Mobile monitoring reveals the importance of non-vehicular particulate matter sources in London.

This study uses mobile monitoring to gain a better understanding of particulate matter (PM) sources in two areas of Central and Outer London, UK. We find that, unlike emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO + NO = NO), which are elevated in Central London due to the high number of diesel vehicles and congestion, fine particulate matter (PM) emissions are well-controlled. This finding provides evidence for the effectiveness of vehicle particulate filters, supporting the view that their widespread adoption has mitigated PM emissions, even in the highly dieselized area of Central London.

The role of β-Nicotyrine in E-Cigarette abuse liability I: Drug Discrimination.

Background: β-Nicotyrine (β-Nic) is a unique minor alkaloid constituent in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) that is derived from nicotine (Nic) degradation and can reach 25% of Nic concentrations in ENDS aerosol. β-Nic slows Nic metabolism and prolongs systemic Nic exposure, which may alter the discriminability of Nic. The present study sought to examine β-Nic has interoceptive effects itself, and if it alters the subjective effects ENDS products within a drug-discrimination paradigm.

Autologous Skin Cell Suspension for Full-Thickness Skin Defect Reconstruction: Current Evidence and Health Economic Expectations.

Despite differing etiologies, acute thermal burn injuries and full-thickness (FT) skin defects are associated with similar therapeutic challenges. When not amenable to primary or secondary closure, the conventional standard of care (SoC) treatment for these wound types is split-thickness skin grafting (STSG). This invasive procedure requires adequate availability of donor skin and is associated with donor site morbidity, high healthcare resource use (HCRU), and costs related to prolonged hospitalization.

Convergent impact of vaccination and antibiotic pressures on pneumococcal populations.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a remarkably adaptable and successful human pathogen, playing dual roles of both asymptomatic carriage in the nasopharynx and invasive disease including pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. Efficacious vaccines and effective antibiotic therapies are critical to mitigating morbidity and mortality. However, clinical interventions can be rapidly circumvented by the pneumococcus by its inherent proclivity for genetic exchange.

Changes in orogenic style and surface environment recorded in Paleoproterozoic foreland successions.

The Earth's interior and surficial systems underwent dramatic changes during the Paleoproterozoic, but the interaction between them remains poorly understood. Rocks deposited in orogenic foreland basins retain a record of the near surface to deep crustal processes that operate during subduction to collision and provide information on the interaction between plate tectonics and surface responses through time. Here, we document the depositional-to-deformational life cycle of a Paleoproterozoic foreland succession from the North China Craton.

Estimated causal effects of common respiratory infections on cardiovascular risk: a meta-analysis.

Objective: Literature supports associations between common respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and risk of cardiovascular diseases, yet the importance of RTIs for cardiovascular risk management remains less understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the causal effects of RTIs on occurrence of cardiovascular diseases in the general population.

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched up to 4 November 2022.

The impact on passenger car emissions associated with the promotion and demise of diesel fuel.

The promotion and growth in the use of diesel fuel in passenger cars in the UK and Europe over the past two decades led to considerable adverse air quality impacts in urban areas and more widely. In this work, we construct a multi-decade analysis of passenger car emissions in the UK based on real driving emissions data. An important part of the study is the use of extensive vehicle emission remote sensing data covering multiple measurement locations, time periods, environmental conditions and consisting of over 600,000 measurements.

Detoxification of reactive oxygen species by the hyaluronic acid capsule of group A .

The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 regulates antimicrobial responses that are broadly crucial in the defense against infection. Our prior work shows that IL-6 promotes the killing of the M4 serotype group A (GAS) but does not impact the globally disseminated M1T1 serotype associated with invasive infections. Using and infection models, we show that IL-6 induces phagocyte reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are responsible for the differential susceptibility of M4 and M1T1 GAS to IL-6-mediated defenses.

Earth's early continental crust formed from wet and oxidizing arc magmas.

Formation of continental crust has shaped the surface and interior of our planet and generated the land and mineral resources on which we rely. However, how the early continental crust of Earth formed is still debated. Modern continental crust is largely formed from wet and oxidizing arc magmas at subduction zones, in which oceanic lithosphere and water recycle into the mantle.

More than just an eagle killer: The freshwater cyanobacterium produces highly toxic dolastatin derivatives.

Cyanobacteria are infamous producers of toxins. While the toxic potential of planktonic cyanobacterial blooms is well documented, the ecosystem level effects of toxigenic benthic and epiphytic cyanobacteria are an understudied threat. The freshwater epiphytic cyanobacterium has recently been shown to produce the "eagle killer" neurotoxin aetokthonotoxin (AETX) causing the fatal neurological disease vacuolar myelinopathy.

The psychological impact on mothers who have experienced domestic violence when navigating the family court system: a scoping review.

The aim of this scoping review was to synthesise the literature to identify what the psychological impacts of family court processes were on mothers who had experienced DFV. Twenty-five articles met inclusion criteria with four themes capturing the findings: Perpetrators using the system as a mode of coercive control; Secondary victimisation as a result of interacting with the system; Required to relive their abuse; and, Long-term psychological consequences of having engaged with the system. Key findings were that perpetrators manipulated the system to perpetrate further abuse and continue/reassert their control.

High-precision zinc isotopic characterization of twenty soil reference materials from China determined by MC-ICP-MS.

Zinc isotopic ratios serve as powerful tools for tracing biochemical cycling of metals at Earth's surface, including the distribution, transportation, and enrichment of zinc (Zn) in soil. To conduct such studies and enable inter-laboratory comparisons, high-precision Zn isotopic measurements require the use of soil reference materials (RMs). However, there have been limited reports on the high-precision Zn isotope ratios of soil RMs thus far.

Occurrence of aetokthonotoxin producer in natural samples - A PCR protocol for easy detection.

Cyanobacteria are well known producers of bioactive metabolites, including harmful substances. The recently discovered "eagle killer" neurotoxin aetokthonotoxin (AETX) is produced by the epiphytic cyanobacterium Aetokthonos hydrillicola growing on invasive water thyme (Hydrilla verticillata). The biosynthetic gene cluster of AETX was previously identified from an Aetokthonos strain isolated from the J.

Extending Practical (In Use) Shelf Life of Oncology Drug Vials Using Spikes.

The global increase of use of oncology drugs combined with the higher costs of these drugs raise the question of how to reduce these costs. One way to reduce the costs is to reduce spillage by extending the beyond-use date by preserving remainders in the vial of (expensive) oncology drugs instead of wasting them. Therefore, we investigated if spikes, instead of the expensive closed-system transfer devices, can be used to extend the beyond-use date of drugs both at room temperature and in the refrigerator during seven days after reconstitution and partial fluid withdrawal of a vial.

Utilization and Outcomes of Observation for Spontaneous Pneumothorax at an Integrated Health System.

Introduction: Though limited, recent evidence supports observation rather than intervention for spontaneous pneumothorax management. We sought to compare the utilization and outcomes between observation and intervention for patients with primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothoraces.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of all adults presenting to Kaiser Permanente Northern California emergency rooms with spontaneous pneumothorax from 2016 to 2020 was performed.

Real-world experience with isatuximab in the treatment of relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma: a case series from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Background & Objective: Anti-CD38 targeting has become an important pillar of the treatment for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). This evolution was spearheaded by daratumumab, but more recently isatuximab became the second CD38-directed monoclonal antibody to receive EMA approval for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) MM. In recent years, real-world studies have become increasingly important to confirm and solidify the clinical potential of novel anti-myeloma therapies.

Emission ratio determination from road vehicles using a range of remote emission sensing techniques.

The development of remote emission sensing techniques such as plume chasing and point sampling has progressed significantly and is providing new insight into vehicle emissions behaviour. However, the analysis of remote emission sensing data can be highly challenging and there is currently no standardised method available. In this study we present a single data processing approach to quantify vehicle exhaust emissions measured using a range of remote emission sensing techniques.

Cumulative temporal vegetation indices from unoccupied aerial systems allow maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid yield to be estimated across environments with fewer flights.

Unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) based high throughput phenotyping studies require further investigation to combine different environments and planting times into one model. Here 100 elite breeding hybrids of maize (Zea mays L.) were evaluated in two environment trials-one with optimal planting and irrigation (IHOT), and one dryland with delayed planting (DHOT).

Metallic lead (Pb) nanospheres discovered in Hadean and Eoarchean zircon crystals at Jack Hills.

Here, we report small randomly-distributed crystalline lead (Pb) nanospheres occurring in detrital zircon grains obtained from a weakly metamorphosed Archean conglomerate at Jack Hills, Western Australia, making this the third known global example of this phenomenon. They form in zircon crystals ranging from Hadean (> 4 billion years-Ga) to Eoarchean (> 3.6 Ga) in age, but are absent from Paleoarchean (~ 3.

Mental health mobile application self-help for adolescents exhibiting psychological distress: A single case experimental design.

Objectives: The present demand for child and adolescent mental health services exceeds the capacity for service provision. Greater research is required to understand the utility of accessible self-help interventions, such as mobile apps. This study sought to investigate whether use of a mental health app, underpinned by CBT, led to changes in psychological distress amongst adolescents.

The air quality impacts of pre-operational hydraulic fracturing activities.

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a short phase in unconventional oil and natural gas (O&G) development. Before fracking there is a lengthy period of preparation, which can represent a significant proportion of the well lifecycle. Extensive infrastructure is delivered onto site, leading to increased volumes of heavy traffic, energy generation and construction work on site.

Coexisting divergent and convergent plate boundary assemblages indicate plate tectonics in the Neoarchean.

The coexistence of divergent (spreading ridge) and convergent (subduction zone) plate boundaries at which lithosphere is respectively generated and destroyed is the hallmark of plate tectonics. Here, we document temporally- and spatially-associated Neoarchean (2.55-2.

De Novo Self-Assembling Peptides Mediate the Conversion of Temozolomide and Delivery of a Model Drug into Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive central nervous system tumor, and standard treatment, including surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, has not significantly improved patient outcomes over the last 20 years. Temozolomide (TMZ), the prodrug most commonly used to treat GBM, must pass the blood-brain barrier and requires a basic pH to convert to its active form. Due to these barriers, less than 30% of orally delivered TMZ reaches the central nervous system and becomes bioactive.

Invasive type B2 thymoma associated with myasthenia gravis, resection with superior vena cava reconstruction.

After being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a 55-year-old male was referred for treatment of an invasive thymoma. Preoperative imaging revealed a thymoma adjacent to the superior vena cava (SVC) with possible invasion of the left innominate vein. After multidisciplinary discussion, he underwent upfront en bloc resection of the tumor with SVC resection and reconstruction.