Correlates of Betel Nut Chewing among Burmese Refugees in Nebraska.

Background: Betel nut chewing is an important risk factor for oral cancer, yet there has been little research identifying correlates of betel nut chewing among Burmese refugees in the U.S.

Methods: Based on survey data from 188 Burmese refugees from Nebraska between 2015 and 2016, logistic regression was estimated to identify correlates of betel nut chewing.

SIMONI (Smart Integrated Monitoring) as a novel bioanalytical strategy for water quality assessment: Part II-field feasibility survey.

Because it is impossible to chemically analyze all relevant micropollutants, the implementation of bioanalytical tools is essential to estimate ecological risks of chemical mixtures in regular water-monitoring programs. The first tier of the Smart Integrated Monitoring (SIMONI) strategy, which was described in part I, is based on the combination of passive sampling and bioanalytical measurements. Bioassay responses are compared with effect-based trigger values (EBT), and an overall SIMONI score on all bioassay data was designed to indicate environmental risks.

SIMONI (smart integrated monitoring) as a novel bioanalytical strategy for water quality assessment: Part i-model design and effect-based trigger values.

It is virtually impossible to reliably assess water quality with target chemical analyses only. Therefore, a complementary effect-based risk assessment by bioanalyses on mixtures of bioavailable micropollutants is proposed: the Smart Integrated Monitoring (SIMONI) strategy. The goal of this strategy is to obtain more reliable information on the water quality to select optimum measures for improvement.

Bioassay battery interlaboratory investigation of emerging contaminants in spiked water extracts - Towards the implementation of bioanalytical monitoring tools in water quality assessment and monitoring.

Bioassays are particularly useful tools to link the chemical and ecological assessments in water quality monitoring. Different methods cover a broad range of toxicity mechanisms in diverse organisms, and account for risks posed by non-target compounds and mixtures. Many tests are already applied in chemical and waste assessments, and stakeholders from the science-police interface have recommended their integration in regulatory water quality monitoring.

Development of flavonoid-based inverse agonists of the key signaling receptor US28 of human cytomegalovirus.

A series of 31 chalcone- and flavonoid-based derivatives were synthesized in good overall yields and screened for their inverse agonist activity on the US28 receptor of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). With one exception (e.g.

Effects of salt, polyethylene glycol, and locked nucleic acids on the thermodynamic stabilities of consecutive terminal adenosine mismatches in RNA duplexes.

Consecutive terminal mismatches add thermodynamic stability to RNA duplexes and occur frequently in microRNA-mRNA interactions. Accurate thermodynamic stabilities of consecutive terminal mismatches contribute to the development of specific, high-affinity siRNA therapeutics. Consecutive terminal adenosine mismatches (TAMS) are studied at different salt concentrations, with polyethylene glycol cosolutes, and with locked nucleic acid (LNA) substitutions.

Validation of the REA bioassay to detect estrogenic activity in the water cycle.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) with estrogenic potency contaminate water and might eventually cause adverse effects to the aquatic environment. Many estrogenic compounds are not completely removed by wastewater treatment systems and, together with the run-off from agricultural areas, they enter surface waters. Chemical analytical methods to determine these compounds are usually expensive and laborious.

Consecutive terminal GU pairs stabilize RNA helices.

Consecutive GU pairs at the ends of RNA helices provide significant thermodynamic stability between -1.0 and -3.8 kcal/mol at 37 °C, which is equivalent to approximately 2 orders of magnitude in the value of a binding constant.