Sampling Mars: Geologic context and preliminary characterization of samples collected by the NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission.

The NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission has collected samples of rock, regolith, and atmosphere within the Noachian-aged Jezero Crater, once the site of a delta-lake system with a high potential for habitability and biosignature preservation. Between sols 109 and 1,088 of the mission, 27 sample tubes have been sealed, including witness tubes. Each sealed sample tube has been collected along with detailed documentation provided by the Perseverance instrument payload, preserving geological and environmental context.

Present-day thermal and water activity environment of the Mars Sample Return collection.

The Mars Sample Return mission intends to retrieve a sealed collection of rocks, regolith, and atmosphere sampled from Jezero Crater, Mars, by the NASA Perseverance rover mission. For all life-related research, it is necessary to evaluate water availability in the samples and on Mars. Within the first Martian year, Perseverance has acquired an estimated total mass of 355 g of rocks and regolith, and 38 μmoles of Martian atmospheric gas.

Differentiation Between Humic and Non-Humic Substances Using Alkaline Extraction and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy.

Background: Although humic substances are the principal ingredients in processed humic products, there has been no practical way to determine if a material is humified, allowing fake products to be used by farmers instead of genuine humic substances.

Objective: To develop a test method using conventional laboratory techniques to determine if a material is humified.

Method: A neutralized extract is prepared using the standardized extraction protocols specified in ISO 19822:2018(E).

Aqueously altered igneous rocks sampled on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars.

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, to investigate ancient lake and river deposits. We report observations of the crater floor, below the crater's sedimentary delta, finding that the floor consists of igneous rocks altered by water. The lowest exposed unit, informally named Séítah, is a coarsely crystalline olivine-rich rock, which accumulated at the base of a magma body.

Incidence of injury in adult elite women's football: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: To estimate the incidence of injury in adult elite women's football and to characterise the nature and anatomical location of injuries.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Combinations of the key terms were entered into the following electronic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Science Direct and Discover) from inception to May 2021.

False-Positive Enzymatic Alcohol Results in Perimortem Specimens.

Herein, we present 2 cases referred to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (NC OCME) in which ethanol results reported by different hospital laboratories, using alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)-based assays, were positive, whereas results of headspace gas chromatography testing performed in the NC OCME laboratory were negative. Literature reports suggest that false-positive ethanol measurements from ADH-based assays can occur when a combination of elevated lactate and lactate dehydrogenase (LD) are present in the specimen. The results were reported in perimortem specimens collected from 2 children with unrelated medical conditions.

A synthesis and meta-analysis of the Fe chemistry of serpentinites and serpentine minerals.

The iron chemistry of serpentinites and serpentine group minerals is often invoked as a record of the setting and conditions of serpentinization because Fe behaviour is influenced by reaction conditions. Iron can be partitioned into a variety of secondary mineral phases and undergo variable extents of oxidation and/or reduction during serpentinization. This behaviour influences geophysical, geochemical and biological aspects of serpentinizing systems and, more broadly, earth systems.

Impact of e-scooter injuries on Emergency Department imaging.

Introduction: Since the introduction of a shared e-scooter service to Auckland in October there have been multiple media reports of associated injuries, but no quantitation of the number or severity of these injuries, or the impact on hospital emergency department services in Auckland.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review on all patients referred to Auckland hospital ED radiology with the indication containing 'e-scooter' between 15 August 2018 and 15 December 2018. All requests were screened to ensure that the injury was caused by an e-scooter.

On the decomposition of life expectancy and limits to life.

Life expectancy is a measure of how long people are expected to live and is widely used as a measure of human development. Variations in the measure reflect not only the process of ageing but also the impacts of such events as epidemics, wars, and economic recessions. Since 1950, the influence of these events in the most developed countries has waned and life expectancy continues to lengthen unabated.

Waist-to-height ratio is more predictive of years of life lost than body mass index.

Objective: Our aim was to compare the effect of central obesity (measured by waist-to-height ratio, WHtR) and total obesity (measured by body mass index, BMI) on life expectancy expressed as years of life lost (YLL), using data on British adults.

Methods: A Cox proportional hazards model was applied to data from the prospective Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS) and the cross sectional Health Survey for England (HSE). The number of years of life lost (YLL) at three ages (30, 50, 70 years) was found by comparing the life expectancies of obese lives with those of lives at optimum levels of BMI and WHtR.

A new standardized method for quantification of humic and fulvic acids in humic ores and commercial products.

Increased use of humic substances in agriculture has generated intense interest among producers, consumers, and regulators for an accurate and reliable method to quantify humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) in raw ores and products. Here we present a thoroughly validated method, the new standardized method for determination of HA and FA contents in raw humate ores and in solid and liquid products produced from them. The methods used for preparation of HA and FA were adapted according to the guidelines of the International Humic Substances Society involving alkaline extraction followed by acidification to separate HA from the fulvic fraction.

A new method of projecting populations based on trends in life expectancy and survival.

There is increasing concern about the lack of accuracy in population projections at national levels. A common problem has been the systematic underestimation of improvements in mortality, especially at older ages, resulting in projections that are too low. In this paper, we present a method that is based on projecting survivorship rather than mortality, which uses the same data but differs technically.

Impact of asthma on educational attainment in a socioeconomically deprived population: a study linking health, education and social care datasets.

Background: Asthma has the potential to adversely affect children's school examination performance, and hence longer term life chances. Asthma morbidity is especially high amongst UK ethnic minority children and those experiencing social adversity, populations which also have poor educational outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that asthma adversely affects performance in national school examinations in a large cohort from an area of ethnic diversity and social deprivation.

A national survey of the availability of intensity-modulated radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery in Canada.

Background: The timely and appropriate adoption of new radiation therapy (RT) technologies is a challenge both in terms of providing of optimal patient care and managing health care resources. Relatively little is known regarding the rate at which new RT technologies are adopted in different jurisdictions, and the barriers to implementation of these technologies.

Methods: Surveys were sent to all radiation oncology department heads in Canada regarding the availability of RT equipment from 2006 to 2010.

Pain and functional impairment as mediators of the link between medical symptoms and depression in type 2 diabetes.

Background: Among people with diabetes, depression is more common and is associated with greater morbidity and mortality. A better understanding of mechanisms underlying the link between poor health and depression is needed. Pain and functional impairment may account for the effect of poor health on depression in diabetes.

Educational attainment moderates the effect of a brief diabetes self-care intervention.

Aims: Those with less education are at increased risk for developing diabetes and have a poorer prognosis. Intensive diabetes self-care interventions have been more effective at improving glycemic control in those with lower educational attainment. Due to limited resources, the focus has shifted to brief, cost-effective health interventions.

Progression-free survival as a clinical trial endpoint in advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Traditionally, overall survival (os) has been considered the "gold standard" for evaluating new systemic oncologic therapies, because death is easy to define, is easily compared across disease sites, and is not subject to investigator bias. However, as the available options for continuing therapy increase, the use of os as a clinical trial endpoint has become problematic because of the increasing crossover and contamination of trials. As a result, the approval of promising new therapies may be delayed.

Microscale imaging and identification of Fe speciation and distribution during fluid-mineral reactions under highly reducing conditions.

The oxidation state, speciation, and distribution of Fe are critical determinants of Fe reactivity in natural and engineered environments. However, it is challenging to follow dynamic changes in Fe speciation in environmental systems during progressive fluid-mineral interactions. Two common geological and aquifer materials-basalt and Fe(III) oxides-were incubated with saline fluids at 55 °C under highly reducing conditions maintained by the presence of Fe(0).

High-intensity focused ultrasound for prostate cancer: a systematic review.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has recently been promoted as a non-invasive treatment option for prostate cancer. This systematic review sought to evaluate the evidence comparing it with standard treatment in patients with localised prostate cancer. The literature review included searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, annual meetings' abstracts and websites of evidence-based practice guideline producers.

High-intensity focused ultrasound for prostate cancer: a practice guideline.

Objective: The aim of this practice guideline was to develop evidence-based recommendations for clinicians on the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Methods: The guideline was developed using the methods of Cancer Care Ontario's Program in Evidence-Based Care (PEBC). The core methodology of the PEBC's guideline development process is systematic review.

Appearance-related teasing, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between appearance and weight-based teasing and three outcome measures: body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, and bulimic behaviors. Four meta-analyses were conducted. Fifty effect sizes (N=10,618) resulted in a moderate effect size of .

Interferon-alfa in the treatment of patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review.

A systematic review was undertaken to determine whether interferon-alfa (IFN-alpha) is an effective treatment for patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, guideline databases and relevant meeting proceedings were searched. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) or meta-analyses comparing IFN-alpha-containing regimens to placebo or non-immunotherapy controls, and that reported response rate, survival, toxicity or quality of life data were eligible.