Optimization of chromium (VI) reduction in aqueous solution using magnetic Fe3O4 sludge resulting from electrocoagulation process.

The reuse of electro-coagulated sludge as an adsorbent for Cr(VI) ion reduction was investigated in this study. Electro-coagulated sludge was obtained during the removal of citric acid wastewater by the electrocoagulation process. The following parameters were optimized for Cr(VI) reduction: pH (5-7), initial Cr(VI) concentration (10-50 mg/L), contact time (10-45 min), and adsorbent dosage (0.

A systematic review of evidence that environmental contaminant exposure impedes weight loss and glycemic control during calorie-restricted diets in humans.

Calorie-restricted diets cause weight loss and can drive type 2 diabetes remission. However, many patients struggle to achieve clinically relevant weight loss, and the reasons are not well understood. Chemical exposure is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes development, and some evidence from preclinical experiments suggests it can limit the clinical benefits of calorie restriction.

Relationship between symptoms, sociodemographic factors, and general practice help-seeking in 10 904 adults aged 50 and over.

Symptoms are a common reason for contact with primary care. This study investigated associations between symptom-related, demographic, social, and economic factors on general practice (GP) help-seeking. Secondary analysis of responses to a 25-symptom questionnaire, from 10 904 adults aged ≥50 years reporting at least one symptom in the preceding year.

Cluster Versus Rest-Redistribution Training: Similar Improvements in Neuromuscular Capacities in Female Team-Sport Athletes.

Purpose: This study's purpose was to investigate the midterm effects of alternative set configurations (cluster [CL] and rest redistribution [RR]) on lower- and upper-body neuromuscular capacities in female athletes.

Method: Twenty team-sport female athletes were randomly assigned to a CL (n = 10) or RR (n = 10) training group. The study protocol comprised 2 pretests, 12 training sessions, and a posttest.

Dazzle camouflage: benefits and problems revealed.

During WWI, ships were painted in high-contrast 'dazzle' patterns believed to distort, among other things, submariners' perceptions of direction when aiming their torpedoes, but was this strategy effective? Here, we investigated the effects of different camouflage patterns, including versions used in the war, on the perceived direction of travel for a three-dimensional computer model of the RMS Mauretania. The results of this study showed that texture gradients 'twisted' the perceived direction of the ship, the effect being ~10° for a regular pattern of circles. We also found a second, larger effect, 'hysteresis', that biased perceived target directions to parallel the horizon for directions of travel within approximately ±30° of 90° (left-right).

Validity and reliability of velocity and power measures provided by the Vitruve linear position transducer.

This study aimed to determine the validity and between-day reliability of the mean velocity (MV), peak velocity (PV), mean power (MP), and peak power (PP) provided by the Vitruve linear position transducer at different submaximal loads in the free-weight and Smith machine back squat using GymAware as a reference point. Fourteen male sports science students (free-weight back squat one-repetition maximum [1RM]: 132.5 ± 28.

Cultural adaptation and transitions within international higher education: University students' experiences of studying abroad during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.

This qualitative study explored students' lived experiences of higher education study abroad programs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Studying individual experiences in extraordinary circumstances like a pandemic can reveal personal, organisational and process-related resilience relevant to understanding and planning future events. Online semi-structured interviews with thirteen international students from four continents (North America, South America, Europe and Asia) were conducted amidst the pandemic in the Spring of 2021.

Active CNS delivery of oxycodone in healthy and endotoxemic pigs.

Background: The primary objective of this study was to advance our understanding of active drug uptake at brain barriers in higher species than rodents, by examining oxycodone brain concentrations in pigs.

Methods: This was investigated by a microdialysis study in healthy and endotoxemic conditions to increase the understanding of inter-species translation of putative proton-coupled organic cation (H/OC) antiporter-mediated central nervous system (CNS) drug delivery in health and pathology, and facilitate the extrapolation to humans for improved CNS drug treatment in patients. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the efficacy of lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) exposure readout as a proxy for brain unbound interstitial fluid (ISF) concentrations.

Effect of fermentation, malting and ultrasonication on sorghum, mopane worm and : improvement in their nutritional, techno-functional and health promoting properties.

Background: Food processing offers various benefits that contribute to food nutrition, food security and convenience. This study investigated the effect of three different processes (fermentation, malting and ultrasonication) on the nutritional, techno-functional and health-promoting properties of sorghum, mopane worm and

Methods: The fermented and malted flours were prepared at 35°C for 48 h, and for ultrasonication, samples were subjected to 10 min at 4°C with amplitudes of 40-70 Hz. The biochemical, nutritional quality and techno-functional properties of the obtained flours were analysed using standard procedures.

Listen to yourself! Prioritization of self-associated and own voice cues.

Self-cues such as one's own name or face attract attention, reflecting a bias for stimuli connected to self to be prioritized in cognition. Recent evidence suggests that even external voices can elicit this self-prioritization effect; in a voice-label matching task, external voices assigned to the Self-identity label 'you' elicited faster responses than those assigned to 'friend' or 'stranger' (Payne et al., Br.

A content analysis of metrics on online child sexual exploitation and abuse used by online content-sharing services.

Background: A critical step in improving the response to and monitoring of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) is the need to standardize the data that are collected, stored, and analyzed that effectively measure change in the frequency, nature and risk of OCSEA over time.

Objective: The objective of the content analysis was to investigate the metrics used by online content-sharing platforms in their efforts to combat OCSEA.

Methods: A content analysis was undertaken on 19 online content-sharing services' transparency reports on their metrics related to OCSEA.

Lexically-specific syntactic restrictions in second-language speakers.

In two structural priming experiments, we investigated the representations of lexically-specific syntactic restrictions of English verbs for highly proficient and immersed second language (L2) speakers of English. We considered the interplay of two possible mechanisms: generalization from the first language (L1) and statistical learning within the L2 (both of abstract structure and of lexically-specific information). In both experiments, L2 speakers with either Germanic or Romance languages as L1 were primed to produce dispreferred double-object structures involving non-alternating dative verbs.

Short-term germinated legume flours as functional ingredients in food products.

Unlocking the potential of legumes through short-term germination offers an innovative approach to improving the functionality of the resultant flour. This review examines the multifaceted benefits of short-term germinated legume flour, emphasizing the enzymatic activities that breakdown complex legume compounds into simpler forms and reduce anti-nutritional factors. This process improves digestibility, nutrient bioavailability, and health-promoting properties.

The self-memory system: Exploring developmental links between self and memory across early to late childhood.

This study tests whether developments in self-knowledge and autobiographical memory across early to late childhood are related. Self-descriptions and autobiographical memory reports were collected from 379 three- to eleven-year-old predominantly white Scottish children, M = 90.3 months, SD = 31.

The concurrent validity of a portable ultrasound probe for muscle thickness measurements.

Ultrasound imaging is extensively used by both practitioners and researchers in assessing muscle thickness (MT); however, its use in the field is constrained by the transportability of stationary devices. New portable ultrasound probes pose as a cost-effective and transportable alternative for field-based assessments. This study evaluated the concurrent validity of a portable probe (Lumify) against a laboratory-based device (Vivid S5) in measuring MT.

Impact of sprint interval training on post-fatigue mitochondrial rate in professional boxers.

Purpose: Professional boxing is a sport that requires a high aerobic capacity to prevent fatigue and allow athletes to perform over 4-12 rounds. Typically, athletes will go into a heavy training period in a pre-bout camp lasting 6 to 9 weeks. This study investigates the impact of 3 weeks of repeated Wingate sprint interval training, performed on standard gym ergometer bikes, on skeletal muscle endurance and mitochondrial function.

Iridium oxide-modified reference screen-printed electrodes for point-of-care portable electrochemical cortisol detection.

Cortisol is a well-known stress biomarker; this study focuses on using electrochemical immuno-sensing to measure the concentration of cortisol selectively and sensitively in artificial samples. Anti-cortisol antibodies have been immobilised on polycrystalline Au electrodes via strong covalent thiol bonds, fabricating an electrochemical bio-immunosensor for cortisol detection. IrO was then anodically electrodeposited as a reference electrode on a commercial screen-printed electrode and electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS) studies were used to correlate the electrochemical response to cortisol concentration and the induced changes in charge transfer resistance (R).

Mate assessment based on physical characteristics: a review and reflection.

Mate choice, and sex differences in romantic behaviours, represented one of the first major applications of evolutionary biology to human behaviour. This paper reviews Darwinian approaches to heterosexual mate assessment based on physical characteristics, placing the literature in its historical context (1871-1979), before turning (predominantly) to psychological research on attractiveness judgements based on physical characteristics. Attractiveness is consistently inferred across multiple modalities, with biological theories explaining why we differentiate certain individuals, on average, from others.

The effect of a bodybuilding carbohydrate-loading protocol on anthropometry: Preliminary findings from a randomized crossover trial.

To acutely enhance muscle size and definition, carbohydrate (CHO)-loading protocols are commonly implemented by bodybuilders in the week before competition. This study sought to evaluate the effects of a bodybuilding CHO-loading protocol on anthropometry. Four dieting males engaging in resistance training (RT) with very low body fat participated in this randomized crossover trial.

The Memoir of a Ghost: The Invisible Plight of Mental Health Nurse Education in the United Kingdom Following the Nursing and Midwifery Council's Move Towards Genericism.

The aim of this paper is to identify barriers to quality mental health nurse education in the United Kingdom and show these through the sharing of personal experiences of working as a mental health nurse academic. Since the Nursing and Midwifery Council introduced their 'future nurse' education standards in 2018, mental health content for mental health nurses has been argued to have been marginalised. The sense of a diluted mental health nurse education was supported by an open letter, signed by over 100 mental health nurses, with representation across 33 universities.