Coercive mating has no impact on spatial learning, cognitive flexibility, and fecundity in female porthole livebearers (Poeciliopsis gracilis).

Coercive mating is a sexual selection strategy that is likely to influence female cognition. Female harassment levels have been linked to altered brain gene expression patterns and brain size evolution, suggesting females may respond to coercive mating by investing energy into "outsmarting" males. However, females exposed to coercive males have decreased foraging efficiency and likely increased stress levels, suggesting their brain function might instead be impaired. While it is therefore likely that coercive mating impacts female cognitive abilities, a direct test of this idea is currently lacking. In this study, we investigate the impact of coercive mating on female spatial memory and cognitive flexibility in a species with prevalent coercive mating. We compared the performance of female porthole livebearers (Poeciliopsis gracilis), which had been previously housed alone or with a coercive male, in both a spatial food localization task and a reversal learning task. While we found that both single and paired fish exhibited high proficiency in learning both tasks, we found no differences in learning ability between females that had or had not experienced coercive mating. In addition, our study found that the presence of a coercive male had no impact on female fecundity, but did influence female mass and standard length. Several studies have assumed that the presence of males, particularly coercive males, may affect the cognitive performance of female fish. However, our study shows that for some species females adapted to coercive mating regimes may be unaffected by male presence with regards to some cognitive tasks.

Assessment of acute asthma in children: do parents and healthcare providers speak the same language?

OBJECTIVE: Education and self-management plans enhance parents' self-efficacy in managing their child's asthma symptoms. By understanding how parents recognize and interpret acute asthma symptoms, we can compile patient information using terms that are familiar to parents. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 27 parents of children with asthma aged 2-12 years. The interviewees were selected from three groups: parents of children admitted for acute asthma, parents of children receiving outpatient asthma care, and parents who had access to a self-management plan. Parents were invited to report symptoms they would associate with acute asthma. Subsequently, parents were queried about their recognition of symptoms from a predefined list and asked to explain how they would assess these symptoms in case their child would experience an attack of acute asthma. RESULTS: The most frequently reported symptoms for acute asthma were shortness of breath (77.8%) and coughing (63%). Other signs such as retractions, nasal flaring, and wheezing were reported by less than 25% of the parents. All parents recognized shortness of breath, wheezing and gasping for breath from a predefined list of medical terms. Retractions and nasal flaring were recognized by 81.5% and 66.7% of the parents, respectively. Recognizing the medical terms did not necessarily translate into parents being able to explain how to assess these symptoms. CONCLUSION: Parents and healthcare professionals do not always speak the same language concerning symptoms of acute asthma. This may hamper timely recognition and adequate self-management, highlighting the necessity to adjust current medical information about acute asthma.

Education and self-management plans enhance parents' self-efficacy in managing their child's asthma symptoms.Parents may identify symptoms of acute asthma differently than healthcare providersInformation material about acute asthma should be adjusted to empower parents to decide when to commence treatment and when to seek medical attention.

Investigating two mobile just-in-time adaptive interventions to foster psychological resilience: research protocol of the DynaM-INT study.

BACKGROUND: Stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression are highly prevalent and cause a tremendous burden for affected individuals and society. In order to improve prevention strategies, knowledge regarding resilience mechanisms and ways to boost them is highly needed. In the Dynamic Modelling of Resilience - interventional multicenter study (DynaM-INT), we will conduct a large-scale feasibility and preliminary efficacy test for two mobile- and wearable-based just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), designed to target putative resilience mechanisms. Deep participant phenotyping at baseline serves to identify individual predictors for intervention success in terms of target engagement and stress resilience. METHODS: DynaM-INT aims to recruit N = 250 healthy but vulnerable young adults in the transition phase between adolescence and adulthood (18-27 years) across five research sites (Berlin, Mainz, Nijmegen, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw). Participants are included if they report at least three negative burdensome past life events and show increased levels of internalizing symptoms while not being affected by any major mental disorder. Participants are characterized in a multimodal baseline phase, which includes neuropsychological tests, neuroimaging, bio-samples, sociodemographic and psychological questionnaires, a video-recorded interview, as well as ecological momentary assessments (EMA) and ecological physiological assessments (EPA). Subsequently, participants are randomly assigned to one of two ecological momentary interventions (EMIs), targeting either positive cognitive reappraisal or reward sensitivity. During the following intervention phase, participants' stress responses are tracked using EMA and EPA, and JITAIs are triggered if an individually calibrated stress threshold is crossed. In a three-month-long follow-up phase, parts of the baseline characterization phase are repeated. Throughout the entire study, stressor exposure and mental health are regularly monitored to calculate stressor reactivity as a proxy for outcome resilience. The online monitoring questionnaires and the repetition of the baseline questionnaires also serve to assess target engagement. DISCUSSION: The DynaM-INT study intends to advance the field of resilience research by feasibility-testing two new mechanistically targeted JITAIs that aim at increasing individual stress resilience and identifying predictors for successful intervention response. Determining these predictors is an important step toward future randomized controlled trials to establish the efficacy of these interventions.

Dorsal attention network centrality increases during recovery from acute stress exposure.

Stress is a major risk factor for the development of almost all psychiatric disorders. In addition to the acute stress response, an efficient recovery in the aftermath of stress is important for optimal resilience. Increased stress vulnerability across psychiatric disorders may therefore be related to altered trajectories during the recovery phase following stress. Such recovery trajectories can be quantified by changes in functional brain networks. This study therefore evaluated longitudinal functional network changes related to stress in healthy individuals (N = 80), individuals at risk for psychiatric disorders (healthy siblings of schizophrenia patients) (N = 39), and euthymic bipolar I disorder (BD) patients (N = 36). Network changes were evaluated before and at 20 and 90 min after onset of an experimental acute stress task (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control condition. Whole-brain functional networks were analyzed using eigenvector centrality as a proxy for network importance, centrality change over time was related to the acute stress response and recovery for each group. In healthy individuals, centrality of the dorsal attention network (DAN; p = 0.007) changed over time in relation to stress. More specifically, DAN centrality increased during the recovery phase after acute stress exposure (p = 0.020), while no DAN centrality change was observed during the initial stress response (p = 0.626). Such increasing DAN centrality during stress recovery was also found in healthy siblings (p = 0.016), but not in BD patients (p = 0.554). This study highlights that temporally complex and precise changes in network configuration are vital to understand the response to and recovery from stress.

Age-dependent sex differences in calcium and phosphate homeostasis.

BACKGROUND: Sex differences in calcium and phosphate have been observed. We aimed to assess a relation with age. METHODS: We used the laboratory values of serum calcium, phosphate and albumin from three different samples ( 2005, 2010 and 2014 years) using the hospital information system of Erasmus MC, Rotterdam. The samples were divided into three age groups: 1-17, 18-44 and ≥45 years. Sex differences in calcium and phosphate were analyzed using ANCOVA, adjusting for age and serum albumin. Furthermore, sex by age interactions were determined and we analyzed differences between age groups stratified by sex. RESULTS: In all three samples there was a significant sex × age interaction for serum calcium and phosphate, whose levels were significantly higher in women compared to men above 45 years. No sex differences in the younger age groups were found. In men, serum calcium and phosphate levels were highest in the youngest age group compared to age groups of 18-44 and ≥45 years. In women, serum calcium levels were significantly higher in the age group 1-17 and the age group ≥45 years compared to the 18-44 years age group. In women, serum phosphate was different between the three different age groups with highest level in the group 1-17 years and lowest in the group 18-44 years. CONCLUSION: There are age- dependent sex differences in serum calcium and phosphate. Furthermore, we found differences in serum calcium and phosphate between different age groups. Underlying mechanisms for these age- and sex- differences are not yet fully elucidated.

Health-related quality of life after interval cytoreductive surgery with or without hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients with stage III ovarian cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The addition of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) to interval cytoreductive surgery (CRS) improves recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with FIGO stage III ovarian cancer. We evaluated the effect of HIPEC on patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the OVHIPEC trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: OVHIPEC was a multicentre, open-label, randomized phase III trial for patients with stage III ovarian cancer. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive interval CRS with or without HIPEC with cisplatin. HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30, and the ovarian (QLQ-OV28) and colorectal cancer (QLQ-CR38) modules. HRQoL questionnaires were administered at baseline, after surgery, after end of treatment, and every three months thereafter. HRQoL was a secondary endpoint, with the prespecified focus on the QLQ-C30 summary score and symptom scores on fatigue, neuropathy and gastro-intestinal symptoms. HRQoL was analysed using linear and non-linear mixed effect models. RESULTS: In total, 245 patients were randomized. One-hundred-ninety-seven patients (80%) completed at least one questionnaire. No significant difference over time in the QLQ-C30 summary scores was observed between the study arms (p-values for linear and non-linear growth: p > 0.133). The pattern over time for fatigue, neuropathy and gastro-intestinal symptoms did not significantly differ between treatment arms. CONCLUSION: The addition of HIPEC to interval CRS does not negatively impact HRQoL in patients with stage III ovarian cancer who are treated with interval CRS due to the extent of disease. These HRQoL results, together with the improvement in RFS and OS, support the viability of HIPEC as an important treatment option in this patient population. CLINICALTRIALS. GOV NUMBER: NCT00426257. EUDRACT NUMBER: 2006-003466-34.

Continuing medical education during pandemic waves of COVID-19: Consensus from medical faculties in Asia, Australia and Europe.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Medical faculties have the responsibility to train tomorrow's doctors and in a crisis face the challenge of delivering students into the workforce promptly and safely. Worldwide, medical faculties have faced unprecedented disruptions from viral outbreaks and pandemics including SARS, Ebola, H1N1 and COVID-19 which bring unique challenges. Currently there is worldwide disruption to medical faculties and medical education due to COVID-19. Despite close links with clinical medicine and the known risks of pandemics, many medical faculties have been caught off guard without pandemic planning in place, to deal with an exponential rise in infections and deaths, overwhelmed health services and widespread community risk of transmission. Assessing transmission risk of COVID-19 in teaching, clinical and community attachments and continuing medical education is paramount as medical faculties face subsequent pandemics waves. Consensus statements based on best available evidence and international expertise from medical faculties in Asia, Australia and Europe were developed to help guide the protection of staff and students, priorities on teaching activities and further educational development. Infection prevention, infection control, contact tracing and medical surveillance are detailed to minimise transmission and to enhance safety. Recommendations on teaching activities planning can enhance responsiveness of medical faculties to tackle subsequent waves of COVID-19 infection. A global approach and dialogue are encouraged.

Asymmetric mass ratios for bright double neutron-star mergers.

The discovery of a radioactively powered kilonova associated with the binary neutron-star merger GW170817 remains the only confirmed electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave event1,2. Observations of the late-time electromagnetic emission, however, do not agree with the expectations from standard neutron-star merger models. Although the large measured ejecta mass3,4 could be explained by a progenitor system that is asymmetric in terms of the stellar component masses (that is, with a mass ratio q of 0.7 to 0.8)5, the known Galactic population of merging double neutron-star systems (that is, those that will coalesce within billions of years or less) has until now consisted only of nearly equal-mass (q > 0.9) binaries6. The pulsar PSR J1913+1102 is a double system in a five-hour, low-eccentricity (0.09) orbit, with an orbital separation of 1.8 solar radii7, and the two neutron stars are predicted to coalesce in [Formula: see text] million years owing to gravitational-wave emission. Here we report that the masses of the pulsar and the companion neutron star, as measured by a dedicated pulsar timing campaign, are 1.62 ± 0.03 and 1.27 ± 0.03 solar masses, respectively. With a measured mass ratio of q = 0.78 ± 0.03, this is the most asymmetric merging system reported so far. On the basis of this detection, our population synthesis analysis implies that such asymmetric binaries represent between 2 and 30 per cent (90 per cent confidence) of the total population of merging binaries. The coalescence of a member of this population offers a possible explanation for the anomalous properties of GW170817, including the observed kilonova emission from that event.

The dissolution and microbial degradation of mobile aromatic hydrocarbons from a Pintsch gas tar DNAPL source zone.

Source zones containing tar, a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL), can contaminate groundwater for centuries. A common occurrence of tar is at former Pintsch gas factories. Little is known about the composition and fate of contaminants dissolving from Pintsch gas tar DNAPL. In this study, we determined the composition and water-soluble characteristics of mobile aromatic hydrocarbons and their biodegradation metabolites in the DNAPL contaminated groundwater at a former Pintsch gas tar plant. We assessed the factors that determine the fate of observed groundwater contaminants. Measured values of density (1.03-1.06 kg/m3) and viscosity (18.6-39.4 cP) were found to be relatively low compared to common coal tars. Analysis showed that unlike common coal tars phenanthrene is the primary component rather than naphthalene. Moreover, it was found that Pintsch gas tar contains a relatively high amount of light molecular aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX). Less commonly reported components, such as styrene, ethyltoluenes, di-ethylbenzene, 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene, were also detected in water extracts from Pintsch gas tar. Moreover, 46 relatively hydrophilic metabolites were found within the tar samples. Metabolites present within the tar suggest biodegradation of mobile aromatic Pintsch gas tar compounds occurred near the DNAPL. Based on eleven detected suspect metabolites, a novel anaerobic biodegradation pathway is proposed for indene. Overall, our findings indicate that Pintsch gas tar has higher invasive and higher flux properties than most coal tars due to its relatively low density, low viscosity and, high content of water-soluble compounds. The partitioning of contaminants from multi-component DNAPL into the aqueous phase and re-dissolution of their slightly less hydrophobic metabolites back from the aqueous phase into the DNAPL is feasible and demonstrates the complexity of assessing degradation processes within a source zone.

Spatial distribution of load induced soft-tissue strain in cattle claws.

Claw disorders in dairy cattle have negative effects on both animal welfare and farm profits. One possible cause of claw disorders is the high mechanical load that cattle encounter when walking and standing on hard concrete floors. It is currently unclear how high mechanical loading leads to claw disorders and lameness. It is hypothesized that mechanical loading leads to compression of the soft tissue in the claws, which may directly or indirectly lead to tissue damage. Roentgen stereophotogrammetry in combination with CT-reconstruction was used to detect deformations in the distal hind limbs of dissected specimens of dairy cows under a range of loading regimens. The load was recorded in 3D using a force plate. Even at moderate load levels, such as during standing, the soft tissue layer was considerably compressed (>10% of the initial thickness), especially where the sole rests on the floor. Compression increases with increased and/or prolonged load. Most importantly, the location of areas of highest compression coincides with the locations where sole ulcers are most often found. These findings provide insight into the etiology of bovine claw disorders, and may contribute to solutions to reduce them.

Investigation of the potential of buffalo and couch grasses to grow on AFIs and for removal of nutrients from paper mill wastewater.

The potential growth of buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) and couch grass (Cynodon dactylon) on artificial floating islands (AFIs) and their ability to remove total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) from a simulated paper mill wastewater was studied. This was done to assess the potential of AFIs for removal of nutrients from aerated stabilization basins (ASBs) that had occasional growth of blue-green algae (BGA) to bloom levels. Small scale AFIs were prepared using polyethylene foam and planted with the grasses in 30 L of tested water. Trials were conducted in a plastic covered greenhouse over a three-month period where temperatures ranged from 15 to 44 °C. The results showed that both buffalo and couch grasses can adapt to planting in AFIs showing increases of 125% and 148% in wet weight, respectively. Nutrient uptake by buffalo grass and couch grass were found to be similar. Percentage uptakes of TP and TN from the synthetic water by the buffalo grass were 82% and 47%, whereas by couch grass, uptakes were 83% and 45%, respectively.

Increased responses of the reward circuitry to positive task feedback following acute stress in healthy controls but not in siblings of schizophrenia patients.

Acute stress is known to affect the way we process rewards. For example, during, or directly after stress, activity within key brain areas of the reward circuitry is reduced when a reward is presented. Generally, the effects of stress on the brain are time-dependent, changing neural and cognitive processing in the aftermath of stress to aid recovery. Such a dynamic response to stress is important for resilience on the longer term. However, relatively little is known about reward processing during the recovery phase of stress and whether this is changed in individuals at increased risk for stress-related psychopathology. Healthy male individuals (N = 40) and unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients (N = 40) were randomized to either an acute stress task (Trier Social Stress Test) or a no-stress task. Neural responses during reward anticipation and reward feedback (monetary gain or no gain) were examined 50 min later using an fMRI monetary incentive delay task. The ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) were used as predefined hypothesis-driven regions of interest. Neural responses following stress differed between controls and siblings during reward feedback (group × stress interaction OFC p = 0.003, ventral striatum p = 0.031), showing increased ventral striatum and OFC responses following stress in healthy controls only. Exploratory analyses revealed that this effect was most pronounced during hit trials (compared to when a reward was omitted), and independent of monetary value. Stress did not affect subsequent reward processing in siblings of schizophrenia patients. We found no significant differences between controls and siblings in ventral striatum and OFC responses during reward anticipation following stress. This study shows that ventral striatum and OFC responses to positive task feedback are increased in the aftermath of stress in healthy male controls, regardless of monetary value. This indicates a dynamic shift from previously reported reduced responses in the striatum and OFC to reward feedback directly after stress to increased responses to both reward and non-reward feedback during the recovery phase of stress. These increased neural responses following stress were absent in siblings of schizophrenia patients. Together, these findings indicate that stress recovery is affected in this at-risk group, particularly in responses to positive feedback following stress.

Echogenicity of puborectalis muscle, cervix and vastus lateralis muscle in pregnancy in relation to mode of delivery.

OBJECTIVES: To confirm our previous observation that levator hiatal dimensions and mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle (MEP) are significantly different at 12 weeks' gestation in women who delivered by Cesarean section due to failure to progress compared with those who delivered vaginally. The secondary objective was to assess the association between the echogenicity of the cervix and vastus lateralis muscle and mode of delivery. METHODS: In this prospective multicenter study, 306 nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy underwent ultrasound assessments of the pelvic floor at rest, on maximum pelvic floor muscle contraction and on maximum Valsalva maneuver, of the cervix and of the vastus lateralis muscle at 12 weeks' gestation. Dimensions of the levator hiatus, MEP and mean echogenicity of the cervix and vastus lateralis muscle were measured and compared according to mode of delivery. RESULTS: Two hundred and forty-nine women were included in the analyses. We were unable to confirm our previous finding that MEP and levator hiatal transverse diameter and area at 12 weeks' gestation are associated significantly with mode of delivery. In addition, we could not demonstrate a significant association between echogenicity of the cervix or vastus lateralis muscle and mode of delivery. Overall, MEP was a mean of 20 points lower in women in the new database as compared with the previous study, despite the use of the same ultrasound equipment. CONCLUSION: In a second, independent multicenter dataset, we were unable to confirm our previous finding that levator hiatal dimensions and MEP on pelvic floor muscle contraction are associated significantly with mode of delivery. We also found no association between echogenicity of the cervix or vastus lateralis and mode of delivery. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Data evidencing slow anaerobic digestion in emergency treatment and disposal of infectious animal carcasses.

Burial of infectious and potentially infectious livestock and poultry animals is the most common response to an emergency situation. The data set summarizes 22-week-long experiment that simulates the environment found within conventional burial trenches for emergency disposal of animal carcasses, worldwide, sometimes with a topical application of quicklime as it is required in the Republic of Korea. This data set shows the rarely presented evidence of the extremely slow decay of animal carcasses. Besides visual evidence of no visible breakdown of carcass material, i.e., carcass (or carcass quarters and coarse cuts) still resembled the initial material at the end of the study, we present data characterizing the process. Specifically, temporal variations of digestate quality (pH, ammonia, volatile fatty acids), biogas production, and the persistence of odorous volatile organic compounds are summarized. The data provide important evidence of undesirable, slow progression of the digestion process. The evidence of failure to achieve practical endpoints with the anaerobic digestion provides the impetus for seeking alternative, improved methods of disposal that will be feasible in emergency context, such as aerated burial concept (Koziel et al., 2018 [1]).

Selective and energy efficient extraction of functional proteins from microalgae for food applications.

The use of a single controlled bead milling step of the microalga Tetraselmis suecica resulted in a soluble fraction, rich in functional proteins. This was achieved by fine-tuning the processing time, thereby exploiting the difference in rates of protein and carbohydrate release during milling. Soluble proteins were extracted under mild conditions -room temperature, no addition of chemicals, pH 6.5-, with a yield of 22.5% and a specific energy consumption of 0.6 kWh kgDW-1, which is within the recommended minimum energy for an extraction step in a biorefinery process. The resulting protein extract contained 50.4% (DW) of proteins and 26.4% carbohydrates, showed light green color and displayed superior surface activity and gelation behavior compared to whey protein isolate. The proposed process is simple (only one bead milling step), scalable, and allows the mild extraction of functional proteins, making it interesting for industrial applications in the food industry.

Techno-Functional Properties of Crude Extracts from the Green Microalga Tetraselmis suecica.

A mild fractionation process to extract functional biomolecules from green microalgae was implemented. The process includes bead milling, centrifugation, and filtration with several membrane cut-offs. For each fraction, the corresponding composition was measured, and the surface activity and gelation behavior were determined. A maximum protein yield of 12% was obtained in the supernatant after bead milling and between 3.2 and 11.7% after filtration. Compared to whey protein isolate, most of the algae fractions exhibited comparable or enhanced functionality. Surface activity for air-water and oil-water interfaces and gelation activities were notably superior for the retentate fractions compared to the permeates. It is proposed that such functionality in the retentates is due to the presence of hydrophobic compounds and molecular complexes exhibiting a similar behavior as Pickering particles. We demonstrated that excellent functionality can be obtained with crude fractions, requiring minimum processing and, thus, constituting an interesting option for commercial applications.

Lab-scale evaluation of aerated burial concept for treatment and emergency disposal of infectious animal carcasses.

Nearly 55,000 outbreaks of animal disease were reported to the World Animal Health Information Database between 2005 and 2016. To suppress the spread of disease, large numbers of animal mortalities often must be disposed of quickly and are frequently buried on the farm where they were raised. While this method of emergency disposal is fast and relatively inexpensive, it also can have undesirable and lasting impacts (slow decay, concerns about groundwater contamination, pathogens re-emergence, and odor). Following the 2010 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the Republic of Korea's National Institute of Animal Science funded research on selected burial alternatives or modifications believed to have potential to reduce undesirable impacts of burial. One such modification involves the injection of air into the liquid degradation products from the 60-70% water from decomposing carcasses in lined burial trenches. Prior to prototype development in the field, a laboratory-scale study of aerated decomposition (AeD) of poultry carcasses was conducted to quantify improvements in time of carcass decomposition, reduction of potential groundwater pollutants in the liquid products of decomposition (since trench liners may ultimately leak), and reduction of odorous VOCs emitted during decomposition. Headspace gases also were monitored to determine the potential for using gaseous biomarkers in the aerated burial trench exhaust stream to monitor completion of the decomposition. Results of the lab-scale experiments show that the mass of chicken carcasses was reduced by 95.0 ±â€¯0.9% within 3 months at mesophilic temperatures (vs. negligible reduction via mesophilic anaerobic digestion typical of trench burial) with concomitant reduction of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD; 99%), volatile suspended solids (VSS; 99%), total suspended solids (TSS; 99%), and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN; 98%) in the liquid digestate. At week #7 BOD and TSS in digestate met the U.S. EPA standards for treated wastewater discharge to surface water. Salmonella and Staphylococcus were inactivated by the AeD process after week #1 and #3, respectively. Five gaseous biomarkers: pyrimidine; p-cresol; phenol; dimethyl disulfide; and dimethyl trisulfide; were identified and correlated with digestate quality. Phenol was the best predictor of TAN (R = 0.96), BOD (R = 0.92), and dissolved oxygen (DO) (R = -0.91). Phenol was also the best predictor populations of Salmonella (R = 0.95) and aerobes (R = 0.88). P-cresol was the best predictor for anaerobes (R = 0.88). The off-gas from AeD will require biofiltration or other odor control measures for a much shorter time than anaerobic decomposition. The lab-scale studies indicate that AeD burial has the potential to make burial a faster, safer, and more environmentally friendly method for emergency disposal and treatment of infectious animal carcasses and that this method should be further developed via prototype-scale field studies.

At-risk individuals display altered brain activity following stress.

Stress is a major risk factor for almost all psychiatric disorders, however, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain largely elusive. In healthy individuals, a successful stress response involves an adequate neuronal adaptation to a changing environment. This adaptive response may be dysfunctional in vulnerable individuals, potentially contributing to the development of psychopathology. In the current study, we investigated brain responses to emotional stimuli following stress in healthy controls and at-risk individuals. An fMRI study was conducted in healthy male controls (N = 39) and unaffected healthy male siblings of schizophrenia patients (N = 39) who are at increased risk for the development of a broad range of psychiatric disorders. Brain responses to pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) were measured 33 min after exposure to stress induced by the validated trier social stress test (TSST) or a control condition. Stress-induced levels of cortisol, alpha-amylase, and subjective stress were comparable in both groups. Yet, stress differentially affected brain responses of schizophrenia siblings versus controls. Specifically, control subjects, but not schizophrenia siblings, showed reduced brain activity in key nodes of the default mode network (PCC/precuneus and mPFC) and salience network (anterior insula) as well as the STG, MTG, MCC, vlPFC, precentral gyrus, and cerebellar vermis in response to all pictures following stress. These results indicate that even in the absence of a psychiatric disorder, at-risk individuals display abnormal functional activation following stress, which in turn may increase their vulnerability and risk for adverse outcomes.

A comparison of UVb compact lamps in enabling cutaneous vitamin D synthesis in growing bearded dragons.

The effect of exposure to different UVb compact lamps on the vitamin D status of growing bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) was studied. Forty-two newly hatched bearded dragons (<24 h old) were allocated to six treatment groups (n = 7 per group). Five groups were exposed to different UVb compact lamps for two hours per day, with a control group not exposed to UVb radiation. At 120 days of age, blood samples were obtained and concentrations of 25(OH)D3 , Ca, P and uric acid were determined. In addition, plasma 25(OH)D3 concentration was determined in free-living adult bearded dragons to provide a reference level. Only one treatment resulted in elevated levels of 25(OH)D3 compared to the control group (41.0 ± 12.85 vs. 2.0 ± 0.0 nmol/L). All UVb-exposed groups had low 25(OH)D3 plasma levels compared to earlier studies on captive bearded dragons as well as in comparison with the free-living adult bearded dragons (409 ± 56 nmol/L). Spectral analysis indicated that all treatment lamps emitted UVb wavelengths effective for some cutaneous vitamin D synthesis. None of these lamps, under this regime, appeared to have provided a sufficient UVb dose to enable synthesis of plasma 25(OH)D3 levels similar to those of free-living bearded dragons in their native habitat.

Efficacy of NH3 as a secondary barrier treatment for inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in digestate of animal carcasses: Proof-of-concept.

Managing the disposal of infectious animal carcasses from routine and catastrophic disease outbreaks is a global concern. Recent research suggests that burial in lined and aerated trenches provides the rapid pathogen containment provided by burial, while reducing air and water pollution potential and the length of time that land is taken out of agricultural production. Survival of pathogens in the digestate remains a concern, however. A potential answer is a 'dual'-barrier approach in which ammonia is used as a secondary barrier treatment to reduce the risk of pathogen contamination when trench liners ultimately leak. Results of this study showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of NH3 is 0.1 M (~1,468 NH3-N mg/L), and 0.5 M NH3 (~7,340 NH3-N mg/L) for ST4232 & MRSA43300, respectively at 24 h and pH = 9±0.1 and inactivation was increased by increasing NH3 concentration and/or treatment time. Results for digestate treated with NH3 were consistent with the MICs, and both pathogens were completely inactivated within 24 h.