Meeting report: The physics of life—merging clinical, biological and physical sciences approaches for cancer research

Secondary school results were compared with personality test scores as predictors of achievement in medical school in a study of a cohort of students, using simple correlation and multiple linear regression. The cohort of 151 students completed 28 courses in the 6 years. We have previously reported that the scores obtained could be reduced to five independent factors: 'physical science'; 'biological science'; 'paraclinical science'; 'basic clinical science'; and 'clinical science'. Both secondary school scores and personality test scores correlated with medical school achievement factors, but school scores correlated best with 'physical' and 'biological' science. Considering secondary school scores, English was the best predictor of 'clinical science', physics was the best predictor of 'basic clinical science' and scores obtained in physics and languages were better predictors of medical school 'biological science' than was school biology. Personality factors were better predictors of 'biological', 'paraclinical' and 'clinical science' than secondary school scores and the combined secondary school score (CSS) was the best predictor of 'physical science' and of 'overall achievement'. We conclude that incorporation of personality measurement with school academic achievement could be of value in selection procedures for applicants for medical school.

A review of physical, chemical, and biological green tide prevention methods in the Southern Yellow Sea

Summary Factor analysis has been used to identify achievement factors in tests attempted by a student cohort during a 6-year medical course. In the second year of the course students completed a battery of psychometric tests which measured both cognitive and non-cognitive personality traits. Scores derived from these personality tests were used as predictors of the achievement factors. The cohort completed 28 courses in the 6 years. Analysis of grades reported for these courses demonstrated five independent factors which could be labelled: (a) basic physical science; (b) biological science; (c) paraclinical science; (d) basic clinical science; (e) clinical science. Over 24% of the variance of the factor scores in ‘biological science’ could be predicted from psychometric test scores. In contrast no measured personality trait contributed significantly to achievement in ‘basic clinical science’. Over 12% of the variance could be predicted for achievement in ‘paraclinical’ and ‘clinical science’ while 6% of the variance could be predicted for ‘physical science’. Personality profiles favouring achievement differed significantly between achievement factors. In some cases attributes favouring achievement in one factor operated against achievement in another. In particular, a personality trait associated with extroversion favoured achievement in ‘clinical science’ but operated against achievement in ‘biological science’. Consideration is given to the use of psychometric tests as a tool for the selection of candidates proposing to enter the medical faculty.

Calculating New Parameters.

About 70% of all cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue to rise over 13.1 million by 2030. Research indicates that estuaries such as rivers and lakes contain various carcinogenic compounds. The carcinogens are transported from the release points to the intake points. To avoid this phenomenon from happening, fast and accurate detection of carcinogen concentrations in water is crucial. This paper presents a review of various detection methods of carcinogenic compounds in watercourses via biological, physical and chemical approaches. Descriptions of the biological procedures such as chromosomal aberration, Micronucleus assay, Ames test, Salmonella assay, SOS chromotest, Comet assay and organic extraction of XAD with blue rayon are discussed. Physical approaches have the integration of automated detections with science and engineering approaches, particularly sensors. Automated optical sensors, submersible ultraviolet fluorometer sensors, photoelectrochemical sensors with the detection of DNA damage and trihalomethanes sensors for the detection of carcinogenic compounds are also reviewed. Chemical approaches consist of the analysis of extraction, purification and identification of organic contaminants using high-technology equipments such as the atomic absorption spectrophotometer, high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Carcinogens can be identified accurately using an appropriate method chosen from the available alternatives. The evaluations of detection methods presented in this review are based on advantages and disadvantages, accuracy, speed and time factor of methods and experimental procedures by previous scholars. This review contributes as guidance to readers on existing methods within different fields and their exclusive applications on different types of carcinogens in water.

The toxicity of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) present in the environment has exceeded the current limits or standards and thus may lead to biotic and abiotic catastrophes. Accordingly, several treatments, including chemical, biological, and physical approaches, are being used to reduce Cr(VI) waste in the surrounding environment. This study compares the Cr(VI) treatment approaches from several areas of science and their competence in Cr(VI) removal. As an effective combination of physical and chemical approaches, the coagulation-flocculation technique removes more than 98% of Cr(VI) in less than 30min. Most membrane filtering approaches can remove up to 90% of Cr(VI). Biological approaches that involve the use of plants, fungi, and bacteria also successfully eliminate Cr(VI) but are difficult to scale up. Each of these approaches has its benefits and drawbacks, and their applicability is determined by the research aims. These approaches are also sustainable and environmentally benign, thus limiting their effects on the ecosystem.

Physical approaches have made notable contributions to the study of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and EMT serves as a model system for advancing physics theories. A collection of reviews and original research papers are included in this special issue.

Green and cost-effective biofabrication of copper oxide nanoparticles: Exploring antimicrobial and anticancer applications

Interdisciplinary Collaborations in the Pandemic Era Leading to Crisis Management and Medical Advances

Comparative assessment of the fate and toxicity of chemically and biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles to juvenile clams

Yield advantages of crops grown behind windbreaks have often been reported, but underlying principles responsible for such changes and their long-term consequences on crop productivity and hence farm income have rarely been quantified. Physiologically and physically sound simulation models could help to achieve this quantification. Hence, the APSIM systems model, which is based on physiological principles such as transpiration efficiency and radiation use efficiency (termed here APSIMTE), and the Soil Canopy Atmosphere Model (SCAM), which is based on the Penman–Monteith equation but includes a full surface energy balance, were employed in developing an approach to quantify such windbreak effects. This resulted in a modified APSIM version (APSIMEO), containing the original Penman equation and a calibration factor to account for crop- and site-specific differences, which were tested against field data and simulations from both the standard APSIMTE and SCAM models. The APSIMEO approach was tested against field data for wheat and mungbean grown in artificial enclosures in south-east Queensland and in south-east Western Australia. For these sheltered conditions, daily transpiration demand estimates from APSIMEO compared closely to SCAM. As the APSIMEO approach needed to be calibrated for individual crops and environments, average transpiration demand for open field conditions predicted by APSIMEO for a given site was adjusted to equal that obtained using APSIMTE by modifying a calibration parameter β. For wheat, a β-value of 1.0 resulted in best fits for Queensland, while for Western Australia a value of 0.85 was necessary. For mungbean a value of 0.92 resulted in the best fit (Qld). Biomass and yields simulated by APSIMTE and the calibration APSIMEO for wheat and mungbean grown in artificial enclosures were generally distributed around the 1:1 line, with R2 values ranging from 0.92 to 0.97. Finally, APSIMEO was run at 2 sites using long-term climate data to assess the likely year-to-year variability of windbreak effects on crop yields. Assuming a 70% reduction in wind speed as representing the maximum potential windbreak effect, the average yield improvement for the Queensland site was 13% for wheat and 3% for mungbean. For wheat at the WA site the average yield improvement from reduced wind speed was 5%. In any year, however, effects varied from negative, neutral to positive, highlighting the highly variable nature of the expression of windbreak effects. This study has shown how physical and biological modelling approaches can be combined to aid our understanding of systems processes. Both the environmental physics perspective and the biological perspective have shortcomings when issues that sit at the interface of both approaches need to be addressed. While the physical approach has clear advantages when investigating changes in physical parameters such as wind speed, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), temperature or the energy balance of the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum, it cannot deal with complex, biological systems adequately. Conversely, the crop physiological approach can handle such biological interactions in a scientific and robust way while certain atmospheric processes are not considered. The challenge was not to try and capture all these effects in 1 model, but rather to structure a modelling approach in a way that allowed for inclusion of such processes where necessary.

Executive function (EF) is essential for successfully navigating nearly all of our daily activities. Of critical importance for clinical psychological science, EF impairments are associated with most forms of psychopathology. However, despite the proliferation of research on EF in clinical populations, with notable exceptions clinical and cognitive approaches to EF have remained largely independent, leading to failures to apply theoretical and methodological advances in one field to the other field and hindering progress. First, we review the current state of knowledge of EF impairments associated with psychopathology and limitations to the previous research in light of recent advances in understanding and measuring EF. Next, we offer concrete suggestions for improving EF assessment. Last, we suggest future directions, including integrating modern models of EF with state of the art, hierarchical models of dimensional psychopathology as well as translational implications of EF-informed research on clinical science.

Three decades of intensive experimental and clinical research on cancer prevention have yielded an impressive body of scientific knowledge about cancer epidemiology, causation, and preventative measures. Despite our increased understanding in these critical areas, this knowledge is not being translated adequately into initiatives that will impact public health. The recent release of the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research report on diet and lifestyle strategies for cancer prevention--grounded in an evidence-based, systematic review of the published literature--is a strong acknowledgment of the benefits of a lifestyle approach to reduce cancer risk. The report also emphasizes the need to increase basic nutritional science research to make optimal use of the knowledge gained in the past three decades. Medical approaches--represented by chemoprevention clinical trials--also have become more focused based on results from basic science leads. The expansion of preclinical chemoprevention studies and greater attention to "first-in-human" prevention trials that safely shorten the timeline for new drug development are needed. The development of a prevention focus for what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls "exploratory investigational new drug studies" and what investigators at the National Cancer Institute are calling "phase 0" clinical trials will contribute to the decision-making involved in designing larger cancer prevention clinical trials. Past achievements in phase III prevention clinical trials--such as the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, and the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene--have provided early successes as evidence of the potential for public benefit to be derived from this research. Nevertheless, the application of these findings to clinical practice and the design of future prevention trials remains a challenge. Current strategies include the refinement of risk assessment models for several major cancers. Additional initiatives, based on emerging basic and clinical research, involve the development of potential biomarkers for cancer risk and early detection by the National Cancer Institute's Early Detection Research Network. Although a recent progress report indicates that biomarkers of cancer susceptibility and exposure have been identified, continued work is needed to validate such markers for clinical use. Using this information optimally for prevention through lifestyle changes or medical interventions will demand commitments from public and private research institutions. Another area of emerging research is the development of a systems biology approach to cancer prevention. This will demand the creation of multidisciplinary teams of researchers from biological sciences, informatics and engineering scientists, and researchers from many fields not generally focused on disease prevention. To facilitate this and other new approaches, and to make effective use of information and strategies for cancer prevention, intensive training efforts must be implemented to develop the next generation of basic and clinical scientists--and physician researchers--capable of working in a cross- and multidisciplinary research environment. Training current researchers in new approaches will add efficiency to their combined research experiences.

On the “Infallibility” of Psychopathology and Its Implications for Action

Agro-industrial and solid waste disposal is a serious issue of concern especially in developing countries. Waste disposal from industrial production should be in tune with environmental management practices. Waste produced by Molasses based distilleries; called spentwash poses various kind of problems when disposed to water bodies. It is due to presence of different organic and inorganic substances in the waste in which melanoidin compound is mainly responsible for its dark brown color. Although the process of biomethanation reduces the BOD and COD of spentwash, the colour of effluent remains a big threat to water bodies when it comes to disposal. After the process of biomethanation, spentwash is called as PMDSW (Post Methanated Distillery Spentwash). So far, different approaches have been applied to reduce the opacity/colour and other physical and chemical properties of spentwash to make it more applicable in agriculture and feasible for disposal. In this background, the present study present a comparative analysis of physical, chemical and biological approaches used in decolourization of spentwash. The study used bagasse and chemically modified bagasse (CMB) as physical method, hydrogen peroxide as chemical and Phenerochete chrysosporium (PC) as a biological method to find comparative decolourization efficiency. The study compared efficiency of physical, chemical and biological method at 0% (control) dilution, 60% and 80% dilution in alternate days. The result showed that the dilution played a significant role in colour removal in all treatments. The study also found that hydrogen peroxide (T4) to be the maximum efficient method among all treatments as compared to control. However, the study also revealed that T6 (Phenerochete Chrysososporium) is a eco-friendly alternative of colour removal which is less efficient than chemical method(H2O2). The study enhances the understanding of different decolourization approaches and suggest biological approach as most suitable method for color removal.