Does Tinnitus Fill in the Gap Using Electrophysiology? A Scoping Review.

The results showed a trend of increased post-gap amplitudes and reduced gap salience; however, the small number of articles yield and limited consensus prohibit any conclusions for clinical use. Nevertheless, gap-induced EPs may be further explored as a potential tool for tinnitus detection.

Electroceutical Silk-Silver Gel to Eradicate Bacterial Infection.

With more than 50% of bacteria resistant to standard antibiotics, new strategies to treat bacterial infection and colonization are needed. Based on the concept of targeting the bacteria synergistically on various fronts, it is hypothesized that an electrical insult associated with antibacterial materials may be a highly effective means of killing bacteria. In this work, an injectable conductive gel based on silk fibroin (SF) and silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) is synthesized, capable of coating a zone of injury, allowing the application of a low electrical current to decrease bacterial contamination.

The barley stripe mosaic virus expression system reveals the wheat C2H2 zinc finger protein TaZFP1B as a key regulator of drought tolerance.

Background: Drought stress is one of the major factors limiting wheat production globally. Improving drought tolerance is important for agriculture sustainability. Although various morphological, physiological and biochemical responses associated with drought tolerance have been documented, the molecular mechanisms and regulatory genes that are needed to improve drought tolerance in crops require further investigation.

Copolymers containing carbohydrates and other biomolecules: design, synthesis and applications.

Glycopolymers are synthetic polymers containing pendant carbohydrate groups. Other biological compounds can be incorporated into glycopolymers to prepare both random and block copolymers aimed at bio-related applications: boronic acid can be introduced as a functional group to obtain crosslinked hydrogels; cholesterol and bile acids can be introduced to render the polymers more hydrophobic for the formation of micelles. Sugar-containing block copolymers with biocompatible blocks such as polypeptides, poly(ethylene glycol), poly(lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone) were also prepared for potential application in drug carriers.

Socio-spatial inequalities in smoking among young adults: What a 'go-along' study says about local smoking practices.

Smoking prevalence in Canada has declined; yet, not among all segments of the population. Residents of high-deprivation neighbourhoods and young adults are over-represented among current smokers. There is a dearth of theoretically informed research focused on better understanding the connection between smoking, social inequalities, and place among young adults.

Structure of the Electrical Double Layer at the Interface between an Ionic Liquid and Tungsten Oxide in Ion-Gated Transistors.

The structure of electrical double layers at electrified interfaces is of utmost importance for electrochemical energy storage as well as printable, flexible, and bioelectronic devices, such as ion-gated transistors (IGTs). Here we report a study based on atomic force microscopy force-distance profiling on electrical double layers forming at the interface between the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and sol-gel films of mesoporous tungsten oxide. We successfully followed, under conditions, the evolution of the arrangement of the ions at the interface with the tungsten oxide films used as channel materials in IGTs.

Traditional Food, Health, and Diet Quality in Syilx Okanagan Adults in British Columbia, Canada.

In Canada, store-bought food constitutes the majority of First Nations (FN) people's diets; however, their traditional foods (TF; wild fish, game, fowl, and plants) remains vital for their health. This study compares health indicators and diet quality among 265 Syilx Okanagan adults according to whether or not they reported eating TF during a 24-h dietary recall. Three methods assessed diet quality: nutrient intakes and adequacy, Healthy Eating Index (HEI-C), and contributions of ultra-processed products (UPP) to %energy using the NOVA classification.

Common Strategy for the Synthesis of Some Strychnos Indole Alkaloids.

Indole alkaloids are important natural compounds with interesting bio-activities that can be found in various species belonging to the Amaryllidaceae, Apocynaceae, or Strychnaceae families. Although these compounds have different connections, substituents, and functionalities, their main core can be produced the formation of a common functionalized tetracyclic subunit, which is rapidly obtained by an oxidative de-aromatization process mediated by a hypervalent iodine reagent from an inexpensive phenol containing a lactate moiety as the chiral auxiliary. A subsequent stereoselective aza-Michael addition and an intramolecular Heck-type reaction lead to the formation of a common key intermediate.

Functional and taxonomic biogeography of phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in relation to environmental variation across the contiguous USA.

For biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems, the use of coarse group classifications, either taxonomic or functional, has been proposed as an alternative to more highly resolved taxonomic identification. We tested this proposition for phytoplankton and zooplankton using a pan-United States dataset, which also allows us to investigate biogeographic relationships between plankton groups and environmental variables. We used data from 1010 lakes composing the 2012 US National Lakes Assessment and compared relationships derived using genus-level, more aggregated taxonomic resolution and functional types.

Development of a method for quantification of toluene diisocyanate and methylenediphenyl diisocyanate migration from polyurethane foam sample surface to artificial sweat by HPLC-UV-MS.

The US Environmental protection agency (EPA) has published guidance that includes test procedures for evaluating indoor exposure to chemicals from products. One of the test procedures represents the migration test for evaluating potential dermal exposure from home furniture. Such an evaluation involves the chemical measurement of the sweat which is currently unavailable in the literature.

Nurses' judgments of patient risk of deterioration at change-of-shift handoff: Agreement between nurses and comparison with early warning scores.

Background: Nurses begin forming judgments regarding patients' clinical stability during change-of-shift handoffs.

Objectives: To examine the agreement between incoming and outgoing nurses' judgments of deterioration risk following handoff and compare these judgments to commonly used early warning scores (MEWS, NEWS, ViEWS).

Methods: Following handoffs on three medical/surgical units, nurses completed the Patient Acuity Rating.

Antimicrobial Peptides: Virulence and Resistance Modulation in Gram-Negative Bacteria.

Growing resistance to antibiotics is one of the biggest threats to human health. One of the possibilities to overcome this resistance is to use and develop alternative molecules such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, an increasing number of studies have shown that bacterial resistance to AMPs does exist.

What are the characteristics of the champion that influence the implementation of quality improvement programs?

Background: Quality improvement in Healthcare is the new fashion actually. Rich countries and developing countries alike are trying to implement quality improvement initiatives to improve their performance and the quality of care. There is evidence in the scientific literature that the existence of a "champion" can play an important role in the successful implementation of quality improvement strategies.

Greenhouse gas emissions from lakes and impoundments: upscaling in the face of global change.

Lakes and impoundments are important sources of greenhouse gases (GHG: i.e., CO, CH, NO), yet global emission estimates are based on regionally-biased averages and elementary upscaling.

Efficiency of crustacean zooplankton in transferring allochthonous carbon in a boreal lake.

Increased incorporation of terrestrial organic matter (t-OM) into consumer biomass (allochthony) is believed to reduce growth capacity. In this study, we examined the relationship between crustacean zooplankton allochthony and production in a boreal lake that displays strong seasonal variability in t-OM inputs. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found no effect of allochthony on production at the community and the species levels.

A sustained zero-order release carrier for long-acting, peakless basal insulin therapy.

Basal insulin therapy plays a key role in diabetes management. An ideal therapy should mimic the steady physiologic basal insulin secretion, and provide a peak-free, prolonged and steady insulin supply. Herein, a new drug carrier was designed by first PEGylating insulin and then incorporating the conjugate into layer-by-layer assembled films with tannic acid (TA).

Au nanoparticles as label-free competitive reporters for sensitivity enhanced fiber-optic SPR heparin sensor.

A label-free Au NPs-enhanced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor was developed for the ultrasensitive detection of heparin based on competitive adsorption behavior of heparin and Au NPs on the poly (dimethyl-diallylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-modified optical fiber surface and the corresponding change in the resonance wavelength of SPR. Due to the high affinity between heparin and PDDA, the present senor shows good analytical performance with respect to heparin detection. Two obvious advantages of the proposed heparin sensor over other reported methods are: its much wider linear concentration range (10-10 g/mL) and lower limit of detection (0.

Change in Autumn Vegetation Phenology and the Climate Controls From 1982 to 2012 on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Autumn vegetation phenology plays a critical role in the survival and reproduction of vegetation in changing environments. Using GIMMS3g (Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies), MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging and Spectroradiometer), and SPOT (Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre) remote sensing data, we investigated the spatial and temporal dynamics of the vegetation dormancy onset date (DOD) and its response to temperature, precipitation, and cold degree days (CDD) in different biomes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) from 1982 to 2012. Our results indicated that there was no significant temporal trend in the DOD for the vegetation on the QTP but found clear regional characteristics in the DOD trends with a notably advancing trend in the central region and a widespread delay in the southwestern region (>1 day year, P < 0.

Cholic acid-based mixed micelles as siRNA delivery agents for gene therapy.

Gene therapy is a promising tool for the treatment of various cancers but is hindered by the physico-chemical properties of siRNA and needs a suitable vector for the delivery of siRNA to the target tissue. Bile acid-based block copolymers offers certain advantages for the loading and delivery of siRNA since they can efficiently complex siRNA and bile acids are biocompatible endogenous molecules. In this study, we demonstrate the use of lipids as co-surfactants for the preparation of mixed micelles to improve the siRNA delivery of cholic acid-based block copolymers.

Does Depression Mediate the Effect of Work Organization Conditions on Job Performance?

Objective: The present study proposes to shed light on the impact of workers' depression on their work performance.

Methods: We implemented a path analyses adjusted for design effects resulting from cluster sampling using MPlus software on a sample of 1957 workers. These analyses allowed us to evaluate direct and indirect effects (mediation) while taking into account the nonindependence of observations due to cluster sampling (workers nested in their workplace).

Kinetic Control of Morphology and Composition in Ge/GeSn Core/Shell Nanowires.

The growth of Sn-rich group-IV semiconductors at the nanoscale can enrich the understanding of the fundamental properties of metastable GeSn alloys. Here, we demonstrate the effect of the growth conditions on the morphology and composition of Ge/GeSn core/shell nanowires by correlating the experimental observations with a theoretical interpretation based on a multiscale approach. We show that the cross-sectional morphology of Ge/GeSn core/shell nanowires changes from hexagonal to dodecagonal upon increasing the supply of the Sn precursor.

Elaboration of Functionalized Organophosphates.

In this study, the rapid transformation of inexpensive phenols into polyfunctionalized cyclohexenones containing a phosphonate in one pot is described. Such systems readily obtained from simple aromatic compounds could open up a multitude of synthetic possibilities. For example, this scaffold was easily and stereoselectively transformed into the corresponding enol functionality in the same pot by the addition of sodium borohydride.

Considering sex and gender in ergonomics: Exploring the hows and whys.

At the 2018 IEA conference, the Gender and Work Technical Committee organized three symposia with over 20 presentations. Overall, these contributions positioned ergonomics as a theoretical and pragmatic approach developing innovative methods to integrate sex/gender analysis into the construction and evaluation of interventions. This special issue of Applied Ergonomics includes diverse approaches to the consideration of sex and gender in ergonomics, including methods in accident analysis, musculoskeletal disorders, work-family interactions, work schedule analysis, prevention programs and evaluation of interventions.

In Situ Structure of an Intact Lipopolysaccharide-Bound Bacterial Surface Layer.

Most bacterial and all archaeal cells are encapsulated by a paracrystalline, protective, and cell-shape-determining proteinaceous surface layer (S-layer). On Gram-negative bacteria, S-layers are anchored to cells via lipopolysaccharide. Here, we report an electron cryomicroscopy structure of the Caulobacter crescentus S-layer bound to the O-antigen of lipopolysaccharide.

Role of prey subcellular distribution on the bioaccumulation of yttrium (Y) in the rainbow trout.

Our knowledge of the processes leading to the bioaccumulation of rare earth elements (REE) in aquatic biota is limited. As the contamination of freshwater ecosystems by anthropogenic REE have recently been reported, it becomes increasingly urgent to understand how these metals are transferred to freshwater organisms in order to develop appropriate guidelines. We exposed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to an REE, yttrium (Y), to either a range of Y-contaminated prey (Daphnia magna) or a range of Y-contaminated water.