High Persistence Research Articles

Current status and future challenges of chlorobenzenes pollution in soil and groundwater (CBsPSG) in the twenty-first century: a bibliometric analysis.

The global industrial structure had undertaken significant changes since the twenty-first century, making a severe problem of chlorobenzene pollution in soil and groundwater (CBsPSG). CBsPSG receives increasing attention due to the high toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation of chlorobenzenes. To date, despite the gravity of this issue, no bibliometric analysis (BA) of CBsPSG does exist. This study fills up the gap by conducting a BA of 395 articles related to CBsPSG from the Web of Science Core Collection database using CiteSpace. Based on a comprehensive analysis of various aspects, including time-related, related disciplines, keywords, journal contribution, author productivity, and institute and country distribution, the status, development, and hotspots of research in the field were shown visually and statistically. Moreover, this study has also delved into the environmental behavior and remediation techniques of CBsPSG. In addition, four challenges (unequal research development, insufficient cooperation, deeply mechanism research, and developing new technologies) have been identified, and corresponding suggestions have been proposed for the future development of research in the field. Afterwards, the limitations of BA were discussed. This work provides a powerful insight into CBsPSG, enabling to quickly identify the hotspot and direction of future studies by relevant researchers.

The Need of Evidence-Based Treatment of Early-Onset Feeding Tube Dependency: A Pico- Framework Based Analytic Review of Clinical Features and Treatment of Feeding Tube Dependency

Feeding Tube Dependency is a constant increasing perinatal mental health condition, with estimated 350 new cases per year in Germany.The early onset feeding tube dependency is the consequence of a generalized food aversion. To establish an evidence-based nationwide treatment plan, relevant research from the past twenty years were narratively reviewed. Feeding tube dependency is an international increasingmental health condition, with a high symptom persistence and a low spontaneous remission. The generalized food aversion would prevent the transition to oral feeding.The treatment protocols, supported by the German Health System, based on low-frequency individual treatment and intensive inpatient treatments are not supported by the most recent evidence. In treatment outcome research more promising and effective programs can be distinguished from ineffective programs. As a result, treatment which are designed as intensive treatment, home-based or inpatient and are psychodynamicbased are most effective. Day-clinic and behavioral modification programs are not or low in treatment effectiveness.The German Health System approach to assist families with feeding tube dependency is not evidence-based. A new structure of treatment is imperatively required.

Lagovirus infections of hares and rabbits: review of literature and epizootic situation in the World and Russia

Rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease (RHD) and European hare brown liver syndrome (EBHS) are two similar diseases affecting animals of the hare family, caused by closely related lagoviruses and manifesting as an acute and fatal form of hepatitis and thrombohemorrhagic syndrome in all organs, especially the lungs and liver. The two viruses are closely related genetically and antigenically and share approximately 76% identity. The causative agent of EBHS is a virus of genotype GII.1. Various species of hares and Florida rabbits are susceptible to it. VGBV is caused by viruses of two genotypes: RHDV-GI.1 and RHDV-GI.2. The first genotype (RHDV-GI.1) is strictly specific for rabbits. In contrast, the second (RHDV-GI.2) has a broader range of susceptible animals and affects not only hares but also common badgers and red-bellied musk deer. In addition, due to the lack of crossimmunity between RHDV-GI.1 and RHDV-GI.2 and a wide range of hosts, the second genotype displaces the first of the susceptible populations, which makes it more dangerous in epidemiological terms. The diseases have high morbidity and high mortality - up to 90%. Given the high persistence of the virus in the environment, the disease can cause severe economic damage. Disease control is effectively achieved through vaccination, general quarantine, and preventive measures. However, this only applies to VGBV types 1 and 2, for which vaccines exist. Currently, no vaccines are developed against brown liver syndrome in the European hare.

Efficient removal of naphthenic acids from real petroleum wastewater by natural pyrite activated persulfate system

The petroleum wastewater (PWW) contains a diverse range of recalcitrant organic contaminants. Of particular concern is the removal of naphthenic acids (NAs) due to the high toxicity and persistence. Persulfate (PS) based oxidation processes have shown promising in treating refractory wastewater, while the high costs of prepared catalysts limited their widespread implementation. This study aims to develop a cost-effective natural pyrite activated PS system for PWW treatment. The removal of NAs by pyrite/PS system was initially investigated. More than 90% of cyclohexanoic acid (CHA), a model NA, was removed in pyrite/PS system (2.0 g/L pyrite, 4.0 mM PS) at initial pH of 3–11. Scavenging experiments revealed that Fe(II) on pyrite surface was the reactive site for PS activation to generate reactive species, including sulfate radical (SO4·−), Fe(IV) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) for CHA degradation. Reactions of Fe(III) with S helped restore Fe(II) and enhance PS activation, resulting in the sustained catalytic activity of pyrites over five cycles. Cl−, SO42− and NO3− below 10 mM had minimal impact on CHA degradation in pyrite/PS system. However, over 1 mM of HCO3− inhibited 80% of CHA removal due to the buffer effect to maintain the high solution pH. Removing HCO3− from real PWW restored the removal of CHA and of total organic carbon (TOC) to over 90% and 71.3% in pyrite/PS system, respectively. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) results indicated that O2‒6 species including NAs were primarily eliminated through mineralization and oxygen addition. Besides, O3–5S, NO3–5S and N3O2‒4 species were the most susceptible to oxidation in PWW, resulting in the increase of the oxidation level (i.e., O/Cwa) from 0.41 to 0.56 after treatment. This study provides valuable insights into the treatment of NAs in real PWW, and potential application of natural minerals in the treatment of industrial wastewater.

The selfish yeast plasmid exploits a SWI/SNF-type chromatin remodeling complex for hitchhiking on chromosomes and ensuring high-fidelity propagation.

Extra-chromosomal selfish DNA elements can evade the risk of being lost at every generation by behaving as chromosome appendages, thereby ensuring high fidelity segregation and stable persistence in host cell populations. The yeast 2-micron plasmid and episomes of the mammalian gammaherpes and papilloma viruses that tether to chromosomes and segregate by hitchhiking on them exemplify this strategy. We document for the first time the utilization of a SWI/SNF-type chromatin remodeling complex as a conduit for chromosome association by a selfish element. One principal mechanism for chromosome tethering by the 2-micron plasmid is the bridging interaction of the plasmid partitioning proteins (Rep1 and Rep2) with the yeast RSC2 complex and the plasmid partitioning locus STB. We substantiate this model by multiple lines of evidence derived from genomics, cell biology and interaction analyses. We describe a Rep-STB bypass system in which a plasmid engineered to non-covalently associate with the RSC complex mimics segregation by chromosome hitchhiking. Given the ubiquitous prevalence of SWI/SNF family chromatin remodeling complexes among eukaryotes, it is likely that the 2-micron plasmid paradigm or analogous ones will be encountered among other eukaryotic selfish elements.

Medication persistence among people with multiple sclerosis in Slovenia treated with dimethyl fumarate

Objective Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, demyelinating inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Medication persistence is defined as an interval between the initiation and last dose of the applied medication and presents a useful surrogate marker of a stable disease course. This observational study aimed to evaluate medication persistence and discontinuation reasons in Slovenian people with multiple sclerosis treated with dimethyl fumarate. Methods Our retrospective cohort study evaluated people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated with dimethyl fumarate as an initial monotherapy or switched from injectable disease-modifying therapy medication between 2014 and 2021. Medication dispenses were extracted from the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health Outpatient Medication Database. The medication persistence criterion was based on the treatment gap. Patients exceeding a 60-day gap were considered nonpersistent. The median time to discontinuation was assessed using survival analyses. Considering discontinuation reasons, patients were further divided into safety and inefficacy groups. Due to the high probability of adverse effects, patients exceeding a 60-day gap were included in the safety group, but definite discontinuation reason remains unknown. The impact of covariates was evaluated by Cox regression. Results A total of 269 patients were included (183 women, mean age 37 years). During the 7-year follow-up period, 123 (45.7%) patients discontinued treatment. The median time to discontinuation was 5.6 years. After 1, 2, and 5 years of treatment, 84%, 77%, and 57% of patients were found to be persistent, respectively. All patients older than 30 years (p = 0.0013) and among them, those in the inefficacy group (p = 0.037) were more likely to be persistent. Conclusions The results of our study proved a high persistence rate among our patients. The most frequent discontinuation reason was gastrointestinal adverse effects. Medication persistence requires interventions in younger patients with an unstable disease course.

Autoregressive Vector (VAR) Method in Analyzing Inflation Persistence in Indonesia

One of the most important economic variables is inflation. It is known that some changes in each major variable in the economy are caused by the rate of inflation, such as unemployment and future economic conditions. This is what makes inflation a variable that is often observed and tested, both theoretically and empirically. Economic development is said to run well if supported by stable inflation values, which will later serve to make the population more prosperous in the future. This research is a quantitative research using secondary data, namely inflation and CPI data from January 2018 to December 2022. Data obtained from Bank Indonesia and the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics. This study aims to see persistence in Indonesia and see the effect of CPI on inflation both in the long and short term. Where the model used in this study is using the VAR model of differential levels, because the data is not stationary at the level level. Determination of the optimal lag length is obtained from the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) value. The results of the analysis show that the persistence of inflation in Indonesia is fairly high. This is because the lag value in inflation is close to 1 or even more, which is 6.71. The high persistence of inflation is expected to cause shocks that affect the inflation rate in Indonesia. Then the length of time it takes for inflation to return to the equilibrium position is about 1 year and a half or 18 months. Furthermore, for the effect of inflation on CPI, in this case it has an influence in the long run, while for the short term influence is only influenced by its own variables.

Microplastics' Shape and Morphology Analysis in the Presence of Natural Organic Matter Using Flow Imaging Microscopy.

Ubiquitous microplastics in urban waters have raised substantial public concern due to their high chemical persistence, accumulative effects, and potential adverse effects on human health. Reliable and standardized methods are urgently needed for the identification and quantification of these emerging environmental pollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, we introduce an innovative rapid approach that employs flow imaging microscopy (FlowCam) to simultaneously identify and quantify microplastics by capturing high-resolution digital images. Real-time image acquisition is followed by semi-automated classification using customized libraries for distinct polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) microplastics. Subsequently, these images are subjected to further analysis to extract precise morphological details of microplastics, providing insights into their behavior during transport and retention within WWTPs. Of particular significance, a systematic investigation was conducted to explore how the presence of natural organic matter (NOM) in WWTPs affects the accuracy of the FlowCam's measurement outputs for microplastics. It was observed that varying concentrations of NOM induced a more curled shape in microplastics, indicating the necessity of employing pre-treatment procedures to ensure accurate microplastic identification when utilizing the FlowCam. These observations offer valuable new perspectives and potential solutions for designing appropriate treatment technologies for removing microplastics within WWTPs.

Examining the differentiation in pre-service mathematics teachers’ learning and studying approaches according to self-reinforcing, and persistence

The aim of this study is to reveal the profiles of pre-service mathematics teachers in terms of learning and studying approaches by cluster-analyzing them on the basis of self-reinforcing and persistence. Learning and studying approaches inventory scale, self-reinforcing and persistence subscales were used to collect the data in the study, which was carried out with a descriptive research design. The participants of the study comprised of 487 pre-service mathematics teachers. According to the results, it was determined that the surface learning approach of the pre-service teachers did not differ according to gender while the strategic learning approach and the deep learning approach differed in favor of males. There was no significant difference in the learning approaches of the participants according to the grade level. According to the cluster analysis, it was revealed that pre-service teachers can be clustered as low motivation, high motivation, high self-reinforcing and high persistence.

Injectable microenvironment-responsive hydrogels with redox-activatable supramolecular prodrugs mediate ferroptosis-immunotherapy for postoperative tumor treatment.

Immunotherapy is an emerging antitumor modality with high specificity and persistence, but its application for resected tumor treatment is impeded by the low availability of tumor-specific antigens and strong immunosuppression in the wound margin. Here a nanoengineered hydrogel is developed for eliciting robust cooperative ferroptosis-immunotherapeutic effect on resected tumors. Specifically, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) is first grafted onto oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) through Schiff base ligation, which could trap cRGD-modified redox-responsive Withaferin prodrugs (WA-cRGD) to obtain the hydrogel building blocks (Gel@WA-cRGD). Under Ca2+-mediated crosslinking, Gel@WA-cRGD rapidly forms physiologically stable hydrogels, of which the porous network is used to deliver programmed cell death ligand 1 antibodies (aPD-L1). After injection into the post-surgical wound cavity, the β-CD-entrapped WA-cRGD is detached by the local acidity and specifically internalized by residual tumor cells to trigger ferroptosis, thus releasing abundant damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and tumor-derived antigens for activating the antigen-presenting cell-mediated cross-presentation and downstream cytotoxic T cell (CTL)-mediated antitumor responses. Furthermore, aPD-L1 could block PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and enhance the effector function of CTLs to overcome tumor cell-mediated immunosuppression. This cooperative hydrogel-based antitumor strategy for ferroptosis-immunotherapy may serve as a generally-applicable approach for postoperative tumor management. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: To overcome the immunosuppressive microenvironment in resected solid tumors for enhanced patient survival, here we report a nanoengineered hydrogel incorporated supramolecular redox-activatable Withaferin prodrug and PD-L1 antibody, which could elicit robust cooperative ferroptosis-immunotherapeutic effect against residual tumor cells in the surgical bed to prevent tumor relapse, thus offering a generally-applicable approach for postoperative tumor management.

Abdominal electromyograms mining: breathing patterns of asleep adults

The article’s subject matter is the processing of abdominal EMG recordings and finding breathing patterns. The goal is to automatically classify respiratory patterns into two classes, or clusters, by two breathing patterns, regular and irregular, using machine learning (ML) methods. The object of the study was to obtain a dataset of 40 randomly picked abdominal EMG recordings (sampling rate equal to 200 Hz) borrowed from the complete dataset published by the Computational Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory and the Clinical Data Animation Laboratory of Massachusetts General Hospital. The tasks to be solved are as follows: finding ETS (errors-trend-seasonality) model for the EMG series using the exponential smoothing method; obtaining denoised and detrended signals; obtaining the Hurst exponents for EMGs using the power-law decaying of correlograms for the denoised and detrended signals; describing the variabilities, SNR, the outlier fractions, and Hurst exponents by robust statistics, performing correlation analysis, and Principal Components Analysis (PCA); analyzing the structure of the distant matrix by a graph-based technique; obtaining the periodograms in the frequency domain using the known Wiener-Khinchin theorem; and finding the best models and methods of classification and clusterization and evaluating them within modern Machine Learning methods. The methods used are exponential smoothing, the Wiener-Khinchin theorem, the graph theory method, principal component analysis, programing within MAPLE 2020, and data processing by Weka. The authors obtained the following results: 1) wide data variability has been rated with the median absolute deviations, which is the most robust statistic in this case; 2) most of the signals (38 of 40) showed frequent outliers: from a few percent up to 24.6 % of emissions; 3) these four variables: outliers' percentage, variability, SNR, and persistency factors – form the attributes of input vectors of the subjects for further Machine Learning with Weka software; 4) Manhattan distances matrix among subjects' vectors in 4D attributes space allows imaging the data set as a weighted graph, the vertices of which are subjects; 5) the weights of the graph's edges reflect distances between any pair of them. "Closeness centralities" of vertices allowed us to cluster the data set on two clusters with 11 and 29 subjects, and Weka clustering algorithms confirmed this result. 6) The learning curve shows that a sufficiently small data set (from 25 subjects) might be suitable for classification purposes. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the results obtained is as follows: 1) the Error-Trend-Seasonality model was the same for all data sets. Abdominal EMG of sleeping patients had additive errors and undamped trends without any seasonality; 2) the correlograms' decaying according to power law had been set, and Hurst exponents were in the range (of 0.776–0.887). This testifies to "long memory" (high persistence) of abdominal EMGs; 3) the modified Z-scores and robust statistics with the highest breakdown values were used for the EMG parameters because of many outliers; 4) breathing patterns were set using the periodograms in the frequency domain using the Wiener-Khinchin theorem; 5) the new graph-based method was successfully exploited to cluster the dataset. Parallel clustering with Weka algorithms confirmed the graph-based clustering results.

Identifying intermittent river sections with similar hydrology using remotely sensed metrics

As the human population grows and the demand for freshwater intensifies, river systems previously overlooked for water production are increasingly being earmarked for development. Many of these rivers are intermittent or in remote locations, and most are insufficiently instrumented (i.e., few to no gauging stations) and poorly understood, even though sustainable water resource development and the effective management of these systems relies on a thorough understanding of their hydrology. Remote sensing of surface water has been posed as a viable method for describing the morphology, resilience and fragmentation of river hydrology, much like metrics generated from discharge data. The low cost and increasing frequency and quality of spectral images means that this approach has a great potential to characterise hydrology at fine scales across large areas. However, the approach remains largely untested with previous research only examining small river sections. This study aimed to characterise a hydrologically diverse 400 km reach of an intermittent lowland river using newly developed, spatially derived, ecohydrological metrics. We used multidimensional clustering to identify river sections with similar hydrology, examined their spatial arrangement along the river and compared their characteristics with discharge data from four gauging stations. Metric clustering revealed four hydrological types (zones) that spanned a continuum from highly intermittent to highly persistent. Spatially, zones were at the scale of pool-run/riffle geomorphic units that alternated along the study area. Density maps of hydrological zones revealed that the mid-section of the study reach had higher persistence and longitudinal connectivity, a finding that aligned with a pre-existing groundwater discharge map generated from field sampling of environmental tracers. Limited gauging station coverage constrained comparisons, but available stations in Persistent or Refuge zones exhibited similar hydrograph responses. The ability to map hydrology continuously along the length of a river is a significant advance compared to a gauged approach, which can only classify hydrology at a single point (i.e., the gauge). Continuous classification increases our ability to describe spatial patterns in hydrology, which could markedly affect how a river is managed.

Hitchhiker planting: mixed-species container stock planting as a novel tool to increase plant diversity on industrially disturbed sites

Rapid establishment of closed canopy cover is a key goal in land reclamation. While re-establishment of understory vegetation is likely to positively contribute to this goal, native herbaceous species are not typically planted on reclaimed sites though it is an alternative to reliance on natural regeneration. The objective of the present study was to test the principle of hitchhiker production of a tree species with native herbaceous species on recently reclaimed industrial sites with the aim of (1) understanding growth tradeoffs when mixing these species in the same container and (2) if hitchhiking had negative growth and survival outcomes for white spruce ( Picea glauca) seedlings compared with singly grown white spruce seedlings. White spruce seeds were sown in nursery containers of contrasting cavity sizes, followed by sowing a forb species ( Eurybia conspicua or Chamerion angustifolium) at different time intervals or grown singly. Larger cavities and earlier sow dates were associated with higher persistence and growth of the forbs, while later sow dates were associated with larger white spruce seedlings. We observed no evidence to suggest that hitchhiked seedlings were at a competitive disadvantage in terms of growth or survival compared with singly grown seedlings that were initially similar in size.

Spatial interactions in local public debt. Evidence from Poland

The aim of the paper is to investigate spatial interactions among the debt of 2,442 municipalities in Poland over the period 2005–2020. Using dynamic spatial Durbin model with two-way fixed effects it provides empirical evidence of positive spatial interactions. It is estimated that an increase in debt per capita in a given municipality by PLN 100 leads to an increase in the debt per capita in neighbouring municipalities by PLN 8–10. The result is robust to the various specifications of spatial weight matrix (contiguity vs. inverse-distance with a cut-off). It is also found that municipal debt in Poland suffers from high persistence over time.

Extraction methods optimization of available heavy metals and the health risk assessment of the suburb soil in China.

Heavy metal pollution has attracted increasing concern due to its high toxicity and persistence. A suitable extraction procedure for available heavy metals in soil is necessary for assessing the ecological risk. In this work, the single extraction methods aided by shaking and microwaves were investigated and analyzed for their ability to extract available heavy metals from soil samples, and a total of 42 soil samples were collected from suburbs of Zhengzhou city in China. The extraction efficiency of Cu, Zn, As, and Cd in the certified fluvo-aquic soil was compared using eight different types of solutions: CaCl2, CH3COONH4, NH4NO3, CH3COOH, Na2EDTA, DTPA, HNO3, and NH4H2PO4. Results indicated that the shaking-assisted method that utilized Na2EDTA as an extractant demonstrated satisfactory efficiency and was chosen for further optimization and that the optimal conditions were obtained using 0.05M Na2EDTA at pH 7, soil-liquid ratio 1:20, and extraction duration 2h, which gained the perfect extraction efficiency ranging from 85.8 to 109.5%. The proposed approach has been applied to extract available Cu, Zn, As, and Cd in soils of Zhengzhou suburbs, where the mean values varied from 0.129 to 6.881mg/kg. The bioavailability of different heavy metals in the soil varies greatly, with Cd having the highest activity in the survey region. Significant (p < 0.01) positive relationships were observed between the available state and the total amount of all the heavy metals. The assessment of health risks associated with heavy metals indicated that there was no risk for chronic non-carcinogenic effects. Even though the total amount of metal elements in suburban soil of Zhengzhou is 1.6% with high carcinogenic risk, the risk of available elements is still within the acceptable range, which verified that the risk grade obtained by the total amount is higher than the actual risk.

Is the cryptocurrency market a hedge against stock market risk? A Wavelet and GARCH approach

AbstractThis study analyses six major cryptocurrencies and four global stock markets to explore the role of cryptocurrencies as a hedge, safe haven, and diversifier in stock markets. The study employs ADCC‐GARCH and Wavelet Coherence Technique, using daily data from 4 January 2017 to 28 February 2023. The study has found that stock returns and unstable cryptocurrency returns have high volatility persistence in the long run. Besides, while unstable digital currencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Dogecoin) serve as a hedge during stable economic periods, they have not been a hedge during economic turmoil in the stock markets. Conversely, stablecoins (Tether and USD Coin) have been shown to have acted as a hedge during normal economic times and have offered a safe haven during economic downturns. Except for Tether, all cryptocurrencies' diversification capacity is time‐varying. In stable economic conditions, they serve as diversifiers, but during turmoil, they do not. However, Tether serves as a diversifier regardless of the financial situation. Finally, the present investigation is expected to offer crucial information on hedge, safe haven and diversification for quasi‐investors.

A long-term experiment reveals no trade-off between seed persistence and seedling emergence.

Information on seed persistence and seedling emergence from the soil seed bank is critical for understanding species coexistence and predicting community dynamics. However, quantifying seed persistence in the soil is challenging; thus, its association with other life-history traits is poorly known on a broad scale. Using germination phenology for 349 species in a 42-yr experiment, we quantified the persistence-emergence correlations and their associations with intrinsic regeneration traits using Bayesian phylogenetic multilevel models. We showed no trade-off between seed persistence and seedling emergence. Physically dormant seeds were more persistent but exhibited lower emergence than nondormant seeds. Monocarpic species had both higher persistence and emergence than polycarpic species. Seed mass posed a marginal proxy for persistence, while emergence almost doubled from the smallest to the largest seeds. This study challenges the traditional assumption and is the first demonstration of noncorrelation between persistence and emergence, probably owing to the complexity of regenerative strategies. Species with short persistence and low emergence would be the most vulnerable for insitu conservation. Our analyses of this unique, long-term dataset provide a strong incentive for further experimental studies and a rich data resource for future syntheses.

Sulfate Radical-Based Degradation of Organic Pollutants: A Review on Application of Metal-Organic Frameworks as Catalysts.

The degradation of organic pollutants present in domestic and industrial effluents is a matter of concern because of their high persistence and ecotoxicity. Recently, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are being emphasized for organic pollutant removal from effluents, as they have shown higher degradation efficiencies when compared to conventional activated sludge processes. Sulfate radical-based methods are some of the AOPs, mainly carried out using persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS), which have gained attention due to the ease of sulfate radical generation and the effective degradation of organic molecules. PMS is gaining more popularity because of its high reactivity and ability to generate excess sulfate radicals. PMS has been the major focus; therefore, its mechanism has been explained, and limitations have been elaborated. The involvement of metal-organic frameworks for PMS/PS activation applied to organic pollutant removal and recent advances in the application of biochar and hydrogel-assisted metal-organic frameworks have been discussed.

Meta-Analysis Comparing Nominal and Measured Concentrations of Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in Aquatic Toxicity Studies Across Various Experimental Conditions.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are among the most frequently detected chemicals among the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in aquatic environments. Because of their high detection frequency, persistence, and potential toxicity, interest in both PFOA and PFOS has increased in recent years. However, a substantial number of PFOA and PFOS toxicity tests only report nominal, or unmeasured, treatment concentrations, which may complicate the determination of protective values. In addition, previous literature has indicated that differences between nominal and measured concentrations of both PFOA and PFOS could be linked to experimental conditions (e.g., feeding regimes for test organisms, test vessel material [glass or plastic], use of solvent, and the presence of substrate). Therefore, this critical review examined whether nominal and measured concentrations were in close agreement with each other among the current PFOA and PFOS aquatic toxicity literature and if experimental conditions were associated with any observed differences. Nominal and measured concentrations in the current PFOA and PFOS aquatic toxicity literature generally displayed a high degree of linear correlation and relatively low median percent differences. Correlations between measured and nominal concentrations were >0.98 for PFOA and >0.95 for PFOS in freshwater tests across experimental conditions. For saltwater tests, correlations of >0.84 were observed for PFOA and PFOS (separate and combined) across experimental conditions. While measured PFOA and PFOS toxicity tests are generally preferred, the present meta-analysis demonstrated that experimental conditions had little influence on observed discrepancies between nominal and measured concentrations, with the exception of PFOS saltwater tests and PFOA and PFOS freshwater studies that contained substrate. Unmeasured tests with these conditions should be considered carefully based on project needs, with the caveat that the data sets for these two experimental conditions were limited. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:2289-2301. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Dynamic analysis of healthcare providers’ cost efficiency

ABSTRACT This study uses quarterly longitudinal data to examine the cost efficiency of 20 New Zealand District Health Boards between 2011 and 2018. A random-effects dynamic stochastic frontier model is applied to estimate the persistence of Health Boards’ cost efficiency while considering both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The findings reveal that New Zealand Health Boards, on average, spent approximately 7.5% more than the estimated costs of efficient operation, primarily due to high persistence in cost inefficiency. Notably, Health Boards serving rural areas faced even higher levels of long-run cost inefficiency, resulting in an overspending of about 15% of annual budgets. The results of this study highlight that most Health Boards demonstrated excellent short-term performance relative to the long-run equilibrium level of cost inefficiency. However, the more significant concern lies in high long-run cost inefficiency within the sector attributed to structural and regulatory issues. Policymakers are urged to address these underlying problems to improve overall cost efficiency in the health sector.