Impact of copper sulphate treatment on cyanobacterial blooms and subsequent water quality risks.

Control of algal blooms and associated biologically-induced water quality risks in drinking reservoirs is problematic. Copper sulphate (CuSO4) treatment is one intervention that has been utilised for >100 years. Evidence indicates a favourable short-term reduction in Cyanobacterial biomass (e.g. bloom termination), but here we indicate that it may also increase longer-term water quality risk. In 2022, we investigated the impacts of CuSO4 spraying on Cyanobacterial communities and nutrient levels within a drinking water supply reservoir using environmental DNA (eDNA) to assess community shifts, alongside monitoring nutrient fractions, orthophosphate (OP) and total phosphate (TP), post-treatment. CuSO4 application successfully reduced Cyanobacterial abundance, however elimination of Cyanobacteria resulted in a shift in bacterial dominance favouring Planctomycetota throughout the summer and a combination of Actinobacteriota and Verrucomicrobiota, throughout autumn. As Cyanobacterial abundance recovered post-treatment, Cyanobacterial genera demonstrated greater diversity compared to only three Cyanobacterial genera present across samples pre-treatment, and included taxa associated with water quality risk (e.g. taste and odour (T&O) metabolite and toxin producers). The increase in Cyanobacteria post-treatment was attributed to an increase in biologically available nutrients, primarily a significant increase in OP. Overall, findings suggest that the significant shift in biodiversity likely induces a less stable ecosystem with greater plasticity of response to changing environmental and biogeochemical variables. Legacy implications of CuSO4 spraying, in terms of shifts in ecosystem and nutrient balance over time, may have implications for drinking water quality, but importantly also for reservoir management options. As such, the effects of CuSO4 spraying should be considered carefully before consideration as a contender for in-reservoir biological control.

Online songwriting reduces loneliness and postnatal depression and enhances social connectedness in women with young babies: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Loneliness is a public health challenge associated with postnatal depression (PND). This study developed and tested an online songwriting intervention, with the aim of reducing loneliness and symptoms of PND and enhancing social connectedness among women with young babies. STUDY DESIGN: This was a two-armed non-blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT, ISRCTN17647261). METHODS: Randomisation was conducted in Excel using a 1:1 allocation, with participants (N = 89) allocated to an online 6-week songwriting intervention (Songs from Home) or to waitlist control. Inclusion criteria were women aged ≥18 years, with a baby ≤9 months old, reporting loneliness (4+ on UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale) and symptoms of PND (10+ on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS]). Loneliness (UCLA-3) was measured at baseline, after each intervention session and at 4-week follow-up. The secondary measures of PND (EPDS) and social connectedness (Social Connectedness Revised 15-item Scale [SC-15]) were measured at baseline, postintervention and at 4-week follow-up (Week 10). Factorial mixed analyses of variance with planned custom contrasts were conducted for each outcome variable comparing the intervention and control groups over time and across baseline, Weeks 1-6 and the follow-up at Week 10 for each outcome variable. RESULTS: Compared with waitlist control, the intervention group reported significantly lower scores postintervention and at follow-up for loneliness (P < 0.001, η2P = 0.098) and PND (P < 0.001, η2P = 0.174) and significantly higher scores at follow-up for social connectedness (P < 0.001, η2P = 0.173). CONCLUSIONS: A 6-week online songwriting intervention for women with young babies can reduce loneliness and symptoms of PND and increase social connectedness.

How arts engagement supported social connectedness during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom: findings from the HEartS Survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated how adults in the United Kingdom perceived their arts and cultural engagement to facilitate social connectedness over two phases in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: The study used the HEartS Survey, a newly designed online survey tool to capture arts engagement in the United Kingdom and its associations with social and mental well-being, over two phases in 2020: March to May (Phase 1) and October (Phase 2). METHODS: Qualitative data were provided at both phases by 581 respondents, who identified which arts and cultural activity they felt most connected them to others and how during the last month. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed that, at both phases, arts and cultural engagement was perceived to facilitate social connectedness through four pathways that were also identified prepandemic: social opportunities, sharing, feelings of commonality and belonging and collective understanding. The subthemes shed light on specific ways that respondents used the arts during the pandemic to connect with others, including using the arts: as a catalyst for conversations, to maintain, reinstate or strengthen relationships during social distancing and to facilitate social interactions (Theme 1); to bring people together through shared experiences and sharing of art (Theme 2); to elicit feelings of direct and indirect proximity to others, to connect people with common interests, to feel a sense of belonging to something and to feel part of a collective 'COVID-19 experience' or to feel collectively distracted from the pandemic (Theme 3); and to learn from and about other people and to relate to others (Theme 4). The activity most frequently cited as connecting was watching a film or drama, followed by listening to recorded music. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in arts and cultural activities supported feelings of social connection among adults in the United Kingdom over two phases in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of access to the arts and culture to support social connectedness.

Managing taste and odour metabolite production in drinking water reservoirs: The importance of ammonium as a key nutrient trigger.

Taste and odour (T&O) compounds (most commonly 2-MIB and Geosmin) in drinking water are becoming an increasingly global problem for water management. Here, the trigger(s) for 2-MIB and Geosmin production were investigated in Plas Uchaf reservoir (North Wales, UK) with detailed water sample analysis between 2015 and 2016. Historical abstraction data from this reservoir and 4 reservoirs in Somerset (England, UK) were compared statistically using Self-Organising Map (SOM) analysis. In-reservoir measurements (2015-2016) revealed an 85% reduction in ammonium from the primary external loading source led to lower 2-MIB and Geosmin concentrations, with peak concentrations of 2-MIB declining from 60 to 21  ng l-1 and Geosmin declining from 140 to 18  ng l-1. No other measured water chemistry parameter showed a significant difference between years. The SOM results support the in-reservoir findings, revealing 2-MIB and Geosmin to be associated with high ammonium relative to nitrate for all 5 reservoirs. We conclude that ammonium is key for stimulating cyanobacterial productivity and production of T&O compounds. Whilst it is well understood that adequate availability of phosphorus is required for rapid growth in cyanobacteria, and hence should still be considered in management decisions, we suggest that monitoring sources and concentrations of ammonium is key for managing T&O outbreaks in drinking water reservoirs.

Time-dependent upregulation of electron transport with concomitant induction of regulated excitation dissipation in Haslea diatoms.

Photoacclimation by strains of Haslea "blue" diatom species H. ostrearia and H. silbo sp. nov. ined. was investigated with rapid light curves and induction-recovery curves using fast repetition rate fluorescence. Cultures were grown to exponential phase under 50 µmol m-2 s-1 photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) and then exposed to non-sequential rapid light curves where, once electron transport rate (ETR) had reached saturation, light intensity was decreased and then further increased prior to returning to near growth light intensity. The non-sequential rapid light curve revealed that ETR was not proportional to the instantaneously applied light intensity, due to rapid photoacclimation. Changes in the effective absorption cross sections for open PSII reaction centres (σPSII') or reaction centre connectivity (ρ) did not account for the observed increases in ETR under extended high light. σPSII' in fact decreased as a function of a time-dependent induction of regulated excitation dissipation Y(NPQ), once cells were at or above a PAR coinciding with saturation of ETR. Instead, the observed increases in ETR under extended high light were explained by an increase in the rate of PSII reopening, i.e. QA- oxidation. This acceleration of electron transport was strictly light dependent and relaxed within seconds after a return to low light or darkness. The time-dependent nature of ETR upregulation and regulated NPQ induction was verified using induction-recovery curves. Our findings show a time-dependent induction of excitation dissipation, in parallel with very rapid photoacclimation of electron transport, which combine to make ETR independent of short-term changes in PAR. This supports a selective advantage for these diatoms when exposed to fluctuating light in their environment.

Effect of singing interventions on symptoms of postnatal depression: three-arm randomised controlled trial.

This study assessed whether a novel psychosocial intervention could reduce symptoms of postnatal depression (PND) in the first 40 weeks post-birth. Analyses were carried out of 134 mothers with symptoms of PND randomised into 10 weeks of group singing workshops or group play workshops for them and their babies, or usual care (trial registration: NCT02526407). Overall, among all mothers with symptoms of PND, there was a non-significant faster improvement in symptoms in the singing group (F 4,262 = 1.66, P = 0.16, η 2 = 0.012). When isolating mothers with moderate-severe symptoms of PND, this result became significant, with a faster improvement in symptoms in the singing group (F 3.9,139.8 = 2.74, P = 0.033, η 2 = 0.028). Declaration of interest None.

Endogenous secretory RAGE increases with improvements in body composition and is associated with markers of adipocyte health.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is implicated in obesogenesis. Conversely, soluble RAGE (sRAGE) competitively inhibits RAGE. Our aim was to determine the effects of weight-loss via alternate day fasting (ADF) on sRAGE isoforms and evaluate potential relationships with body composition. METHODS AND RESULTS: 42 obese participants were randomized to control (CON) or ADF. For 24 weeks, the ADF group consumed 25% or 125% of their caloric requirements on alternating days while the CON group did not change their diet. Body fat was measured via DXA, visceral fat (VAT) via MRI and subcutaneous fat (SAT) was derived by subtracting VAT from total fat. sRAGE isoforms were measured via ELISAs. After 24 weeks, ADF -6.8 (-9.5, -3.5)kg (Median, IQR) lost more weight than CON -0.3 (-1.9, 1.0)kg (p < 0.05). The change in endogenous secretory RAGE (esRAGE) was different between ADF 15 (-30, 78)pg/mL and CON -21 (-72, 16)pg/mL after 24 weeks (p < 0.05). To examine the effect of changes in body composition, the cohort was stratified by median weight-, fat-, SAT-, and VAT-loss. The changes in all sRAGE isoforms were different between those above and below median weight-loss (p < 0.05) with sRAGE isoforms tending to decrease in individuals below the median. Changes in total sRAGE and esRAGE were different between individuals above compared to below median fat- and SAT-loss (p < 0.05). Those above median fat-loss increased esRAGE by 29 (-5, 66)pg/mL (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Improvements in body composition are related to increased sRAGE isoforms, implicating sRAGE as a potential target for the treatment of obesity. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT00960505.

Multidisciplinary guidelines for the management of paediatric tracheostomy emergencies.

Temporary and permanent tracheostomies are required in children to manage actual or anticipated long-term ventilatory support, to aid secretion management or to manage fixed upper airway obstruction. Tracheostomies may be required from the first few moments of life, with the majority performed in children < 4 years of age. Although similarities with adult tracheostomies are apparent, there are key differences when managing the routine and emergency care of children with tracheostomies. The National Tracheostomy Safety Project identified the need for structured guidelines to aid multidisciplinary clinical decision making during paediatric tracheostomy emergencies. These guidelines describe the development of a bespoke emergency management algorithm and supporting resources. Our aim is to reduce the frequency, nature and severity of paediatric tracheostomy emergencies through preparation and education of staff, parents, carers and patients.

PAs reduce rounding interruptions in the pediatric intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the proportion of encounters that were interrupted during family-centered rounds in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to determine whether the use of a physician assistant (PA) significantly affected the proportion of interrupted encounters. METHODS: We evaluated 2,657 rounding encounters in our 24-bed regional referral unit. The duration of each rounding encounter and total rounding duration were recorded. The presence or absence of a PA during each rounding encounter, the occurrence of an interruption, and other potential predictors of interruptions were recorded. RESULTS: The presence of a PA during PICU rounds was significantly associated (P < .001) with a 35.4% lower likelihood of an interruption. CONCLUSIONS: Family-centered rounds in the PICU are less likely to be interrupted when a PA is present. PAs help physicians and improve rounding efficiency by safely and effectively handling certain interruptions.

Three decades of longlining in Bimini, Bahamas, reveals long-term trends in lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris (Carcharhinidae) catch per unit effort.

In Bimini, Bahamas, the consistent employment of longlines, beginning in 1982, provided a rare opportunity to explore population trends for large resident sharks. This study assessed three shallow water longline survey periods at this location; 1982-1989, 1992-2002 and 2003-2014, with the aim of determining trends in annual catch per unit effort (CPUE) for an IUCN listed near-threatened species, the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris. A general additive model (GAM) was used to analyse the non-linear annual CPUE values over the entire 32-year research period. The GAM displayed high variability of annual CPUE, with a peak value of 0·026 N. brevirostris per hook day (hooks day(-1) ) in 2000. The temporal pattern of CPUE indicated an abundance trend with a complete cycle, from trough to trough, occurring over a period of approximately 18 years. The 1982-1989 survey period saw the highest proportion of mature individuals (19·8%) and the smallest average pre-caudal length (LPC ; 124·8 cm). The 1992-2002 survey period had the highest average annual CPUE (0·018 hooks day(-1) ), while the 2003-2014 research period saw largest average LPC size (134·8 cm) and the lowest average CPUE values (0·009 hooks day(-1) ) of the entire research period. The long-term trend identified in this study provides a baseline for future assessment.

Quality control metrics improve repeatability and reproducibility of single-nucleotide variants derived from whole-genome sequencing.

Although many quality control (QC) methods have been developed to improve the quality of single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in SNV-calling, QC methods for use subsequent to single-nucleotide polymorphism-calling have not been reported. We developed five QC metrics to improve the quality of SNVs using the whole-genome-sequencing data of a monozygotic twin pair from the Korean Personal Genome Project. The QC metrics improved both repeatability between the monozygotic twin pair and reproducibility between SNV-calling pipelines. We demonstrated the QC metrics improve reproducibility of SNVs derived from not only whole-genome-sequencing data but also whole-exome-sequencing data. The QC metrics are calculated based on the reference genome used in the alignment without accessing the raw and intermediate data or knowing the SNV-calling details. Therefore, the QC metrics can be easily adopted in downstream association analysis.

Corrigendum: Adenosine kinase on deoxyribonucleic acid methylation: Adenosine receptor-independent pathway in cancer therapy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.908882.].

The importance of nutrient ratios in determining elevations in geosmin synthase (geoA) and 2-MIB cyclase (mic) resulting in taste and odour events.

Geosmin synthase (geoA) and 2-MIB cyclase (mic) are key biosynthetic genes responsible for the production of taste and odour (T&O) compounds, geosmin and 2-MIB. These T&O compounds are becoming an increasing global problem for drinking water supplies. It is thought that geosmin and 2-MIB may be linked to, or exacerbated by, a variety of different environmental and nutrient triggers. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies to date have evaluated the combined effects of seasonality, temperature, and nutrient concentrations on geoA and mic copy numbers in conjunction with T&O concentrations. In this study, environmental triggers behind geosmin and 2-MIB production were investigated in nine reservoirs across Wales, U.K. between July 2019 - August 2020. The abundance of geoA and mic were quantified through quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). Temporal changes in geoA and geosmin concentrations revealed geoA to be an indicator of monthly geosmin concentrations, although only when geosmin concentrations exceeded 100 ng L-1. Model analysis of a reservoir with elevated geosmin concentrations revealed geoA to be significantly associated with mean temperature (p < 0.001) and the nutrients dissolved reactive silicate (p < 0.001), dissolved iron (p < 0.001), total inorganic nitrogen to phosphorous ratio (TIN:TP) (p < 0.001) and ammonium to nitrate ratio (NH4+:NO3-) (p < 0.001). Sulphate also demonstrated a significant positive linear relationship with geoA (p < 0.001). For mic analysis, NH4+:NO3- was significantly associated with mic (p < 0.05) and an association with dissolved reactive silicate was also observed (p = 0.084). Within this study we also report extreme variance in gene copy numbers between the study seasons. No consistent relationship could be determined for mic copy numbers mL-1 and 2-MIB (ng L-1). The findings from this study indicate that TIN:TP and NH4+:NO3- serve as good predictors for elevated geoA and mic, along with negative linear relationships observed for mean temperature and dissolved reactive silicate. Overall, our findings demonstrate the importance of nutrient concentrations, nutrient ratios and temperature for evidence based predictive capacity of taste and odour events in drinking water reservoirs.

High-harmonic fast-wave power flow along magnetic field lines in the scrape-off layer of NSTX.

A significant fraction of high-harmonic fast-wave (HHFW) power applied to NSTX can be lost to the scrape-off layer (SOL) and deposited in bright and hot spirals on the divertor rather than in the core plasma. We show that the HHFW power flows to these spirals along magnetic field lines passing through the SOL in front of the antenna, implying that the HHFW power couples across the entire width of the SOL rather than mostly at the antenna face. This result will help guide future efforts to understand and minimize these edge losses in order to maximize fast-wave heating and current drive.

Adenosine Kinase on Deoxyribonucleic Acid Methylation: Adenosine Receptor-Independent Pathway in Cancer Therapy.

Methylation is an important mechanism contributing to cancer pathology. Methylation of tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes has been closely associated with tumor occurrence and development. New insights regarding the potential role of the adenosine receptor-independent pathway in the epigenetic modulation of DNA methylation offer the possibility of new interventional strategies for cancer therapy. Targeting DNA methylation of cancer-related genes is a promising therapeutic strategy; drugs like 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA-CdR, decitabine) effectively reverse DNA methylation and cancer cell growth. However, current anti-methylation (or methylation modifiers) are associated with severe side effects; thus, there is an urgent need for safer and more specific inhibitors of DNA methylation (or DNA methylation modifiers). The adenosine signaling pathway is reported to be involved in cancer pathology and participates in the development of tumors by altering DNA methylation. Most recently, an adenosine metabolic clearance enzyme, adenosine kinase (ADK), has been shown to influence methylation on tumor suppressor genes and tumor development and progression. This review article focuses on recent updates on ADK and its two isoforms, and its actions in adenosine receptor-independent pathways, including methylation modification and epigenetic changes in cancer pathology.

Comprehensive analysis of the correlation between GSTM1 and tumor immunity in colon cancer.

Background: Glutathione S-transferase mu 1 (GSTM1) is one of the major glutathione conjugation enzymes. Its expression and activity have been suggested to correlate with the occurrence of colon cancer; however, the role of GSTM1 in tumor immunity remains unclear. Methods: Relevant data downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) was used to perform a multi-dimensional expression analysis of GSTM1 in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). The correlation between GSTM1 and tumor immunity was analyzed with multiple online tools. Then protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and functional enrichment analyses of GSTM1-associated immunomodulators were performed. Further, we developed the Cox regression model based on the GSTM1-related immunomodulators. Finally, a GSTM1-based clinical nomogram and a calibration curve was established to predict the probability and accuracy of long-term survival. Result: GSTM1 was significantly downregulated in COAD versus normal tissues. Infiltration levels of B cells, CD8+ T cells, and dendritic cells were closely correlated to GSTM1 gene copy number deletion, and GSTM1 expression levels in COAD positively correlated with dendritic cell, B cell, neutrophil, and macrophage infiltration. Functional enrichment analysis indicated 36 GSTM1-related immunomodulators are involved in immune-related pathways of regulating T cell activation and lymphocytic activation. A 2-gene prognostic risk signature based on the 36 GSTM1-related immunomodulators was built using the Cox regression model, and the risk signature in combination with stage had an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.747 by the receiver operating characteristic method. patients with higher risk scores-calculated based on 2 gene prognostic risk characteristics and further identified as an independent prognostic factor-were associated with worse survival using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Together, the clinical nomogram and calibration curve based on GSTM1 suggested a good prediction accuracy for long-term survival probability. Conclusions: Our study provided evidence supporting the significant role of GSTM1 in COAD immunity and suggests GSTM1 as a potential novel target for COAD immunotherapy.