Electrochemical assay of sorbitol dehydrogenase at PEDOT modified electrodes - a new milk biomarker for confirmation of pregnancy in dairy cattle.

A robust electrochemical assay for sorbitol dehydrogenase (SORDH) activity in milk was developed using voltammetry and chronocoulometry at bare and polymer modified transducers. The motivation for the work was to evaluate the potential of SORDH as an early biomarker of bovine pregnancy using milk as sample matrix. SORDH is an enzyme involved in carbohydrate metabolism converting sorbitol, the sugar alcohol form of glucose, into fructose, with NAD+ as a cofactor being simultaneously reduced to NADH. The assay was optimised via direct NADH oxidation on glassy carbon and screen printed carbon electrodes followed by electropolymerisation of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) monomer to form an NADH responsive PEDOT surface which operated well in undiluted milk samples. Assay conditions such as incubation time and temperature were optimised resulting in a 3 min assay at 37 °C in the presence of 10 mM NAD+ and 20 mM sorbitol co-substrates, enabling NADH electro oxidation (linear range 0.25-5 mM, sensitivity 9.17 µC cm-2 mM-1 in undiluted milk). SORDH determination followed over the range 0.31-10 U mL-1 in milk samples with sensitivity 5.45 µC cm-2 U-1 mL with LOD 0.0787 U mL-1. The assay was applied to milk sample testing acquired as part of an approved animal study involving control and breeding cycles of dairy cows with focus on analysis at day 19 post artificial insemination. Significant differences between control and pregnant SORDH levels in whole milk animal samples were found (average values 2.57 and 4.07 ng mL-1 respectively), as verified using a commercial SORDH ELISA optical assay. Finally, progesterone monitoring over days 16-21 of the oestrous cycle employed an optical ELISA assay and confirmed maintenance of progesterone levels from day 19 onwards.

Modelling the Relationship Between Resilience to Depression and Recent Stressful Life Events in University Students.

Resilience, or successful coping with the experience of stressful life events (SLEs), protects against depression, but its operational mechanisms are unclear. Views diverge whether resilience intervenes as a trait or as a process of dynamic interactions of protective factors, such as self-esteem, social support and family cohesion. We evaluated five theoretically-based models of how resilience, defined as either a trait or a process, interacts with recent SLEs, to explain depressive symptomatology in 2434 university students. The moderating effect of problematic, age-inappropriate parenting (i.e., helicopter parenting) was also assessed. SLEs moderated both the effects of trait and process resilience on depression, but models conceptualising resilience as a dynamic process of interacting components showed better explanatory power than models conceptualising resilience solely as a trait. Trait resilience was protective through self-esteem at all levels of SLEs exposure (low, mild, moderate or high), and significantly, but less so through hope or social support. Experiencing helicopter parenting weakened the protective influence of process resilience, through decreasing family cohesion in the presence of SLEs. The overall assessment of the five models supports a process conceptualisation of resilience to depression in the face of adversity. However, the results also suggest that not all protective factors are equally important, with self-esteem appearing a significant and strong mediator of resilience to depression in all models including it as a variable. Building process resilience is proposed as a key intervention target for depressive symptoms. Clinical assessments and interventions following SLEs should routinely consider both trait resilience and self-esteem, as the interaction of these two factors protects against depression even at the highest levels of adversity exposure. Depression prevention approaches should address the individual's experience of overparenting, given the deleterious influence of helicopter parenting on resilience.

Assessing availability of European plant protection product data: an example evaluating basic area treated.

Besides the benefits of plant protection products (PPPs) for agricultural production, there is an increasing acknowledgement of the associated potential environmental risks. Here, we examine the feasibility of summarizing the extent of PPP usage at the country level, using Ireland as a case study, as well as at the European level. We used the area over which PPPs are applied (basic area) as an example variable that is relevant to initially assess the geographic extent of environmental risk. In Irish agricultural systems, which are primarily grass-based, herbicides fluroxypyr and glyphosate are the most widely applied active substances (ASs) in terms of basic area, followed by the fungicides chlorothalonil and prothioconazole that are closely associated with arable crops. Although all EU countries are subject to Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009, which sets the obligation of PPP usage data reporting at the national level, we only found usable data that met our criteria for Estonia, Germany, Finland, and Spain (4 of 30 countries reviewed). Overall, the most widely applied fungicide and herbicide in terms of basic area were prothioconazole (20%, 7% and 5% of national cultivated areas of Germany, Estonia and Ireland) and glyphosate (11%, 8% and 5% of national cultivated areas of Spain, Estonia and Ireland) respectively, although evaluations using application frequency may result in the observation of different trends. Several recommendations are proposed to tackle current data gaps and deficiencies in accessibility and usability of pesticide usage data across the EU in order to better inform environmental risk assessment and promote evidence-based policymaking.

Impedimetric and electrochemical evaluation of a new redox active steroid derivative for hormone immunosensing.

Preparation and electrochemical interrogation of a novel redox active progesterone derivative progesterone thiosemicarbazone (PATC) is presented here together with an investigation into its suitability as conjugate in progesterone hormone immunosensing. PATC synthesis involved a condensation reaction between progesterone acetate and thiosemicarbazone hydrochloride. Voltammetric and pulse techniques confirmed the redox behaviour of the new compound with concentration and scan rate dependant irreversible behaviour evident at glassy carbon and gold transducers - ko (standard heterogeneous rate constant) was 2.56 × 10-3 cm2/s (ν = 100 mV/s in non-aqeuous media). Bioaffinity studies towards anti-progesterone antibodies involved a competitive ELISA format (optical) which confirmed recognition of the new progesterone derivative. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was employed as an interrogation technique in order to establish optimum binding and surface conditions for progesterone antigen-antibody interaction with the assistance of a redox probe (potassium hexacyanoferrate).

Safety culture in a major accredited Irish university teaching hospital: a mixed methods study using the safety attitudes questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of safety culture, the way in which members of an organisation think about and prioritise safety, in a hospital can provide valuable insight and inform quality improvement strategies. AIMS: The aim of this study is to describe the safety culture of a university teaching hospital in the Republic of Ireland. METHODS: This is a mixed methods survey study using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ was distributed to all staff in the study hospital. Staff attitudes towards six domains of patient safety culture were assessed over 32 Likert-scaled items. Thematic analysis was performed on qualitative data. RESULTS: A total of 768 staff members completed and returned a copy of the SAQ. The hospital scored above the international benchmark in five out of six domains, indicating a positive safety culture, but scored below the international benchmark in the domain 'Working Conditions'. This positive safety culture was not mirrored in the qualitative data, from which five themes emerged; three major-Staffing Issues, Patient-Focused Care and Hospital Environment-and two minor-Safe Reporting Culture and Training and Education. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a mixed methods approach was successfully used to investigate the safety culture in a large Irish hospital. Although the SAQ results indicated a positive safety culture, the qualitative data revealed a number of issues that the hospital staff felt impacted negatively on patient safety. The results of this study will inform future work on the design of an intervention to improve patient safety in the hospital.