Purpose
To investigate the psychiatric healthcare utilisation of refugees vis-à-vis their peers in Denmark during the ages 15–22.
Methods
This paper utilises comprehensive full-population registry ...data from 1995 to 2016 to explore the psychiatric healthcare utilisation during the transition from childhood to adulthood for refugees (
N
= 13,027), a comparison group of children of labour migrants from Morocco, Pakistan, and Turkey (
N
= 13,413), and the majority population (
N
= 693,043) in Denmark. To test for population differences in types of admission for particular types of disorders, odds ratios for a first contact during ages 15–22 were calculated using logistic regression. For those with at least one diagnosis-specific hospital contact, differences in the amount and type of treatment were tested using negative binomial regression to estimate means ratios of days hospitalised, days in outpatient care, number of outpatient contacts, consultations with psychiatrists in private practice, and prescribed medicine purchases.
Results
Refugees and the comparison group were generally less likely than the majority population to have a first contact for most disorders (adjusted ORs 0.03–0.88), but not for schizophrenia for boys (adjusted ORs 0.92–2.13). Among those who did have a first contact, youths from the ethnic minority groups tended to have more or similar inpatient and emergency room contacts (MRs 0.89–2.10), hospitalisations of refugee girls being an exception (MR 0.46; CI 0.23–0.94), but fewer outpatient contacts, consultations with psychiatrists in private practice, and prescribed medicine purchases (MRs 0.23–0.94).
Conclusions
The results suggest that refugee and other ethnic minority groups may face barriers both to initial contact and to completing adequate treatment beyond the first contact.
Substantial research efforts are under way to optimize the production of composites enhanced by the incorporation of nanomaterial fillers such as multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). It is therefore ...critical to develop robust methods to detect and characterize MWCNTs in nanocomposites to measure product performance and potential risks from release of the MWCNTs. In this study, the effectiveness of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods is assessed on a series of MWCNT-epoxy nanocomposites samples. A general trend of positive correlation between signal intensity and MWCNT mass loading was observed by both Raman spectroscopy and XPS. Raman spectroscopy was capable of detecting MWCNTs at the lowest nominal concentration tested (0.01%), while for XPS, MWCNTs were detected down to a threshold of approximately 0.5%. Analysis of the same locations of two nanocomposite samples with nominal MWCNT mass fractions of 0.3% and 1% using Raman chemical imaging and SEM revealed a similar detectability of MWCNT clusters and with the higher mass loading sample having a greater number of MWCNT-rich domains. Overall, these results show a good comparability among the different techniques and therefore provide comprehensive, nondestructive microscopy methods to characterize nanocomposites.
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Novel physicochemistries of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) offer considerable commercial potential for new products and processes, but also the possibility of unforeseen and negative consequences ...upon ENM release into the environment. Investigations of ENM ecotoxicity have revealed that the unique properties of ENMs and a lack of appropriate test methods can lead to results that are inaccurate or not reproducible. The occurrence of spurious results or misinterpretations of results from ENM toxicity tests that are unique to investigations of ENMs (as opposed to traditional toxicants) have been reported, but have not yet been systemically reviewed. Our objective in this manuscript is to highlight artifacts and misinterpretations that can occur at each step of ecotoxicity testing: procurement or synthesis of the ENMs and assessment of potential toxic impurities such as metals or endotoxins, ENM storage, dispersion of the ENMs in the test medium, direct interference with assay reagents and unacknowledged indirect effects such as nutrient depletion during the assay, and assessment of the ENM biodistribution in organisms. We recommend thorough characterization of initial ENMs including measurement of impurities, implementation of steps to minimize changes to the ENMs during storage, inclusion of a set of experimental controls (e.g., to assess impacts of nutrient depletion, ENM specific effects, impurities in ENM formulation, desorbed surface coatings, the dispersion process, and direct interference of ENM with toxicity assays), and use of orthogonal measurement methods when available to assess ENMs fate and distribution in organisms.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of cognitive impairment. Due to insufficient understanding of the disease mechanisms, there are no efficient ...therapies for AD. Most studies have focused on neuronal cells, but astrocytes have also been suggested to contribute to AD pathology. We describe here the generation of functional astrocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from AD patients with PSEN1 ΔE9 mutation, as well as healthy and gene-corrected isogenic controls. AD astrocytes manifest hallmarks of disease pathology, including increased β-amyloid production, altered cytokine release, and dysregulated Ca2+ homeostasis. Furthermore, due to altered metabolism, AD astrocytes show increased oxidative stress and reduced lactate secretion, as well as compromised neuronal supportive function, as evidenced by altering Ca2+ transients in healthy neurons. Our results reveal an important role for astrocytes in AD pathology and highlight the strength of iPSC-derived models for brain diseases.
•PSEN1 mutant AD astrocytes manifest hallmarks of AD pathology•Altered mitochondrial metabolism in AD astrocytes increases oxidative stress•AD astrocytes reduce the calcium signaling activity of healthy neurons•Astrocytes are important in the pathogenesis of AD
In this article, Koistinaho and colleagues reveal that astrocytes from PSEN1 ΔE9 patients display a severe AD-related phenotype, including increased Aβ production, altered mitochondrial metabolism, and reduced lactate secretion. Furthermore, PSEN1 ΔE9 astrocytes influence the calcium signaling activity of healthy neurons. The results highlight the importance of astrocytes in AD pathogenesis.
Objectives Chromium VI (hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI)) is an established cause of lung cancer, but its association with gastrointestinal cancer is less clear. The goal of this study was to examine ...whether the current human epidemiological research on occupationally inhaled Cr(VI) supports the hypothesis that Cr(VI) is associated with human stomach cancer. Methods Following a thorough literature search and review of individual studies, we used meta-analysis to summarise the current epidemiological literature on inhaled Cr(VI) and stomach cancer, explore major sources of heterogeneity, and assess other elements of causal inference. Results We identified 56 cohort and case–control studies and 74 individual relative risk (RR) estimates on stomach cancer and Cr(VI) exposure or work in an occupation associated with high Cr(VI) exposure including chromium production, chrome plating, leather work and work with Portland cement. The summary RR for all studies combined was 1.27 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.38). In analyses limited to only those studies identifying increased risks of lung cancer, the summary RR for stomach cancer was higher (RR=1.41, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.69). Conclusions Overall, these results suggest that Cr(VI) is a stomach carcinogen in humans, which is consistent with the tumour results reported in rodent studies.
•An evaluation of low-cost non-heavily mechanised pre-treatments methods to make metals in PCBs accessible for leaching was conducted.•The extent of Cu leaching in ammonia was used as a diagnostic to ...evaluate the accessibility of metals following each pre-treatment method.•Metals in PCBs were mapped using X-ray CT and effect of creating faults or points of weakness on resultant leaching recoveries was evaluated.•NaOH soaking, band saw cutting to various sizes, open flame burning, furnace combustion and milling are some of the methods tested.
Printed circuit boards are a metals rich fraction of e-waste streams and their recycling to recover the metals promotes growth of a secondary resources economy. Reported successful cases of PCB recycling are carried out in large volumes using high-level technology and high capital investment smelter house operations. Hydrometallurgical processes have the potential to provide an option for the scalable processing of smaller volumes of PCBs and can be set up at relatively lower capital costs. However, to date, the hydrometallurgical treatment options available rely on precursor communition processes that also require high capital and energy costs. This study evaluates the options of using NaOH pre-treatment, milling, combustion and other alternative PCB pre-treatment methods to promote the leaching of metals which are otherwise inaccessible. A batch of custom-made PCBs of known and consistent metal content has been used to allow effective comparison. The effectiveness of each pre-treatment method is evaluated through carrying out an ammoniacal copper leach and recoveries are compared. X-ray CT scans are used to characterise the boards and map out accessibility of metals for leaching as well as to demonstrate the effectiveness of each pre-treatment method. Results from the X-ray CT scans showed 69% of the copper to be located in the inner layers of the PCB rendering chemical pre-treatment which only exposes metal on the outer surfaces of the board ineffective. It was concluded that an integration of pre-treatment methods effectively liberates metals without the use of heavily mechanised tools and at relatively minimum environmental impacts.
Understanding the colloidal stability of graphene is essential for predicting its transport and ecological risks in aquatic environments. We investigated the agglomeration of 14C-labeled few-layer ...graphene (FLG) at concentrations spanning nearly four orders of magnitude (2 μg/L to 10 mg/L) using dynamic light scattering and sedimentation measurements. FLG agglomerates formed rapidly in deionized water at concentrations >3 mg/L. From 1 mg/L to 3 mg/L, salt-induced agglomeration was decreased with dilution of FLG suspensions; the critical coagulation concentration of the more concentrated suspension (3 mg/L) was significantly lower than the dilute suspension (1 mg/L) in the presence of NaCl (1.6 mmol/L and 10 mmol/L, respectively). In contrast, FLG underwent slow agglomeration and settling at concentrations ≤0.1 mg/L in NaCl solutions and ambient waters with low ionic strength (<10 mmol/L). FLG nanoparticles with smaller lateral sizes (25 nm–75 nm) were shown to agglomerate more slowly than larger FLG, and these small FLG particles exhibited greater bioaccumulation in zebrafish embryo and stronger chorion penetration ability than larger FLG particles. These findings suggest that FLG at more environmentally relevant concentration is relatively stable and may have implications for exposure of small FLG to ecological receptors.
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•Dilution retards the attachment, agglomeration and sedimentation of FLG.•FLG agglomerates rapidly in deionized water at concentrations >3 mg/L.•FLG (≤0.1 mg/L) is relatively stable in electrolyte solutions and ambient waters.•Ionic strength affects FLG stability in a manner consistent with the DLVO theory.•Suspended small FLG has strong chorion penetration ability in zebrafish embryos.
Data sharing is highly advocated in the scientific community, with numerous organizations, funding agencies, and journals promoting transparency and collaboration. However, limited research exists on ...actual data sharing practices. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the intent to share individual participant data (IPD) in a total of 313,990 studies encompassing clinical trials and observational studies obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, spanning the period from 2000 to 2023. Our study found that only 10.3% of principal investigators (PIs) expressed intent to share IPD. Clinical trials were more likely to share data than observational studies (odds ratio, OR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.92-2.04). Large sample size studies were 1.69 times more likely to share data than small ones (95% CI: 1.65-1.73). Studies registered after 2018 were 1.6 times more likely to share data (95% CI: 1.57-1.64) than before 2019. NIH and other US Federal agency-funded studies had 1.49 times higher odds of sharing data (95% CI: 1.43-1.55) than other funders. USA-based studies were 1.53 times more likely to share data (95% CI: 1.49-1.57) than out of USA. Biological trials were 1.58 times more likely to share data than drug and other trials (95% CI: 1.51-1.66). Phase III trials had the highest odds, 2.47 times, of sharing data (95% CI: 2.38-2.56) than non-Phase III trials.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper gives a brief introduction to the modelling of bioleach processes, developed from a careful analysis of the fundamental process steps at the gas–liquid, biological and mineral interfaces, ...and how these interact in a given reactor environment (tanks and heaps). The insights gained from such modelling work can guide both engineers in the optimisation of processes and scientist in directing their research at areas not yet well understood. From this perspective, some future directions of the bioleaching field are discussed.
►fundamental rate processes in bioleaching explored.►quantitative description of bioleach processes through comprehensive models.►tank and heap bioleach bioreactor models introduced.►some examples of heap leach modelling reviewed.►modelling work to guide engineers in design and scientist in exploring new areas of interest.
Summary
Malignant conditions are frequently associated with a hypercoaguable state, with recurrent thrombosis due to the impact of cancer cells and chemotherapy or radiotherapy on the coagulation ...cascade. Heparin and, its pharmacokinetically improved versions, low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH) are effective in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic events in cancer patients. There are several lines of preclinical evidence suggesting potential benefits of LMWH in hypercoagulation and thrombosis as well as in various processes involved in tumour growth and metastasis.Tinzaparin is a LMWH produced by controlled enzymatic depolymerisation of unfractionated heparin. The efficacy of tinzaparin has been documented in several clinical trials across various conditions and in special patient populations.The main objective of this review is to present the existing knowledge on the preclinical anti-cancer properties of tinzaparin and other LMWH.The evidence for tinzaparin, as well as other LMWH, regarding interference with cancer-induced hypercoagulation, cancer cell proliferation, degradation of extra-cellular matrix, angiogenesis, selectin-mediated binding of platelet and cancer cells, chemokine signalling, tumour progression, and metastasis are reviewed. Certain clinical trials suggest improved survival of cancer patients with deep venous thrombosis treated with LMWH versus unfractionated heparin and when added to the promising preclinical anti-cancer properties of LMWH this warrants further investigations in prospective, randomised, controlled clinical trials in cancer patients.The benefits of LMWH in cancer might at least in part, be independent from its anti-coagulant activities, but may still be partially dependent on its anti-coagulant activities.
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