12,742 results match your criteria: "Florida International University[Affiliation]"

Probing Methylmercury Photodegradation by Different Fractions of Natural Organic Matter in Water: Degradation Kinetics and Mercury Isotope Fractionation Characteristics.

Environ Pollut

December 2024

Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, United States.

Recent advancements in mercury (Hg) isotopic fractionation research have evolved from conceptual demonstrations to practical applications. However, few studies have focused on revealing fractionation fingerprinting for aqueous methylmercury (MeHg) photodegradation due to its sensitivity to natural organic matter (NOM). Here, the impact of NOM fractions with varying chemical properties on MeHg photodegradation kinetics and Hg isotope fractionation characteristics was investigated.

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Leucinostatins target Plasmodium mitochondria to block malaria transmission.

Parasit Vectors

December 2024

Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.

Background: Malaria remains a critical disease. Leucinostatins from the fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum inhibited the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum to mosquitoes via contact.

Methods: Here, we modified the leucinostatin B (LB) C-terminus to make derivatives and examined their inhibition against malaria transmission to mosquitoes.

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Proof-of-concept chemometric approach for environmental forensic sourcing of crude oil samples using SPME-GC-MS.

Talanta

December 2024

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Global Forensic and Justice Center, 11200 SW 8th St, AHC1 - 429, Miami, FL, 33199, United States. Electronic address:

Environmental exposure to crude oil through seepage and spillage poses risks to the immediate environment and the broader ecosystem as areas along the oil distribution path are affected by the influx of crude petroleum as well as the environmental, economic, and civil unrest that accompanies it. There is a large financial burden associated with the lost resources, including the cost of rehabilitation, and the affected sources of revenue for communities affected by oil spills. As such, it is crucial to determine the responsible parties.

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Engagement in scientific discourse is an essential part of becoming a scientist. In this exploratory study, we aim to examine the scientific discourse (and resulting benefits) between undergraduate biology students and professional scientists. We developed a novel method for engaging in scientific discourse, grounded in the theory of legitimate peripheral participation, where undergraduate biology students participate in communities of practice within their own departments.

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Tropical cyclones (TCs) are one of the major natural hazards to island and coastal communities and ecosystems. However, isotopic compositions of TC-derived precipitation (P) in surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) reservoirs are still lacking. We tested the three main assumptions of the isotope storm "spike" hypothesis (sudden spikes in isotopic ratios).

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Transverse myelitis (TM) is an uncommon but extensively documented neurological disorder marked by acute spinal cord inflammation, resulting in a spectrum of impairments including motor, sensory, and autonomic disturbances. We outline a rare case of viral-induced TM linked to COVID-19 and Coxsackie B viral infections. A 25-year-old healthy female patient presented with acute bilateral upper and lower extremity weakness, paresthesia, and urinary retention.

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Two of the most important environmental factors that affect the sperm competitive ability in males are the availability of resources and the socio-sexual environment. Numerous studies have investigated the individual effects of these factors, but their combined effect on the evolution of sperm competitive ability remains untested. A crowded larval environment is unique because it simultaneously affects the fitness of the organism through both resource availability and the socio-sexual environment.

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Dust released from widely established plastic sports courts and synthetic turf poses potential environmental and health risks. Herein, we systematically investigate the metal(loid) characteristics, potential sources, and health risks of 162 dust samples from 17 campuses in Beijing, using complementary analytical techniques. Bulk analysis revealed higher levels of Zn, Pb, Cu, Sb, Cd, and Cr than background values, suggesting excessive anthropogenic contamination.

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Early-life exposure to PCBs and PFAS exerts negative effects on the developing central nervous system.

J Hazard Mater

December 2024

Laboratório de Biologia Estrutural, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Brazil; Laboratory of Ocular Immunology and Transplantation, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States. Electronic address:

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are ubiquitous in the environment and display the capacity to bioaccumulate in living organisms, constituting a hazard to both wildlife and humans. Although restrictions have been applied to prohibit the production of several POPs since the 1960s, high levels of these compounds can still be detected in many environmental and biological matrices, due to their chemical properties and significantly long half-lives. Some POPs can be passed from mother to the fetus and can gain entry to the central nervous system (CNS), by crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), resulting in significant deleterious effects, including neurocognitive and psychiatric abnormalities, which may lead to long-term socio-economic burdens.

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Novel arsenate-respiring bacteria drive arsenic biogeochemical cycling in Tibetan geothermal springs revealed by DNA-SIP based metagenomics.

J Hazard Mater

December 2024

Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States.

Arsenic (As) is a toxic element posing health risks globally, with geothermal environment as one of the hotspots. Arsenic biotransformation is mainly mediated by microorganisms which often employ diverse metabolic strategies for survival. However, the microorganisms responsible for As cycling and their survival strategies in geothermal environment in Tibet, the Third Pole, remain unclear.

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Background: Research has shown that experiences of emotional maltreatment (i.e., emotional abuse and neglect) can compromise children's development.

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Background: As part of a study to test the feasibility and acceptability of the Finding Respect and Ending Stigma around HIV (FRESH) intervention to reduce stigmas and improve HIV viral suppression, our team collected qualitative data from men who have sex with men (MSM) with HIV, transgender women with HIV, and HIV healthcare providers for their perspectives on different stigmas in Dominican Republic healthcare settings.

Purpose: We aimed to develop an understanding of the causes, consequences, and domains of stigma among sexual and gender minorities with HIV in Dominican Republic HIV clinics.

Methods: Data collection occurred in Santo Domingo and Santiago (2020-2021) and included four focus groups with MSM with HIV (n = 26), in-depth interviews with transgender women with HIV (n = 14), and in-depth interviews with HIV healthcare providers (n = 16).

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Background/objectives: Obesity among college students has been consistently high in the recent decades. Regulatory processes such as interoception and self-regulation have been studied to identify specific health behaviors that lead to weight gain. Reduced interoception and self-regulation may lead to increased body mass index (BMI), however, various eating styles may indirectly affect this relationship.

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HIV-1 Tat Protein and Cigarette Smoke Mediated ADAM17 Upregulation Can Lead to Impaired Mucociliary Clearance.

Cells

December 2024

Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, USA.

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) associated comorbidities account for the majority of poor health outcomes in people living with HIV (PLWH) in the era of antiretroviral therapy. Lung-related comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bacterial pneumonia are primarily responsible for increased morbidity and mortality in PLWH, even when compensated for smoking. Smokers and COPD patients demonstrate cilia shortening, attenuated ciliary beat frequency (CBF), dysfunctional ciliated cells along with goblet cell hyperplasia, and mucus hypersecretion.

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Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors of the Gastrointestinal Tract.

Cancers (Basel)

December 2024

The Arkadi M. Rywlin M.D. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL 33140, USA.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCTs) of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are a rare and highly aggressive variant of soft tissue sarcomas, predominantly affecting the abdominal region. These tumors are believed to originate from multipotent mesenchymal stem cells or primitive progenitor cells. They are composed of small round tumor cells associated with prominent stromal desmoplasia, polyphenotypic differentiation, and gene fusion.

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Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the collisional dynamics of the coronene-acepyrene and coronene radical-acepyrene pairs have been carried out to investigate the size effect of monomers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) on their non-equilibrium dimerization. The results compared to the previous MD simulations of the smaller pyrene-acepyrene and pyrenyl-acepyrene systems corroborate the non-equilibrium hypothesis of crosslinking PAH dimerization enhanced by physical interaction between the monomers. The phenomenon of inelastic collisional dynamics responsible for non-equilibrium van der Waals dimerization, which fosters a covalent bond formation between the monomers, amplifies with increasing PAH size.

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The obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, (Ct), has a distinct DNA topoisomerase I (TopA) with a C-terminal domain (CTD) homologous to eukaryotic SWIB domains. Despite the lack of sequence similarity at the CTDs between TopA (CtTopA) and TopA (EcTopA), full-length CtTopA removed negative DNA supercoils and complemented the growth defect of an mutant. We demonstrated that CtTopA is less processive in DNA relaxation than EcTopA in dose-response and time course studies.

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As the prevalence of childhood obesity continues to rise, there is an increase in demand for temporary and minimally invasive alternatives to bariatric surgery as solutions for addressing pediatric obesity. Intragastric balloon (IGB) placement is an increasingly popular methodology for addressing adult obesity; however, it is not approved for the pediatric population. We describe the case of a 17-year-old adolescent female who underwent IGB placement in Colombia and failed to receive proper follow-up care in the country of insertion resulting in a gastric outlet obstruction.

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Midazolam and Ketamine for Convulsive Status Epilepticus in the Out-of-Hospital Setting.

Ann Emerg Med

December 2024

Department of Emergency Medicine, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL; Department of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University, Miami, FL; Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, West Palm Beach, FL.

Study Objective: To determine if ketamine, when added to midazolam for the treatment of out-of-hospital seizures, is associated with an increase in the rate of cessation of convulsions prior to hospital arrival.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of out-of-hospital patients with an active convulsive seizure being transported to a hospital by a large emergency medical services system in Florida, using data from August 1, 2015 and August 5, 2024. Per protocol, patients received midazolam first for their seizure.

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The association between age at diagnosis of diabetes and development of diabetic retinopathy and assessment of healthcare access as an effect modifier.

J Diabetes Complications

December 2024

Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, 11200 SW 8th St AHC2, Miami, FL 33199, United States; Escuela Superior de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata 7600, Argentina. Electronic address:

Aims: To examine if healthcare access modifies the association between age at diagnosis of diabetes and the prevalence of retinopathy.

Methods: BRFSS 2020 survey data was obtained from 12,198 adults. Participants with missing information in the variables "retinopathy" (N = 569) and "insurance-cost barrier" (N = 75) were excluded.

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Purpose: This report describes routine machine quality assurance (QA) (daily, monthly, and annual QA) tests for the Zap-X Gyroscopic Radiosurgery platform.

Methods: Following the recommendations of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group (AAPM TG)-142 and Medical Physics Practice guideline (MPPG) 8.b, routine machine QA tests for the Zap-X system were implemented.

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Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, affecting nearly one-in-two adults in the United States and is particularly potent in sexually minoritized men (SMM). Individual differences in optimism and pessimism may exert protective or maladaptive effects for the impact of discrimination on loneliness. This study investigated interrelationships between optimism/pessimism, discrimination, and loneliness within a sample of sexual minoritized men (SMM).

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The leading cause of composite restoration failure is recurrent marginal decay. The margin between the composite and tooth is initially sealed by a low-viscosity adhesive, but chemical, physical, and mechanical stresses work synergistically and simultaneously to degrade the adhesive, destroying the interfacial seal and providing an ideal environment for bacteria to proliferate. Our group has been developing self-strengthening adhesives with improved chemical and mechanical characteristics.

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The differential diagnosis of neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders, particularly when symptoms overlap significantly, poses a substantial challenge in clinical practice. Parkinson's disease (PD), Lewy body dementia, and catatonia are distinct conditions that can present with similar motor and cognitive symptoms, complicating accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. We report the case of a 45-year-old male patient who presented for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) evaluation.

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