 decerebrate, vagotomized, neuromuscularly-blocked, and artificially ventilated adult cats.

Global Groundwater Solute Composition and Concentrations.

Informed analysis of policies related to food security, global climate change, wetland ecology, environmental nutrient flux, element cycling, groundwater weathering, continental denudation, human health, and others depends to a large extent on quantitative estimates of solute mass fluxes into and out of all global element pools including the enigmatic global aquifer systems. Herein for the first time, we proffer the mean global solute concentration of all major and selected minor and trace solutes in the active groundwater that represents 99% of liquid fresh water on Earth. Concentrations in this significant element pool have yielded to a geospatial machine learning kNN-nearest neighbors' algorithm with numerous geospatial predictors utilizing a large new lithology/climate/aquifer age/elevation based solute database.

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Groundwater Used as a Source of Drinking Water in the Eastern United States.

In 2019, 254 samples were collected from five aquifer systems to evaluate perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) occurrence in groundwater used as a source of drinking water in the eastern United States. The samples were analyzed for 24 PFAS, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pharmaceuticals, and tritium. Fourteen of the 24 PFAS were detected in groundwater, with 60 and 20% of public-supply and domestic wells, respectively, containing at least one PFAS detection.

Evaluation of the Pubocervical Fascia With 3-Dimensional Endovaginal Ultrasonography and Correlation With Intraoperative Findings During Robotic Sacrocervicopexy.

Objectives: To evaluate the pubocervical fascia (PF) in patients with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) using 3-dimensonal endovaginal ultrasonography (EVUS) and to correlate the PF appearance with both pelvic examination and intraoperative findings during ultrasonographic robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocervicopexy and pubocervical fascia reconstruction (u-RALS-PFR).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 120 women with symptomatic POP. Preoperative evaluation was done using EVUS.

Lithium in groundwater used for drinking-water supply in the United States.

Lithium concentrations in untreated groundwater from 1464 public-supply wells and 1676 domestic-supply wells distributed across 33 principal aquifers in the United States were evaluated for spatial variations and possible explanatory factors. Concentrations nationwide ranged from <1 to 396 μg/L (median of 8.1) for public supply wells and <1 to 1700 μg/L (median of 6 μg/L) for domestic supply wells.

Pesticides and Pesticide Degradates in Groundwater Used for Public Supply across the United States: Occurrence and Human-Health Context.

This is the first assessment of groundwater from public-supply wells across the United States to analyze for >100 pesticide degradates and to provide human-health context for degradates without benchmarks. Samples from 1204 wells in aquifers representing 70% of the volume pumped for drinking supply were analyzed for 109 pesticides (active ingredients) and 116 degradates. Among the 41% of wells where pesticide compounds were detected, nearly two-thirds contained compound mixtures and three-quarters contained degradates.

Blood pressure drives multispectral tuning of inspiration via a linked-loop neural network.

The respiratory motor pattern is coordinated with cardiovascular system regulation. Inspiratory drive and respiratory phase durations are tuned by blood pressure and baroreceptor reflexes. We hypothesized that perturbations of systemic arterial blood pressure modulate inspiratory drive through a raphe-pontomedullary network.

Fluoride occurrence in United States groundwater.

Data from 38,105 wells were used to characterize fluoride (F) occurrence in untreated United States (U.S.) groundwater.

The relation of geogenic contaminants to groundwater age, aquifer hydrologic position, water type, and redox conditions in Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain aquifers, eastern and south-central USA.

Groundwater age distributions developed from carbon-14 (C), tritium (H), and helium-4 (He) concentrations, along with aquifer hydrologic position, water type, and redox conditions, were compared to geogenic contaminants of concern (GCOC) from 252 public-supply wells in six Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain unconsolidated-sediment aquifers. Concentrations of one or more GCOCs in 168 (67%) wells exceeded MCLs (maximum contaminant levels), SMCLs (secondary MCLs), or HBSLs (health-based screening levels). Human-health benchmark thresholds (MCLs or HBSLs) were exceeded in 31 (12%) wells, and included 0.

Ultrasonography and robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocervicopexy with pubocervical fascia reconstruction: comparison with standard technique.

The objective of this study was to evaluate our technique of ultrasonography and robotic-assisted sacrocervicopexy with pubocervical fascia reconstruction (u-RALS-PFR) versus standard robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocervicopexy (s-RALS) in the treatment of patients with symptomatic apical/anterior vaginal prolapse. A retrospective analysis was done using the data in two community hospitals. Thirty women presented with symptomatic vaginal apical prolapse and desired minimally invasive surgery (video): (a) standard robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocervicopexy (s-RALS) (n = 15) or (b) ultrasound and robotic-assisted sacrocervicopexy with pubocervical fascia reconstruction (u-RALS-PFR) (n = 15) were eligible to participate.

Time scales of arsenic variability and the role of high-frequency monitoring at three water-supply wells in New Hampshire, USA.

Groundwater geochemistry, redox process classification, high-frequency physicochemical and hydrologic measurements, and climate data were analyzed to identify controls on arsenic (As) concentration changes. Groundwater was monitored in two public-supply wells (one glacial aquifer and one bedrock aquifer), and one bedrock-aquifer domestic well in New Hampshire, USA, from 2014 to 2018 to identify time scales of and controls on As concentration changes. Concentrations of As and other geochemical constituents were measured bimonthly.

Using Age Tracers and Decadal Sampling to Discern Trends in Nitrate, Arsenic, and Uranium in Groundwater Beneath Irrigated Cropland.

Repeat sampling and age tracers were used to examine trends in nitrate, arsenic, and uranium concentrations in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland. Much higher nitrate concentrations in shallow modern groundwater were observed at both the Columbia Plateau and High Plains sites (median values of 10.2 and 15.

Hydrocarbons in Upland Groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York, U.S.A.

Water samples from 50 domestic wells located <1 km (proximal) and >1 km (distal) from shale-gas wells in upland areas of the Marcellus Shale region were analyzed for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. Uplands were targeted because natural mixing with brine and hydrocarbons from deep formations is less common in those areas compared to valleys. CH-isotope, predrill CH-concentration, and other data indicate that one proximal sample (5% of proximal samples) contains thermogenic CH (2.

Pulmonary Vein Ganglia Are Remodeled in the Diabetic Heart.

Background Cardiac autonomic neuropathy is thought to cause adverse cardiovascular effects in diabetes mellitus. Pulmonary vein ganglia ( PVG ), which have been implicated in normal and abnormal heart rhythm regulation, have not been fully investigated in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). We examined the functional and anatomical effects of T1D on PVG and studied the details of T1D-induced remodeling on the PVG structure and function.

Robotic-assisted laparoscopic apical suspension: description of the spiral technique.

This video's objective was to describe our spiral technique and surgical steps of robotic-assisted laparoscopic apical suspension (RALAS) in the treatment of patients with symptomatic apical vaginal prolapse. A 70-year-old Caucasian woman, gravida 3, para 2 had symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP) apical/anterior stage III. At pelvic ultrasound evaluation, the uterus was small and normal appearing of adnexa bilaterally.

Central Respiration and Mechanical Ventilation in the Gating of Swallow With Breathing.

Swallow-breathing coordination safeguards the lower airways from tracheal aspiration of bolus material as it moves through the pharynx into the esophagus. Impaired movements of the shared muscles or structures of the aerodigestive tract, or disruptions in the interaction of brainstem swallow and respiratory central pattern generators (CPGs) result in dysphagia. To maximize lower airway protection these CPGs integrate respiratory rhythm generation signals and vagal afferent feedback to synchronize swallow with breathing.

Carotid Bodies and the Integrated Cardiorespiratory Response to Hypoxia.

Advances in our understanding of brain mechanisms for the hypoxic ventilatory response, coordinated changes in blood pressure, and the long-term consequences of chronic intermittent hypoxia as in sleep apnea, such as hypertension and heart failure, are giving impetus to the search for therapies to "erase" dysfunctional memories distributed in the carotid bodies and central nervous system. We review current network models, open questions, sex differences, and implications for translational research.

Carotid chemoreceptors tune breathing via multipath routing: reticular chain and loop operations supported by parallel spike train correlations.

We tested the hypothesis that carotid chemoreceptors tune breathing through parallel circuit paths that target distinct elements of an inspiratory neuron chain in the ventral respiratory column (VRC). Microelectrode arrays were used to monitor neuronal spike trains simultaneously in the VRC, peri-nucleus tractus solitarius (p-NTS)-medial medulla, the dorsal parafacial region of the lateral tegmental field (FTL-pF), and medullary raphe nuclei together with phrenic nerve activity during selective stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors or transient hypoxia in 19 decerebrate, neuromuscularly blocked, and artificially ventilated cats. Of 994 neurons tested, 56% had a significant change in firing rate.

Using groundwater age distributions to understand changes in methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE) concentrations in ambient groundwater, northeastern United States.

Temporal changes in methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE) concentrations in groundwater were evaluated in the northeastern United States, an area of the nation with widespread low-level detections of MtBE based on a national survey of wells selected to represent ambient conditions. MtBE use in the U.S.

Robotic and laparoendoscopic single-site utero-sacral ligament suspension for apical vaginal prolapse: evaluation of our technique and perioperative outcomes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate our technique and steps of robotic and laparoendoscopic single-site utero-sacral ligament suspension in the treatment of patients with symptomatic apical vaginal prolapse. A retrospective analysis was done using the data in 2 community hospital. Eighteen women presented with vaginal apex prolapse and desired minimally invasive surgery (video): (a) Laparoendoscopic single-site utero-sacral ligament suspension (LESS-UTSLS) (n = 13) or (b) robotic-assisted single-site utero-sacral ligament suspension (RASS-UTSLS) (n = 5) were eligible to participate.

Feed-forward and reciprocal inhibition for gain and phase timing control in a computational model of repetitive cough.

We investigated the hypothesis, motivated in part by a coordinated computational cough network model, that second-order neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) act as a filter and shape afferent input to the respiratory network during the production of cough. In vivo experiments were conducted on anesthetized spontaneously breathing cats. Cough was elicited by mechanical stimulation of the intrathoracic airways.

Holding-time and method comparisons for the analysis of fecal-indicator bacteria in groundwater.

As part of the US Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program, groundwater samples from domestic- and public-supply wells were collected and analyzed for fecal-indicator bacteria. A holding time comparison for total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and enterococci was done by analyzing samples within 8 h using presence/absence methods and within 18-30 h using quantitative methods. The data indicate that results obtained within 18-30 h were not significantly different from those obtained within 8 h for total coliforms and enterococci, by Colilert® and Enterolert® methods (IDEXX Laboratories Inc.