Tracing pesticide dynamics: High resolution offers new insights to karst groundwater quality.

Generally, karst aquifers and springs are highly susceptible to contamination due to the high permeability and, therefore, groundwater flow velocities. The often thin soil cover, accompanied by dolines, can lead to fast infiltration of precipitation water loaded with mobilized contaminants such as pesticides and their transformation products. To date, continuous, temporally highly resolved in-situ monitoring to decipher concentration dynamics for a broad range of pesticides is missing.

Closing the gap: Ion chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry to trace highly polar anionic substances in groundwater.

Persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT), and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances pose a threat to the water cycle but are often not covered in conventional environmental monitoring programs. Within this realm of substances, one compound class of concern are pesticides and their transformation products as they are deliberately introduced into the environment. To detect very polar anionic substances, including many pesticide transformation products with log D values ranging between -7.

Trends and consequences of lipoprotein(a) testing: Cross-sectional and longitudinal health insurance claims database analyses.

Background And Aims: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Our goal was to characterize patients undergoing Lp(a) testing and to assess the impact of Lp(a) testing on treatment changes and subsequent ASCVD events.

Methods: A cross-sectional and a longitudinal claims data analysis were performed on 4 million patient records in Germany.

Rationale and study design of OUTSTEP-HF: a randomised controlled study to assess the effect of sacubitril/valsartan and enalapril on physical activity measured by accelerometry in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Aim: In PARADIGM-HF, sacubitril/valsartan demonstrated superiority to enalapril in reducing mortality and morbidity in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Several patient-centred outcomes like improved physical activity and quality of life have been emphasised as important treatment goals in HF management. OUTSTEP-HF has been designed to evaluate the effect of sacubitril/valsartan compared with enalapril on non-sedentary daytime physical activity in patients with HFrEF.

Incidence of magnet mode in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Purpose: To determine the current incidence of antitachycardia therapy suspension due to magnet reversion in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

Methods: From March 2012 to September 2018, all St. Jude Medical ICD interrogations performed at the Deutsches Herzzentrum München were screened for stored events of antitachycardia therapy suspension caused by static magnetic fields (flux densities ≥ 1 mT as defined in St.

Plasma Exosome Profiling of Cancer Patients by a Next Generation Systems Biology Approach.

Technologies capable of characterizing the full breadth of cellular systems need to be able to measure millions of proteins, isoforms, and complexes simultaneously. We describe an approach that fulfils this criterion: Adaptive Dynamic Artificial Poly-ligand Targeting (ADAPT). ADAPT employs an enriched library of single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODNs) to profile complex biological samples, thus achieving an unprecedented coverage of system-wide, native biomolecules.

Safety propensity index for signalized and unsignalized intersections: exploration and assessment.

The objective of this study is to develop a safety propensity index (SPI) for both signalized and unsignalized intersections. Through the use of a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach safety is quantified in terms of multiple endogenous variables and related to various dimensions of exogenous variables. The singular valued SPI allows for identification of relationships between variables and lends itself well to a comparative analysis between models.

Interrupted versus uninterrupted flow: a safety propensity index for driver behavior.

The objective of this paper is to develop a quantitative safety propensity index (SPI) that captures the overall propensity of a given surrounding environment to cause unsafe driving. The study is conducted in two different flow conditions: interrupted and uninterrupted. Using structural modeling techniques, the index can be estimated from observed geometric, weather-related, vehicular, driver-related, and traffic-related characteristics.

Performance characteristics of the PTSD Checklist in retired firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center disaster.

Background: Since the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks on September 11, 2001, the Fire Department, City of New York Monitoring Program has provided physical and mental health screening services to rescue/recovery workers. This study evaluated performance of the self-report PTSD Checklist (PCL) as a screening tool for risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in firefighters who worked at Ground Zero, compared with the interviewer-administered Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS).

Methods: From December 2005 to July 2007, all retired firefighter enrollees completed the PCL and DIS on the same day.

Exposure to bioterrorism and mental health response among staff on Capitol Hill.

The October 2001 anthrax attacks heralded a new era of bioterrorism threat in the U.S. At the time, little systematic data on mental health effects were available to guide authorities' response.

A computerized, self-administered questionnaire to evaluate posttraumatic stress among firefighters after the World Trade Center collapse.

Objectives: We sought to determine the frequency of psychological symptoms and elevated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk among New York City firefighters after the World Trade Center (WTC) attack and whether these measures were associated with Counseling Services Unit (CSU) use or mental health-related medical leave over the first 2.5 years after the attack.

Methods: Shortly after the WTC attack, a computerized, binary-response screening questionnaire was administered.

Change in smoking and drinking after september 11, 2001, in a national sample of ever smokers and ever drinkers.

Telephone survey methodology was used to examine smoking and drinking after the September 11 terrorist attacks in a representative national sample. Most ever smokers and ever drinkers reported no change in substance use after the attacks. Smokers and drinkers who increased substance use were significantly more likely than those who did not to endorse a number of emotional reactions and functional difficulties.

Purification of DNA by anion-exchange chromatography.

Column chromatography has evolved to provide a rapid and effective alternative to more laborious methods for preparing high-quality DNA, such as CsCl-gradient centrifugation. This unit describes the use of a column made of a unique anion-exchange resin that selectively binds nucleic acids, allowing rapid separation of DNA from contaminating RNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and metabolites. The procedure employs columns supplied by QIAGEN; other preparation methods are available from other suppliers.

Production of plasmid DNA in industrial quantities according to cGMP guidelines.

Qiagen offers a unique technology for plasmid manufacturing, working reliably for every parent plasmid. The process steps such as strain and clone selection, and fermentation optimization ensure optimal plasmid DNA yield and quality in the starting material. Master Cell Bank and Working Cell Bank manufacturing is then performed under cGMP conditions.

Persistent physiological reactivity in a pilot study of partners of firefighters after a terrorist attack.

Twenty-four female partners of firefighters participating in recovery efforts associated with the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City were assessed 43 to 44 months later. Disaster experiences, psychiatric diagnoses, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and autonomic reactivity in response to an interview about the bombing were examined. Most of the participants with postbombing disorders suffered from pre-existing conditions.

The impact of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing on the partners of firefighters.

This study explored the impact of the 1995 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, bombing on the spouses and significant others of a volunteer sample of Oklahoma City firefighters who participated in the bombing rescue effort. Twenty-seven partners of Oklahoma City firefighters participated in this study, conducted 42 to 44 months after the bombing. These partners were assessed using a structured diagnostic interview and a companion interview to examine exposure, rates of psychiatric disorders and symptoms, functioning, health, and relationships.

Coping, functioning, and adjustment of rescue workers after the Oklahoma City bombing.

Studies have not previously considered postdisaster adjustment in the context of psychiatric disorders. After the Oklahoma City bombing, a volunteer sample of 181 firefighters who served as rescue and recovery workers was assessed with a structured diagnostic interview. The firefighters had relatively low rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and described little functional impairment, positive social adjustment, and high job satisfaction.

Purchasing in a supply chain environment.

Why the interest in purchasing? In the typical company, material costs are 40% to 75% of the cost of goods sold, labor is 5% to 15%, and the balance is burden. The typical company has $4-$5 in purchased cost to $1 in labor. Most companies are implementing material requirements planning (MRP II) and enterprise resource planning systems to control the $1 in labor and have little expectation in the area of purchasing savings.

Production of Plasmid DNA in Industrial Quantities According to cGMP Guidelines.

Within the last five years, the exponential growth of research activities on the development of genetic vaccination and gene therapy has made it necessary to develop an easy, cost-effective, industrial scale process for production of plasmid DNA (see Note 1). One main issue is that the process should conform to cGMP guidelines and be acceptable to the FDA or other national regulatory agencies. The cGMP environment should be implemented independently of the intended use of the DNA product.

Structure of the anchor-domain of myristoylated and non-myristoylated HIV-1 Nef protein.

Negative factor (Nef) is a regulatory myristoylated protein of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that has a two-domain structure consisting of an anchor domain and a core domain separated by a specific cleavage site of the HIV proteases. For structural analysis, the HIV-1 Nef anchor domain (residues 2-57) was synthesized with a myristoylated and non-myristoylated N terminus. The structures of the two peptides were studied by1H NMR spectroscopy and a structural model was obtained by restrained molecular dynamic simulations.

Perceived effects and recovery in Oklahoma City firefighters.

This survey of 325 Oklahoma City Firefighters examined their perceptions of the effect of the bombing, their recovery and their sources of support. Other variables that were considered in this analysis included age, usefulness of the Critical Incidence Stress Management (CISM) procedures, and attitude, an aggregate variable that accounted for job satisfaction. Of particular importance in this analysis was the finding that support from "faith" was a primary predictor of positive outcome and positive attitude over the one-year period.

Nucleic acid immunization protects dogs against challenge with virulent canine parvovirus.

Nucleic acid vaccines (NAVs) use expression vectors encoding one or more antigen genes to transfect host cells inducing both humoral and cellular immunity against the expressed antigen. NAV offers major advantages over conventional vaccines for the protection of humans and animals. This study shows that a plasmid DNA (pGT36VP1) encoding the full length VP1 region of canine parvovirus (CPV) induces immunity that protects dogs against challenge with virulent virus.