Background and purpose
Our aim was to study the quality of the literature search strategies used in recent systematic reviews and to develop and assess the diagnostic accuracy of six new search ...strategies (i.e. hedges).
Methods
Six neurological conditions were studied: migraine, stroke, dementia, epileptic seizures, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of the search strategies used in systematic reviews published in 2015–2016. Complex hedges pertaining to the six conditions for use in Ovid MEDLINE were developed. Their diagnostic accuracy was compared to simple, single‐term keyword searches.
Results
Almost 60% of quality criteria for the overall literature search strategy used in 182 systematic reviews were not respected. Over 30% of search strategies relied on a single keyword to identify the neurological condition. The sensitivities of our complex hedges amongst 10 311 articles were between 83% and 95%, significantly higher than the simple keyword searches (as low as 48%). The specificities were greater than 97%.
Conclusions
There is great room for improvement in the search strategies used in systematic reviews of neurological conditions. Complex hedges were developed and validated to improve the accuracy of such searches. It is expected that this will lead to higher quality systematic reviews and meta‐analyses.
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•P removal from simulated wastewater using lab-scale HSSF-CWs was examined.•Paspalum atratum was utilized as the emergent wetland plant for very first time.•WHC-based HSSF-CW planted ...with Paspalum atratum removed up to 89.9% of inflow P.•WHC sorption was the dominant P removal pathway in HSSF-CWs.•Utilizing WHC as a reactive filter media apparently extended lifespans of HSSF-CWs.
This work examined the phosphorus (P) removal from the synthetic pretreated swine wastewater using lab-scale horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetlands (HSSF-CWs). White hard clam (Meretrix lyrata) shells (WHC) and Paspalum atratum were utilized as substrate and plant, respectively. The focus was placed on treatment performance, removal mechanisms and lifespan of the HSSF-CWs. Results indicated that WHC-based HSSF-CW with P. atratum exhibited a high P removal (89.9%). The mean P efluent concentration and P removal rate were 1.34 ± 0.95 mg/L and 0.32 ± 0.03 g/m2/d, respectively. The mass balance study showed that media sorption was the dominant P removal pathway (77.5%), followed by microbial assimilation (14.5%), plant uptake (5.4%), and other processes (2.6%). It was estimated the WHC-based bed could work effectively for approximately 2.84 years. This WHC-based HSSF-CWs technology will therefore pave the way for recycling Ca-rich waste materials as media in HSSF-CWs to enhance P-rich wastewater purification.
Rice production in floodplain deltas is currently vulnerable to climate change and contamination from anthropogenic activities. The relocation of rice production to upland regions could be an option ...for increasing the sustainability of rice production. Our study evaluated the spatial patterning of heavy metals, i.e., copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd), in rice along a topogradient from terrace to lowland areas in the Red River basin. The dataset obtained from the analysis of 61 farm sites throughout the whole basin indicated a large discrepancy in the Cu and Cd contents in rice grains from terrace and lowland paddies. While Cu and Cd were not found in most of the rice grain samples from the terrace paddies, the median Cu and Cd contents of the lowland paddy rice were 1.895 and 0.033 mg kg
−1
, respectively. Assessing the relationship of Cu and Cd in the soil–rice system to soil properties revealed possible correlations between soil available silicon (Si) and the Cu and Cd contents in rice grain. The enrichment of Si in rice plants likely reduces the translocation of Cu and Cd from soil to grain. Therefore, management of the Si supply, particularly in lowland paddies, should be highlighted as a way to reduce dietary intake of Cu and Cd.
Plastic pollution is ubiquitous in aquatic environments worldwide. Rivers connect terrestrial and marine ecosystems, playing a key role in the transport of land-based plastic waste towards the sea. ...Emerging research suggests that in estuaries and tidal rivers, tidal dynamics play a significant role in plastic transport and retention dynamics. To date, observations in these systems have been limited, and plastic transport dynamics during single tidal cycles remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated plastic transport, trapping, and re-mobilization of macroplastics (> 0.5 cm) in the Saigon River, focusing on short-term dynamics of individual tidal cycles. We used GPS trackers, released at different stages of the tidal cycle (ebb, flood, neap, spring). Plastic items demonstrated dynamic and intermittent transport behavior. Items spent almost half of the time (49%) temporarily stopped, mainly due to their entrapment in vegetation, infrastructure, or deposition on riverbanks. Items were almost always re-mobilized within 10 h (85%), leading to successive phases of stopping and transport. Tidal dynamics also resulted in bidirectional transport of plastic items, with median daily total transport distance within the 40 km study reach (8.9 km day−1) over four times larger than the median daily net distance (2.0 km day−1). The median retention time of plastic items within the reach was 21 days (mean = 202 days). In total, 81% of the retrieved items were trapped within water hyacinths, emphasizing the important role of floating vegetation on river plastic transport dynamics. With this paper, we aim to provide data-driven insights into macroplastic transport and retention dynamics in a tropical tidal river. These are crucial in the design of effective intervention and monitoring strategies, and estimating net plastic emission from rivers into the sea.
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•Tracked floating macro-plastic items in the Saigon River spent nearly half of their time in the system stopped.•Trajectories show a succession of transport, stopping, and re-mobilization phases.•Tidal dynamics lead to bidirectional transport and large differences between total and net transport velocities.•80% of the retrieved items were entrapped by in-stream floating vegetation.•Impact of hydrological variability and plastic properties should be further explored.
•Vertical transport results in a potential loss of upto 10 ton Si ha−1 from paddy soils with two, annual rice-cropping cycles.•This loss by leaching is about one order-of-magnitude higher than ...potential rice uptake.•Our experiments suggest that a strong deficiency of Si might occur near the end of the flooding period.•A “peak application” of Si during the deficiency stage may be necessary to insure sufficient Si transfer to rice plants.
The effect of environmental pollution on the safety of vegetable crops is a serious global public health issue. This study was conducted to assess heavy metal concentrations in soil, irrigation ...water, and 21 local vegetable species collected from four sites near mining activities and one control site in Northern Vietnam. Soils from vegetable fields in the mining areas were contaminated with cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As), while irrigation water was contaminated with Pb. Average concentrations of Pb and As in fresh vegetable samples collected at the four mining sites exceeded maximum levels (MLs) set by international food standards for Pb (70.6 % of vegetable samples) and As (44.1 % of vegetable samples), while average Cd concentrations in vegetables at all sites were below the MLs of 0.2. The average total target hazard quotient (TTHQ) across all vegetable species sampled was higher than the safety threshold of 1.0, indicating a health risk. Based on the weight of evidence, we find that cultivation of vegetables in the studied mining sites is an important risk contributor for local residents’ health.
Abstract Background Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) often address normative behaviors. If a behavior is also common among clinicians, they may be skeptical about the necessity or effectiveness of ...an EBI. Alternatively, clinicians’ attitudes and behaviors may be misaligned, or they may lack the knowledge and self-efficacy to deliver the EBI. Several EBIs address unhealthy alcohol use, a common and often culturally acceptable behavior. But unhealthy alcohol use may be particularly harmful to people with HIV (PWH). Here, we present an implementation trial using an experiential implementation strategy to address clinicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Clinicians receive the experiential intervention before they begin delivering an evidence-based brief alcohol intervention (BAI) to PWH with unhealthy alcohol use. Methods Design : In this hybrid type 3 implementation-effectiveness cluster randomized controlled trial, ART clinics ( n = 30) will be randomized 1:1 to facilitation, a flexible strategy to address implementation barriers, or facilitation plus the experiential brief alcohol intervention (EBAI). In the EBAI arm, clinicians, irrespective of their alcohol use, will be offered the BAI as experiential learning. EBAI will address clinicians’ alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors and increase their knowledge and confidence to deliver the BAI. Participants : ART clinic staff will be enrolled and assessed at pre-BAI training, post-BAI training, 3, 12, and 24 months. All PWH at the ART clinics who screen positive for unhealthy alcohol use will be offered the BAI. A subset of PWH ( n = 810) will be enrolled and assessed at baseline, 3, and 12 months. Outcomes : We will compare implementation outcomes (acceptability, fidelity, penetration, costs, and sustainability) and effectiveness outcomes (viral suppression and alcohol use) between the two arms. We will assess the impact of site-level characteristics on scaling-up the BAI. We will also evaluate how experiencing the BAI affected clinical staff’s alcohol use and clinic-level alcohol expectations in the EBAI arm. Discussion This trial contributes to implementation science by testing a novel strategy to implement a behavior change intervention in a setting in which clinicians themselves may engage in the behavior. Experiential learning may be useful to address normative and difficult to change lifestyle behaviors that contribute to chronic diseases. Trial Registration NCT06358885 (04/10/2024), https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06358885 .
We develop a novel approach to create oxygen vacancies on the surface of ZnO particles and investigate their role in the photoluminescence of the ZnO. In this approach, the commercial ZnO powder is ...coated with a thin carbon layer using ball-milling technique, forming ZnO@C core@shell particles. By annealing the as-milled ZnO@C at a relatively low temperature (i.e., up to 600 °C) in oxygen, the surface oxygen vacancies are formed, which is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The annealed powders show red photoluminescence, which largely covers the far-red region, and by varying the annealing temperature, the emission range of the ZnO can be tailored. We found that the far-red emission is associated with the surface oxygen vacancies of ZnO.
Fabrication of red and far-red emission ZnO powders by carbon coating and removal at a low temperature. Display omitted
•ZnO@C core@shell particles are fabricated by ball-milling technique.•Surface oxygen vacancies are created by annealing ZnO@C in oxygen at 600 °C.•Surface oxygen vacancies cause the far-red emission of the ZnO phosphor.
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a dangerous virus causing large piglet losses. PEDV spread rapidly between pig farms and caused the death of up to 90% of infected piglets. Current vaccines ...are only partially effective in providing immunity to suckling due to the rapid dissemination and ongoing evolution of PEDV.
In this study, the complete genome of a PEDV strain in Vietnam 2018 (IBT/VN/2018 strain) has been sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of each fragment was assembled to build a continuous complete sequence using the DNASTAR program. The complete nucleotide sequences and amino acid sequences of S, N, and ORF3 genes were aligned and analyzed to detect the mutations.
The full-length genome was determined with 28,031 nucleotides in length which consisted of the 5'UTR, ORF1ab, S protein, ORF3, E protein, M protein, N protein, and 3'UTR region. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the IBT/VN/2018 strain was highly virulent belonged to the G2b subgroup along with the Northern American and Asian S-INDEL strains. Multiple sequence alignment of deduced amino acids revealed numerous mutations in the S, N, and ORF3 regions including one substitution
P > L
in the epitope SS6; two in the S
subdomain (
DN
>
SI
and N
> D
); two in subdomain S
at aa
L > M
and
S > L
; one at aa
P > S
in subdomain S
of the S protein; two at aa
N > I
and
N > S
in the N protein; four at aa
L > S
,
I > V
,
C > F
, and
D > N
in the ORF3 protein. We identified two insertions (at aa
NQGV
and aa
N) and one deletion (at aa
DI
) in S protein. Remarkable, eight amino acid substitutions (
I > M
,
A > S
,
V > I
,
A > T
,
R > T
,
SH
>
IY
,
I > T
,
V > I
, and
P > L
) were found in S
subdomain. Besides, N- and O-glycosylation analysis of S, N, and ORF3 protein reveals three known sites (25
, 123
, and 62
) and three novel sites (144
, 1009
, and 1279
) in the IBT/VN/2018 strain compared with the vaccine strains. Taken together, the results showed that mutations in the S, N, and ORF3 genes can affect receptor specificity, viral pathogenicity, and the ability to evade the host immune system of the IBT/VN/2018 strain. Our results highlight the importance of molecular characterization of field strains of PEDV for the development of an effective vaccine to control PEDV infections in Vietnam.
In this study, nanocrystalline ZnNdxFe2−xO4 ferrites with x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 were fabricated and used as a catalyst for dye removal potential. The effect of Nd3+ ions substitution on the ...structural, optical and photo-Fenton activity of ZnNdxFe2−xO4 has been investigated. The addition of Nd3+ ions caused a decrease in the grain size of ferrites, the reduction of the optical bandgap energies and thus could be well exploited for the catalytic study. The photocatalytic activity of the ferrite samples was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in the presence of H2O2 under visible light radiation. The results indicated that the ZnNdxFe2−xO4 samples exhibited higher removal efficiencies than the pure ZnFe2O4 ferrites. The highest degradation efficiency was 98.00%, attained after 210 min using the ZnNd0.03Fe1.97O4 sample. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the ZnFe2O4 doped with Nd3+ is explained due to the efficient separation mechanism of photoinduced electron and holes. The effect of various factors (H2O2 oxidant concentration and catalyst loading) on the degradation of RhB dye was clarified.
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