Long-term Hazard Research Articles

Phycogenic nanoparticles efficiently catalyse pesticide degradation through a novel metabolic pathway utilizing solar light

Cypermethrin (Cy) is a widely used insecticide, leading to significant environmental contamination in homes and agricultural areas. Effective methods to minimize or eliminate insecticidal residues are essential. Seaweeds, traditionally used in agriculture as soil conditioners, offer a promising solution for remediating pesticide-contaminated soils through biogenic nanoparticle synthesis. In this study, we synthesized biogenic silver nanoparticles (UL-AgNPs) from the green seaweed Ulva lactuca Lin (Ulvaceae) to degrade Cypermethrin. The UL-AgNPs were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Dynamic light scattering and zeta potential analysis, confirming their presence, size (81.29 nm), structure and stability. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to assess the catalytic concentration of photocatalyst for degradation of pesticide including variables, Cy concentration and destined exposure time duration. The degradation efficiency of UL-AgNPs was evaluated, with the highest degradation (91.2%) achieved at pH 7 after 12 hours using 16.6 mg L-1 of UL-AgNPs, following pseudo-first order kinetics with a rate of 2.7 hour-1. GC-MS and UV-Visible spectroscopy revealed a novel degradation pathway, where Cypermethrin was broken down into compounds like Tetradecane, Dodecane, and Tetracosanoic acid through ester cleavage and benzene ring breakdown. The study also demonstrated the reusability of UL-AgNPs for four cycles, highlighting their potential for sustainable environmental management by reducing the long-term hazards of Cypermethrin.

Research on the Chloramphenicol Removal Performance of Co-Doped Porous Carbon Materials Derived from Co-Zn Bimetallic ZIFs

Chloramphenicol antibiotics (CAPs) are broad-spectrum antibiotics, and excessive consumption has led to increasingly dangerous residues in the environment. The accumulation of these highly toxic and difficult-to-biodegrade CAPs and their long-term exposure in ecological environments can pose insidious and long-term hazards to human health and aquatic organisms. In this study, co-carbon composite nanocatalysts (CoxZn10−x-NC) with many carbon nanotubes on the surface were prepared via the one-step pyrolysis of bimetallic CoxZn10−x-ZIF with different Co/Zn ratios and used for the degradation of trace amounts of CAPs in a water column. The microstructure and chemical composition of the prepared catalysts were fully characterized using SEM, TEM, and XPS. The CAP degradation experiments demonstrated that Co6Zn4-NC in CoxZn10−x-NC possessed the highest catalytic activity level, removing 100% of the CAPs in 60 min. The CAPs had a corresponding reaction rate constant of 0.22 min−1, and Co6Zn4-NC was able to completely mineralize 44.57% of them. Doping moderate amounts of Zn can effectively improve the carbon nanotube structure on the catalyst surface and promote the generation of monoatomic Co, thus improving catalytic activity. The results of the free-radical burst experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) showed that the free-radical pathway mainly dominated within the Co6Zn4-NC+PMS system, in which SO4•− was the main ROS for CAP degradation.

Repeated doxycycline treatment among patients with neuroborreliosis: a nationwide, population-based, registry-based, matched cohort study

Objectives To investigate receipt of antibiotics among patients with neuroborreliosis after initial antibiotic treatment, likely attributable to posttreatment symptoms. Methods We performed a nationwide, matched, population-based cohort study in Denmark (2009-2021). We included all Danish patients with neuroborreliosis, i.e. a positive Borrelia burgdorferi intrathecal antibody index test and a cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte count ≥10 × 106/l, and initially treated with doxycycline. To form a comparison cohort, we randomly extracted individuals from the general population matched 1:10 to patients with neuroborreliosis on date of birth and sex. The main outcome was receipt of doxycycline, and the secondary outcome was receipt of phenoxymethylpenicillin. We calculated short-term (<1 year) and long-term (≥1 year) hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results We included 463 patients with neuroborreliosis and 2,315 comparison cohort members. Compared with the comparison cohort members, patients with neuroborreliosis initially treated with doxycycline had increased receipt of additional doxycycline within 1 year (HR: 38.6, 95%CI: 17.5–85.0) and ≥1 years (HR: 3.5, 95%CI: 1.9–6.3). Compared with comparison cohort members, patients with neuroborreliosis had no increased receipt of phenoxymethylpenicillin (<1 year HR 1.0, 95%CI: 0.7–1.3; ≥1 years HR 1.2, 95%CI: 0.9–1.5). Conclusions After initial antibiotic treatment, patients with neuroborreliosis have increased receipt of doxycycline particularly within one year after initial antibiotic therapy but also subsequently. The lack of increased receipt of phenoxymethylpenicillin suggests that the receipt of doxycycline was not merely due to differences in healthcare-seeking behaviour, increased risk of early Lyme borreliosis due to exposure, or differences in antibacterial usage in general.

Fenton-like Degradation of Methylene Blue on Attapulgite Clay Composite by Loading of Iron-Oxide: Eco-Friendly Preparation and Its Catalytic Activity.

The continuous discharge of organic dyes into freshwater resources poses a long-term hazard to aquatic life. The advanced oxidation Fenton process is a combo of adsorption and degradation of pollutants to detoxify toxic effluents, such as anti-bacterial drugs, antibiotics, and organic dyes. In this work, an activated attapulgite clay-loaded iron-oxide (A-ATP@Fe3O4) was produced using a two-step reaction, in which attapulgite serves as an enrichment matrix and Fe3O4 functions as the active degrading component. The maximum adsorption capacity (qt) was determined by assessing the effect of temperature, pH H2O2, and adsorbent. The results showed that the A-ATP@Fe3O4 achieves the highest removal rate of 99.6% under optimum conditions: 40 °C, pH = 3, H2O2 25 mM, and 0.1 g dosage of the composite. The dye removal procedure achieved adsorption and degradation equilibrium in 120 and 30 min, respectively, by following the same processes as the advanced oxidation approach. Catalytic activity, kinetics, and specified surface characteristics suggest that A-ATP@Fe3O4 is one of the most promising candidates for advanced oxidation-enrooted removal of organic dyes.

A mechanistic insight into the anticancer potentials of resveratrol: Current perspectives.

Resveratrol is a widely recognized polyphenolic phytochemical found in various plants and their fruits, such as peanuts, grapes, and berry fruits. It is renowned for its several health advantages. The phytochemical is well known for its anticancer properties, and a substantial amount of clinical evidence has also established its promise as a chemotherapeutic agent. This study focuses on assessing the anticancer properties of resveratrol and gaining insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms. It also evaluates the biopharmaceutical, toxicological characteristics, and clinical utilization of resveratrol to determine its suitability for further development as a reliable anticancer agent. Therefore, the information about preclinical and clinical studies was collected from different electronic databases up-to-date (2018-2023). Findings from this study revealed that resveratrol has potent therapeutic benefits against various cancers involving different molecular mechanisms, such as induction of oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, inhibition of cell migration and invasion, autophagy, arresting of the S phase of the cell cycle, apoptotic, anti-angiogenic, and antiproliferative effects by regulating different molecular pathways including PI3K/AKT, p38/MAPK/ERK, NGFR-AMPK-mTOR, and so on. However, the compound has poor oral bioavailability due to reduced absorption; this limitation is overcome by applying nanotechnology (nanoformulation of resveratrol). Clinical application also showed therapeutic benefits in several types of cancer with no serious adverse effects. We suggest additional extensive studies to further check the efficacy, safety, and long-term hazards. This could involve a larger number of clinical samples to establish the compound as a reliable drug in the treatment of cancer.

Machine learning emulation of high resolution inundation maps

SUMMARY Estimating coastal tsunami impact for early-warning or long-term hazard analysis requires the calculation of inundation metrics such as flow-depth or momentum flux. Both applications require the simulation of large numbers of scenarios to capture both the aleatory variability and the epistemic tsunami uncertainty. A computationally demanding step in simulating inundation is solving the non-linear shallow water (NLSW) equations on meshes with sufficiently high resolution to represent the local elevation accurately enough to capture the physics governing the flow. This computational expense is particularly challenging in the context of Tsunami Early Warning where strict time constraints apply. A machine learning (ML) model that predicts inundation maps from offshore simulation results with acceptable accuracy, trained on an acceptably small training set of full simulations, could replace the computationally expensive NLSW part of the simulations for vast numbers of scenarios and predict inundation rapidly and with reduced computational demands. We consider the application of an encoder–decoder based neural network to predict high-resolution inundation maps based only on more cheaply calculated simulated time-series at a limited number of offshore locations. The network needs to be trained using input offshore time-series and the corresponding inundation maps from previously calculated full simulations. We develop and evaluate the ML model on a comprehensive set of inundation simulations for the coast of eastern Sicily for tens of thousands of subduction earthquake sources in the Mediterranean Sea. We find good performance for this case study even using relatively small training sets (order of hundreds) provided that appropriate choices are made in the specification of model parameters, the specification of the loss function and the selection of training events. The uncertainty in the prediction for any given location decreases with the number of training events that inundate that location, with a good range of flow depths needed for accurate predictions. This means that care is needed to ensure that rarer high-inundation scenarios are well-represented in the training sets. The importance of applying regularization techniques increases as the size of the training sets decreases. The computational gain of the proposed methodology depends on the number of complete simulations needed to train the neural network, ranging between 164 and 4196 scenarios in this study. The cost of training the network is small in comparison with the cost of the numerical simulations and, for an ensemble of around 28 000 scenarios, this represents a 6- to 170-fold reduction in computing costs.

Environmental profiles, hazard identification, and toxicological hallmarks of emerging tire rubber-related contaminants 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone

N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) is commonly used in rubber compounds as antioxidants to protect against degradation from heat, oxygen, and ozone exposure. This practice extends the lifespan of rubber products, including tires, by preventing cracking, aging, and deterioration. However, the environmental consequences of waste generated during rubber product use, particularly the formation of 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-Q) through the reaction of 6PPD with ozone, have raised significant concerns due to their detrimental effects on ecosystems. Extensive research has revealed the widespread occurrence of 6PPD and its derivate 6PPD-Q in various environmental compartments, including air, water, and soil. The emerging substance of 6PPD-Q has been shown to pose acute mortality and long-term hazards to aquatic and terrestrial organisms at concentrations below environmentally relevant levels. Studies have demonstrated toxic effects of 6PPD-Q on a range of organisms, including zebrafish, nematodes, and mammals. These effects include neurobehavioral changes, reproductive dysfunction, and digestive damage through various exposure pathways. Mechanistic insights suggest that mitochondrial stress, DNA adduct formation, and disruption of lipid metabolism contribute to the toxicity induced by 6PPD-Q. Recent findings of 6PPD-Q in human samples, such as blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid, underscore the importance of further research on the public health and toxicological implications of these compounds. The distribution, fate, biological effects, and underlying mechanisms of 6PPD-Q in the environment highlight the urgent need for additional research to understand and address the environmental and health impacts of these compounds.

Risk of heart failure among individuals tested for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato antibodies, and serum Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato seropositive individuals; a nationwide population-based, registry-based matched cohort study

BackgroundLyme borreliosis is a tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) sensu lato complex. Previous studies have suggested an association between Lyme borreliosis and heart failure, which have been suggested to be a possible manifestation of Lyme carditis. We aimed to investigate the risk of heart failure among individuals tested for serum Bb antibodies, and serum Bb seropositive individuals. MethodsWe performed a matched nationwide cohort study (Denmark, 1993–2020) and included 52,200 Bb seropositive individuals, and two age- and sex-matched comparison cohorts: 1) 104,400 Bb seronegative comparison cohort members, and 2) 261,000 population controls. We investigated the risk associated with 1) being tested for serum Bb antibodies, and 2) being Bb seropositive. Outcomes were: 1) a composite of heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and/or myocarditis diagnosis, and 2) redemption of cardiovascular medicine used for treatment of heart failure. We calculated short-term odds ratios (aOR) (within 1 month) and long-term hazard rates (aHR) (after 1 month) adjusted for age, sex, diabetes, pre-existing heart failure, and kidney disease. ResultsCompared with the population controls, individuals tested for Bb antibodies, regardless of the test result, had increased short-term risk of heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and myocarditis (aOR 8.3, 95 %CI: 6.7–10.2), and both increased short- and long-term risk of redemption of cardiovascular medicine (aOR 4.3, 95 %CI: 3.8–4.8, aHR 1.13, 95 % CI: 1.11–1.15). The Bb seropositive individuals had no increased short- or long-term risk of any outcome compared with Bb seronegative comparison cohort members. ConclusionsIn conclusion, Bb antibody tests seemed to be performed in the diagnostic work-up of heart failure, but Bb seropositivity was not associated with heart failure.

Understanding the impact of climate-induced sea level rise on groundwater inundation in a low-lying coastal area: A numerical simulation in Southeast India

Global warming has led to rising sea levels, severely threatening coastal areas, particularly in low-elevation coastal zones. The groundwater in coastal aquifers of lower elevation is susceptible to groundwater inundation (GWI), an emerging hidden long-term hazard earlier to marine inundation. The inundation is mainly due to the hydraulic connection between sea level and shallow unconfined aquifers, resulting in groundwater upsurging towards the ground surface. To understand the potential impact of sea level rise (SLR) induced GWI on low-lying coasts, a transient state model was simulated and predicted in the Cuddalore regions of South India under 0.3 m, 0.6 m, and 1 m SLR scenarios. The simulation reveals that the aerial extent of groundwater rise (GWR) was 331.9 km2, 566.2 km2, and 650.8 km2 for 0.3 m, 0.6 m, and 1 m SLR scenarios, respectively. About 50% of the response was observed in the northern and central parts of the study area within a 5 km buffer, which is attributed to the deeper groundwater table. In contrast, the southern region exhibited a 10% decline in response due to shallow groundwater discharge to drainage, which dampened the shoaling effect. The present-day shallow groundwater tables in the southern region are more vulnerable to GWI from rising sea levels. Specifically, a 0.3 m SLR could inundate 14.9 km2. In comparison, a 1 m SLR could inundate 40.5 km2 of the area, including the Pichavaram mangrove forest, agricultural land, municipal structures, and the other regions that flooding could threaten. These inundations could have potential impacts, such as wetland loss, agricultural flooding, deteriorating water quality, and infrastructural damage. The present study provides valuable insights into the subsurface hydrodynamic and exposure impacts of sea rise-induced inundations. This can aid coastal engineers, policymakers, and decision-makers to plan appropriate mitigation measures.

Clinical outcomes of renal transplant recipients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract Background Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality among renal transplant (RT) recipients. Despite this, the clinical outcomes of patients with RT undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain poorly elucidated. Purpose This study compared characteristics and outcomes among three groups of patients undergoing PCI: (1) RT recipients, (2) patients receiving dialysis and (3) patients with stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD) (estimated glomerular filtration rate 30–59 ml/min/1.73m²) without previous RT. Methods Data were analyzed for consecutive patients undergoing PCI enrolled in a large, multicenter Australian registry between 2014 and 2021 stratified into RT (n=226), dialysis (n=992) and CKD (n=15,534) groups. The primary outcome was 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (composite of mortality, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, target vessel revascularization and stroke). Long-term mortality was derived from linkage with the Australian National Death Index. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression were performed to assess the risk of 30-day MACCE and long-term mortality, respectively. Results RT recipients were younger compared to dialysis and CKD patients (61±10 vs 68±12 vs 78±8.2 years, p&amp;lt;0.001). The majority of patients were male: 72%, 76% and 61% in RT, dialysis, and CKD groups, respectively (p&amp;lt;0.001). RT patients had fewer comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease and previous cerebrovascular events) than dialysis patients, however more than the CKD group (all p&amp;lt;0.001). Compared to dialysis and CKD groups, RT patients less frequently had severe left ventricular dysfunction (14% and 8.5% vs 6.7%), however more often presented with acute coronary syndrome (52% and 48% vs 58%), especially ST-elevation myocardial infarction (12% and 17% vs 20%) (all p&amp;lt;0.001). RT and CKD patients had lower rates of in-hospital mortality (2.7% and 3.8% vs 6.4%), target vessel revascularization (0.4% and 0.7% vs 1.7%) and 30-day MACCE (4.4% and 6.8% vs 11.6%) compared to the dialysis group (all p&amp;lt;0.001). Three-year survival was similar between RT and CKD groups, however lower in the dialysis group (80% and 83% vs 60%) (p&amp;lt;0.001) (Figure 1). After adjustment, dialysis at baseline was an independent predictor of 30-day MACCE (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.44–2.50, p&amp;lt;0.001), however RT status was not (0.91, 0.42–1.96, p=0.802). In contrast, both RT status (HR 2.07, 95% CI 1.46–2.95, p&amp;lt;0.001) and dialysis at baseline (1.35, 1.02–1.80, p=0.036) conferred a heightened long-term hazard for mortality (Figure 2). Conclusions RT recipients have more favorable clinical outcomes following PCI compared to patients receiving dialysis. Nevertheless, despite having similar short-term outcomes to those with CKD, the hazard of long-term mortality is significantly greater for RT recipients. Close follow-up is warranted in this high-risk population.Figure 1Figure 2

Comparing survival of older patients with ovarian cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus primary cytoreductive surgery: Reducing bias through machine learning.

549 Background: This study aimed to develop a multidimensional comorbidity index (MCI) that summarizes information from health insurance claims of patients with advanced ovarian cancer. We aimed to assess whether this index could mitigate confounding by baseline health status in a comparative effectiveness study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) versus primary cytoreductive surgery (PDS). Methods: We utilized Medicare claims linked to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) registry data to identify patients diagnosed with stage IIIC and IV ovarian cancer between 2010 and 2015. The patient cohort was divided into development (2010-2014) and validation (2014) cohorts. To develop the MCI, we employed partial least squares (PLS) regression, a supervised machine learning algorithm, to extract latent factors that optimally captured the variation in 1-year mortality and health insurance claims in the 12 months before ovarian cancer diagnosis. We assessed the discrimination (c-index) and calibration of the MCI for 1-year mortality and compared its performance to the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Finally, we evaluated the MCI's ability to reduce confounding in a comparative effectiveness study comparing long-term all-cause mortality after NACT compared with PCS, accepting as the ground truth that NACT results in similar long-term survival as PDS. Results: The study included 4,760 patients in the development cohort and 941 in the validation cohort. The optimal MCI was composed of two latent variables that explained 17.1% of the variation in one-year mortality and 6.2% of the variation in claims history. In the validation cohort, the MCI demonstrated good discrimination for 1-year mortality (c-index: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.67-0.76), while the CCI had poor discrimination (c-index: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.58-0.61). Calibration plots showed agreement between predicted and observed 1-year mortality risk for the MCI. When comparing NACT with PCS, controlling for tumor characteristics, demographic factors, and the CCI, NACT was associated with a higher long-term hazard of death (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.05-1.25). However, when using the MCI instead of the CCI, there was no longer evidence of a difference (HR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.95-1.12). Conclusions: The MCI outperformed the conventional CCI in predicting 1-year mortality, and reducing confounding due to differences in baseline health status among patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

Effect of microfibers induced toxicity in marine sedentary polychaete Hydroides elegans: Insight from embryogenesis axis

Presence of surgical face masks in the environment are more than ever before after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it poses a newer threat to aquatic habitats around the world due to microfibers (MFs) and other contaminants that get discharged when these masks deteriorate. The mechanism behind the developmental toxicity of MFs, especially released from surgical masks, on the early life stages of aquatic organisms are not well understood. Toxicity test were developed to examine the effects of MFs released from surgical facemask upon deterioration using the early gametes and early life stages of marine sedentary polychaete Hydroides elegans. For MFs release, cut pieces of face masks were allowed to degrade in seawater for different time points (1 day, 30 days and 120 days) after which the fibers were obtained for further toxicity studies. The gametes of H. elegans were exposed to the MFs (length < 20 μm) separately for 20 min at a concentration of 50 MFs/ml before fertilization. In addition, we also analyzed the experimental samples for heavy metals and organic substances released from face masks. Our findings demonstrated that gametes exposed to MFs affected the percentage of successful development, considerably slowed down the mitotic cell division and significantly postponed the time of larval hatching and also produced an adverse effect during embryogenesis. When the sperm were exposed fertilization rate was decreased drastically, whereas when the eggs were exposed to MFs fertilization was not inhibited but a delay in early embryonic development observed. In addition the release of heavy metals and other volatile organics from the degrading face masks could also contribute to overall toxicity of these materials in environment. Our study thus shows that inappropriately discarded face masks and MFs and other pollutants released from such face masks could pose long-term hazard to coastal ecosystems.

Lava flow hazard modeling during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption, Iceland: applications of MrLavaLoba

Abstract. The 6-month-long effusive eruption at the Fagradalsfjall volcano in 2021 is the most visited eruption site in Iceland to date (June 2023), and it needed intense lava flow hazard assessment. In this study we document how strategies for lava flow modeling were implemented using the stochastic model MrLavaLoba to evaluate hazards during this effusive event. Overall, the purposes were threefold: (a) pre-eruption simulations to investigate potential lava inundation of critical infrastructure, (b) syn-eruption simulations for short-term (2-week time frame) lava flow hazard assessment and (c) syn-eruption simulations for long-term (months to years) hazard assessments. Additionally, strategies for lava barrier testing were developed, and syn-eruption topographic models were incorporated into simulations in near real time. The model provided promising results that were shared regularly at stakeholder meetings with the monitoring personnel, scientists and civil-protection representatives helping to identify potential short-term and long-term lava hazards. This included evaluation of the timing of barrier overflow and the filling and spilling of lava from one valley to another. During the crisis the MrLavaLoba model was updated to increase functionality such as by considering multiple active vents. Following the eruption, the model was optimized substantially, decreasing the computational time required for the simulations and speeding up the delivery of final products.

An Investigation of Iodovanadinite Wasteforms for the Immobilisation of Radio-Iodine and Technetium

99Tc and 129I are two long-lived, highly soluble and mobile fission products that pose a long-term hazard. A proposed wasteform for the disposal of radio-iodine is iodovanadinite (Pb5(VO4)3I), an apatite-structured vanadate. In this investigation, a suite of potential iodovanadinite wasteforms designed for the co-disposal of Tc and I or the sole disposal of I were synthesised via hot isostatic pressing (with Mo as a surrogate for Tc). It was found that direct synthesis from oxide and iodide precursors was possible using hot isostatic pressing (HIPing). Increasing overpressure during HIPing was found to improve the density of the final product. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses indicated that the use of AgI as the source of iodine affected the formation of the target iodovanadinite phase and produced unfavourable phase assemblages. Here, we report the direct synthesis of Pb5(VO4)3I in a single step by hot isostatic pressing.

Prevalent diabetes and long-term cardiovascular outcomes in adult sepsis survivors: a population-based cohort study

BackgroundSepsis survivors are at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease during long-term follow-up. Whether diabetes influences cardiovascular risk after sepsis survival remains unknown. We sought to describe the association of diabetes with long-term cardiovascular outcomes in adult sepsis survivors.MethodsPopulation-based cohort study in the province of Ontario, Canada (2008–2017). Adult survivors of a first sepsis-associated hospitalization, without pre-existing cardiovascular disease, were included. Main exposure was pre-existing diabetes (any type). The primary outcome was the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death. Patients were followed up to 5 years from discharge date until outcome occurrence or end of study period (March 2018). We used propensity score matching (i.e., 1:1 to patients with sepsis but no pre-existing diabetes) to adjust for measured confounding at baseline. Cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models with robust standard errors were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) alongside 95% confidence intervals (CI). A main secondary analysis evaluated the modification of the association between sepsis and cardiovascular disease by pre-existing diabetes.Results78,638 patients with pre-existing diabetes who had a sepsis-associated hospitalization were matched to patients hospitalized for sepsis but without diabetes. Mean age of patients was 71 years, and 55% were female. Median duration from diabetes diagnosis was 9.8 years; mean HbA1c was 7.1%. Adult sepsis survivors with pre-existing diabetes experienced a higher hazard of major cardiovascular disease (HR 1.25; 95% CI 1.22–1.29)—including myocardial infarction (HR 1.40; 95% CI 1.34–1.47) and stroke (HR 1.24; 95% CI 1.18–1.29)—during long-term follow-up compared to sepsis survivors without diabetes. Pre-existing diabetes modified the association between sepsis and cardiovascular disease (risk difference: 2.3%; 95% CI 2.0–2.6 and risk difference: 1.8%; 95% CI 1.6–2.0 for the effect of sepsis—compared to no sepsis—among patients with and without diabetes, respectively).ConclusionsSepsis survivors with pre-existing diabetes experience a higher long-term hazard of major cardiovascular events when compared to sepsis survivors without diabetes. Compared to patients without sepsis, the absolute risk increase of cardiovascular events after sepsis is higher in patients with diabetes (i.e., diabetes intensified the higher cardiovascular risk induced by sepsis).

The Effect of Hydro-Priming and Proline Priming of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Seeds on Germination, Photosynthetic Pigments and Metal Metabolism under Cadmium Stress

Cadmium (Cd) is considered one of the most toxic heavy metals to living organisms, being very persistent in soil and non-biodegradable, thus posing a long-term hazard to plants and humans. In recent years, the application of different molecules at the seed level, known as chemical seed priming, has been studied as a method to improve stress tolerance in plants. In the present study, we tested the effect of hydro-priming and proline priming of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds on germination, photosynthetic pigments, and metal metabolism under cadmium stress. Plants primed with proline showed better germination under cadmium stress (100% versus 84% for non-primed and hydro-primed seeds). Priming with 20 mM of proline increased the chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll contents by 40.8% and 18.6%, respectively, while these parameters decreased in other seedlings under Cd stress. Similarly, 20 mM of proline improved the uptake of Zn and Fe in roots under Cd stress. This indicates that 20 mM of proline treatments may be beneficial for maintaining a normal photosynthetic capacity and mineral uptake under Cd stress, but further metabolomics and transcriptomic data should reveal the exact mechanisms of action.

The short-term effectiveness of online group hazard perception training in experienced drivers

This study aimed to test short-term effectiveness of hazard perception training in a group of experienced drivers and to evaluate the role of traffic safety attitudes, risky driving intentions, and driving self-efficacy on training effectiveness. Seventy experienced drivers volunteered to participate in the study: 38 attended online hazard perception testing and training sessions and 32 participated only in hazard perception testing sessions. A newly developed online group intervention of two sessions (based on the framework of hazard avoidance and delivered by a driving instructor) for hazard perception training was delivered to the experimental group. The control group received no training. Lithuanian hazard prediction test (LHP12) was used to measure the level of hazard perception at pre-test and post-test assessments. Additionally, self-reported questionnaires on traffic safety attitudes, risky driving intentions, driving self-efficacy, and socio-demographics were used in pre-test assessment. Training helped to increase hazard perception skills of experienced drivers. Experienced drivers who participated in training scored higher in post-testing compared to those who received no training. Higher driving self-efficacy was related to greater improvement of hazard perception skills after training. Traffic safety attitudes and risky driving intentions were not related to the outcomes of hazard perception training. The newly developed online program for hazard perception skills training was found to be effective in experienced drivers. Future studies should be based on the analysis of hazard perception training effectiveness in a larger sample of experienced drivers, as well as on the investigation of long-term hazard perception training effects.

Protein S100B and Amplitude-Integrated EEG as Early Predictive Methods for Brain Injury and Seizures in Preterm Neonates

Background: Neonatal brain injury (NBI) is a serious adverse outcome in premature neonates. The most common form of neonatal brain injury (NBI) are intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). Improved survival of preterm infants leads to short- and long-term hazards of neurological, cognitive, respiratory, digestive, renal, cardiovascular, metabolic, immune, and psychosocial disturbances. We sought to determine the levels and prognostic value of serum S100B and the role of aEEG during the first three days of life in premature neonates (&lt; 37 weeks) that later developed NBI in the form of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or neonatal seizures to rule out the sensitivity and specificity of them in early detection of brain lesions in preterm neonates.&#x0D; Aim of the Study: To evaluate the role of Protein S100B as an early predictor for neonatal brain injury in preterm neonates and the predictive and prognostic value of amplitude-integrated electroencephalography for neonatal brain injury susceptibility and severity.&#x0D; Subject and Methods: This study was carried out on 50 preterm neonate (less than 37 weeks GA) who were divided according to presence or absence of brain injury into case and control groups. They were admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Tanta University Hospital during the period from March 2021 to March 2022.serum S100B at (Day 1 and Day 3), serial trans-cranial sonar and aEEG were done for all patients.&#x0D; Results: Neonates with NBI, had significantly higher S100B concentration during the first three days of life, its level was higher in the third day than the first day, the cut-off value &gt;810.4 ng/ml serum S100B performed a sensitivity of 72.7%and a specificity of 71.4% to predict adverse neonatal outcome. 60% neonates had normal aEEG and 40% had abnormal aEEG.72.7% of neonates with NBI had abnormal aEEG interpretation. There was a significant relationship between the electrografic seizures on aEEG and occurrence of clinical seizures as 96.7% of neonates who had abnormal aEEG suffered of clinical convulsion.&#x0D; Conclusion: Protein S100B has a good predictive value regarding NBI in premature neonates and aEEG has a great role in monitoring neonatal brain function and early detection of neonatal seizures.

Removal of Textile Wastewater Pollutants Using Zeolite Mineral as Adsorbent: Isotherm Studies

Heavy metals and organic pollutants may represent long-term hazards to the ecosystem and human health, thus it is important to discover a safe and efficient way to remove pollutants from the environment. Widely varied techniques, such as adsorption for color removal from industrial wastewater, have therefore been developed. Due to its ease of use, its simplicity, ecofriendly and reduced cost as compared to other conventional methods, the adsorption process has been widely used for wastewater treatment. In this study, natural Clinoptilolite zeolite (NCZ) was employed as a high-capacity and low cost adsorbent. Using natural Clinoptilolite zeolite to adsorb dyes is essential for determining how wastewater treatment facilities remove the dye. A series of laboratory adsorption experiments were conducted for equilibrium reactions to study the effect of essential parameters for dye removal, including the amount of zeolite adsorbent 0.03 to 1 g, the methylene blue (MB) and eosin yellow (EY) dye concentration (50 to 200 ppm), the pH value 3 to 11, and the contact time 30 to 120 minutes. The selected range of operating factors was designed using the response surface method to establish a mathematical model that describes the adsorption process .Results showed that the optimum values of these factors to remove methylene blue dye were: 1 g of adsorbent dose, 50 mg/l of MB dye during 80 min at pH of 11 with removal efficiency reached to 99.9 %. ,and the optimum values of these factors to remove eosin yellow dye were: 0.03 g of adsorbent dose, 200mg/l of EY dye during 120 min at pH of 3 with removal efficiency reached to 98 %,also two models (Langmuir and Freundlich) isotherms were studied, Freundlich was best fitted model with a correlation of 0.9737, which suggesting a multilayer adsorption.

Integrating global geochemical volcano rock composition with eruption history datasets

The major element composition of volcanic rocks carries important information about the source and differentiation processes affecting the magma, the physical properties that allow it to erupt, and its eruptive style. Although global rock geochemical databases exist, these are not linked to volcanic eruption history which hampers our global understanding of the relationship between magma composition and eruption dynamics. Here, we integrate two global databases, the Geochemistry of Rocks of the Oceans and Continents (GEOROC) and the Holocene volcanoes of the world of the Global Volcanism Program (VOTW-GVP). The integration is based on matching the location name, geographic position and eruption time, which is automated by a tool called DashVolcano. The tool is open-source, accessible at https://github.com/feog/DashVolcano, and gives access to the integrated datasets via an interactive dashboard. DashVolcano is based on more than 138,000 volcanic rock samples and provides the basis for the identification of global relationships between eruption styles, volcano types, and rock composition for more than 700 volcanoes and their eruptions for the last 10,000 years. The combined record of the eruptive history and its corresponding geochemical rock composition that DashVolcano provides can be used for characterizing global geochemical differences between volcanoes, and should also prove useful for improved long-term hazard and risk evaluations.