The presence of 28 antibiotics in three hospital effluents, five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), six rivers and a drinking water storage catchment were investigated within watersheds of ...South–East Queensland, Australia. All antibiotics were detected at least once, with the exception of the polypeptide bacitracin which was not detected at all. Antibiotics were found in hospital effluent ranging from 0.01–14.5 μg L
−
1
, dominated by the β-lactam, quinolone and sulphonamide groups. Antibiotics were found in WWTP influent up to 64 μg L
−
1
, dominated by the β-lactam, quinolone and sulphonamide groups. Investigated WWTPs were highly effective in removing antibiotics from the water phase, with an average removal rate of greater than 80% for all targeted antibiotics. However, antibiotics were still detected in WWTP effluents in the low ng L
−
1
range up to a maximum of 3.4 μg L
−
1
, with the macrolide, quinolone and sulphonamide antibiotics most prevalent. Similarly, antibiotics were detected quite frequently in the low ng L
−
1
range, up to 2 μg L
−
1
in the surface waters of six investigated rivers including freshwater, estuarine and marine samples. The total investigated antibiotic concentration (TIAC) within the Nerang River was significantly lower (
p
<
0.05) than all other rivers sampled. The absence of WWTP discharge to this river is a likely explanation for the significantly lower TIAC and suggests that WWTP discharges are a dominant source of antibiotics to investigated surface waters. A significant difference (
p
<
0.001) was identified between TIACs at surface water sites with WWTP discharge compared to sites with no WWTP discharge, providing further evidence that WWTPs are an important source of antibiotics to streams. Despite the presence of antibiotics in surface waters used for drinking water extraction, no targeted antibiotics were detected in any drinking water samples.
Removal of 28 human and veterinary antibiotics was assessed in a conventional (activated sludge) and advanced (microfiltration/reverse osmosis) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Brisbane, ...Australia. The dominant antibiotics detected in wastewater influents were cephalexin (med. 4.6
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), ciprofloxacin (med. 3.8
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), cefaclor (med. 0.5
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), sulphamethoxazole (med. 0.36
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%) and trimethoprim (med. 0.34
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%). Results indicated that both treatment plants significantly reduced antibiotic concentrations with an average removal rate from the liquid phase of 92%. However, antibiotics were still detected in both effluents from the low-to-mid ng
L
−1 range. Antibiotics detected in effluent from the activated sludge WWTP included ciprofloxacin (med. 0.6
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), sulphamethoxazole (med. 0.27
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%) lincomycin (med. 0.05
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%) and trimethoprim (med. 0.05
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%). Antibiotics identified in microfiltration/reverse osmosis product water included naladixic acid (med. 0.045
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), enrofloxacin (med. 0.01
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), roxithromycin (med. 0.01
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), norfloxacin (med. 0.005
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), oleandomycin (med. 0.005
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), trimethoprim (med. 0.005
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), tylosin (med. 0.001
μg
L
−1, freq. 100%), and lincomycin (med. 0.001
μg
L
−1, freq. 66%). Certain traditional parameters, including nitrate concentration, conductivity and turbidity of the effluent were assessed as predictors of total antibiotic concentration, however only conductivity demonstrated any correlation with total antibiotic concentration (
p=0.018,
r=0.7). There is currently a lack of information concerning the effects of these chemicals to critically assess potential risks for environmental discharge and water recycling.
The basic operation principles of non-invasive microwave sensors are summarized in this work, with specific emphasis on health-care systems applications. Design criteria to achieve reliable results ...in terms of biological parameters detection are specifically highlighted. In particular, the importance to adopt accurate frequency models for the complex permittivity (in terms of both dielectric constant as well as loss tangent) in the synthesis procedure of the microwave sensor is clearly motivated. Finally, an application example of the outlined new perspectives in the framework of glucose monitoring to face diabete disease is deeply discussed.
A subset of patients with gastric cancer have mutations in genes that participate in or regulate Wnt signaling at the level of ligand (Wnt) receptor (Fzd) binding. Moreover, increased Fzd expression ...is associated with poor clinical outcome. Despite these findings, there are no
studies investigating the potential of targeting Wnt receptors for treating gastric cancer, and the specific Wnt receptor transmitting oncogenic Wnt signaling in gastric cancer is unknown. Here, we use inhibitors of Wnt/Fzd (OMP-18R5/vantictumab) and conditional gene deletion to test the therapeutic potential of targeting Wnt signaling in preclinical models of intestinal-type gastric cancer and
organoid cultures. Pharmacologic targeting of Fzd inhibited the growth of gastric adenomas
. We identified Fzd7 to be the predominant Wnt receptor responsible for transmitting Wnt signaling in human gastric cancer cells and mouse models of gastric cancer, whereby Fzd7-deficient cells were retained in gastric adenomas but were unable to respond to Wnt signals and consequently failed to proliferate. Genetic deletion of
or treatment with vantictumab was sufficient to inhibit the growth of gastric adenomas with or without mutations to
. Vantictumab is currently in phase Ib clinical trials for advanced pancreatic, lung, and breast cancer. Our data extend the scope of patients that may benefit from this therapeutic approach as we demonstrate that this drug will be effective in treating patients with gastric cancer regardless of
mutation status. SIGNIFICANCE: The Wnt receptor Fzd7 plays an essential role in gastric tumorigenesis irrespective of
mutation status, therefore targeting Wnt/Fzd7 may be of therapeutic benefit to patients with gastric cancer.
Abstract A large evidence-based review on the effects of a moderate consumption of beer on human health has been conducted by an international panel of experts who reached a full consensus on the ...present document. Low-moderate (up to 1 drink per day in women, up to 2 in men), non-bingeing beer consumption, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. This effect is similar to that of wine, at comparable alcohol amounts. Epidemiological studies suggest that moderate consumption of either beer or wine may confer greater cardiovascular protection than spirits. Although specific data on beer are not conclusive, observational studies seem to indicate that low-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of developing neurodegenerative disease. There is no evidence that beer drinking is different from other types of alcoholic beverages in respect to risk for some cancers. Evidence consistently suggests a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption (including beer) and all-cause mortality, with lower risk for moderate alcohol consumers than for abstainers or heavy drinkers. Unless they are at high risk for alcohol-related cancers or alcohol dependency, there is no reason to discourage healthy adults who are already regular light-moderate beer consumers from continuing. Consumption of beer, at any dosage, is not recommended for children, adolescents, pregnant women, individuals at risk to develop alcoholism, those with cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, depression, liver and pancreatic diseases, or anyone engaged in actions that require concentration, skill or coordination. In conclusion, although heavy and excessive beer consumption exerts deleterious effects on the human body, with increased disease risks on many organs and is associated to significant social problems such as addiction, accidents, violence and crime, data reported in this document show evidence for no harm of moderate beer consumption for major chronic conditions and some benefit against cardiovascular disease.
Objective:
The current study examined whether cancer survivors showed impairment, resilience, or growth responses relative to a sociodemographically matched sample in four domains: mental health and ...mood, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spirituality. The impact of aging on psychosocial adjustment was also investigated.
Design:
Participants were 398 cancer survivors who were participants in the MIDUS survey (Midlife in the United States) and 796 matched respondents with no cancer history. Psychosocial assessments were completed in 1995-1996 and 2004-2006.
Main Outcome Measures:
Outcomes including self-report measures of mental health and mood, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spirituality.
Results:
Findings indicated that cancer survivors demonstrated impairment relative to the comparison group in mental health, mood, and some aspects of psychological well-being. Longitudinal analyses spanning pre- and postdiagnosis clarified that while mental health declined after a cancer diagnosis, poorer functioning in other domains existed
prior
to diagnosis. However, survivors exhibited resilient social well-being, spirituality, and personal growth. Moreover, age appeared to confer resiliency; older survivors were more likely than younger adults to show psychosocial functioning equivalent to their peers.
Conclusion:
While younger survivors may be at risk for disturbances in mental health and mood, cancer survivors show resilience in other important domains of psychosocial adjustment.
Population growth models are integral to ecological studies by providing estimates of population performance across space and time. Several models have been developed that estimate population growth ...through correlates of demographic traits, as measuring each parameter of the model can be prohibitive in experimental studies. Since differences in female size can accurately reflect changes in fecundity for many taxa, Livdahl and Sugihara developed a population growth index that incorporates size-fecundity relationships as a proxy for fecundity. To investigate the extent to which this model is robust to variation of this proxy, we tested if genetic (source population), temperature and resource treatments affect the size-fecundity relationship in Aedes albopictus (Skuse), the Asian tiger mosquito. We then determined if variation in the size-fecundity relationship alters the population growth estimates, lambda (λ'), when applied to Livdahl and Sugihara's model. We performed 2 laboratory experiments in which we reared cohorts of four different geographic populations of A. albopictus across 5 temperature treatments (18, 21, 25, 18, 31°C) and three resource treatments (low, medium, high larval resources). We determined if the slope of the size-fecundity relationship varied by source population, temperature, or resource; and if variation in this relationship affects lambda (λ') estimates in a competition study between A. albopictus and Culex pipiens (Linnaeus), the northern house mosquito. Temperature treatments significantly affected the size-fecundity relationship, resource level marginally affected the relationship, while source population had no effect. We found positive relationships between size and fecundity when mosquito larvae were reared at high temperatures and low resource levels but the relationship disappeared when mosquitoes were reared at a low temperature or with high levels of resources. The variation in the size-fecundity relationship produced from different temperatures resulted in statistically different lambda (λ') estimates. However, these changes in lambda (λ') did not alter the trends in the population performance across treatments or conclusions of the competition study. This study provides evidence that the population growth model is sensitive to variation in size-fecundity relationships and we recommend biologists apply the most compatible size-fecundity relationship to the models to obtain the most accurate estimates of population performance.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A Minkowski fractal-shaped patch is proposed for the design of a reduced-size reflectarray element. The intrinsic miniaturization capability of the fractal geometry is fully exploited by leaving ...unchanged the patch length, while using the fractal scaling factor to obtain a good reflectarray phase agility. The achieved size reduction effect allows to choose array grids with smaller interelement spacing, thus offering the opportunity to have wide-angle scanning capabilities. As validation test, a fractal-shaped X-band reflectarray element, embedded into a 0.3λ×0.3λ cell, is designed to give a high phase agility range, greater than 300°. Furthermore, the design and the experimental validation of a 15 ×15 reflectarray prototype are presented to prove the fixed-beam large angle pointing ability.
We derive and implement a general method to characterize the nonclassicality in compound discrete- and continuous-variable systems. For this purpose, we introduce the operational notion of ...conditional hybrid nonclassicality which relates to the ability to produce a nonclassical continuous-variable state by projecting onto a general superposition of discrete-variable subsystem. We discuss the importance of this form of quantumness in connection with interfaces for quantum communication. To verify the conditional hybrid nonclassicality, a matrix version of a nonclassicality quasiprobability is derived and its sampling approach is formulated. We experimentally generate an entangled, hybrid Schrödinger cat state, using a coherent photon-addition process acting on two temporal modes, and we directly sample its nonclassicality quasiprobability matrix. The introduced conditional quantum effects are certified with high statistical significance.
Adult stem/progenitor are a small population of cells that reside in tissue-specific niches and possess the potential to differentiate in all cell types of the organ in which they operate. Adult stem ...cells are implicated with the homeostasis, regeneration, and aging of all tissues. Tissue-specific adult stem cell senescence has emerged as an attractive theory for the decline in mammalian tissue and organ function during aging. Cardiac aging, in particular, manifests as functional tissue degeneration that leads to heart failure. Adult cardiac stem/progenitor cell (CSC) senescence has been accordingly associated with physiological and pathological processes encompassing both non-age and age-related decline in cardiac tissue repair and organ dysfunction and disease. Senescence is a highly active and dynamic cell process with a first classical hallmark represented by its replicative limit, which is the establishment of a stable growth arrest over time that is mainly secondary to DNA damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation elicited by different intrinsic stimuli (like metabolism), as well as external stimuli and age. Replicative senescence is mainly executed by telomere shortening, the activation of the p53/p16
/Rb molecular pathways, and chromatin remodeling. In addition, senescent cells produce and secrete a complex mixture of molecules, commonly known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), that regulate most of their non-cell-autonomous effects. In this review, we discuss the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating different characteristics of the senescence phenotype and their consequences for adult CSCs in particular. Because senescent cells contribute to the outcome of a variety of cardiac diseases, including age-related and unrelated cardiac diseases like diabetic cardiomyopathy and anthracycline cardiotoxicity, therapies that target senescent cell clearance are actively being explored. Moreover, the further understanding of the reversibility of the senescence phenotype will help to develop novel rational therapeutic strategies.
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