Nevin Manimala

Chemosphere. 2021 Aug 13;286(Pt 3):131885. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131885. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In Istanbul, which is surrounded by the sea on 3 sides, thousands of tons of seaweed that have formed naturally every year are washed ashore. In this study, the usability of these seaweeds which are landfilling already in fertilizer production was discussed. Liquid fertilizer production was carried out using 3 different physical and 4 different biological methods, and the produced fertilizers were diluted in 5 different ratios (1%, 10%, 25%, 50%, and 100%) and applied to cress seed. The effect of each fertilizer and its concentration on seed germination, plant length, number of leaves, and soil moisture-holding capacity was studied. The data obtained were analyzed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The results showed that if seaweed was fermented with anaerobic seed sludge for 15 days and applied to the plant by diluting it to 15-25%, plant growth will be supported at an optimum level. It has also been shown that if the seaweed was fermented with yeast culture for 18 days and fed with a concentration of >90%, the moisture-holding capacity of the soil could be increased by up to 27%.

PMID:34411930 | DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131885

Chemosphere. 2021 Aug 5;286(Pt 3):131786. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131786. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Phosphate rock (PR) is the main source of phosphorous used in fertilizers for Colombian soils. In many regions of Colombia, PR is applied directly to the soil, which affects eutrophication problems and phosphorus losses due to runoff, because to the low solubility of phosphorus in this georesource. In this article, phosphate rock samples from Colombia were treated with ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid disodium salt dihydrate (2Na-EDTA) at different concentrations. PR obtained from the Media Luna Mine, located in Aipe, Huila (Colombia), was characterized using Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Carbonate fluorapatite Ca_9.74(PO₄)_5.45F_2.05(CO₃)_0.53 (0.5%-61.5 %), hydroxyapatite – Ca₅(PO₄)₃OH (26.6 %-84.0 %) and quartz- SiO₂ (13.2 %) were the minerals found in the largest composition in the two samples of PR. The PR was crushed to powder (~125 μm) and it was treated with disodium EDTA dihydrate solutions at different concentrations [0.0025-0.1000 M]. Water-soluble phosphate was determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry based on the ASTM -4500P method. The modified absolute solubility index (ASI*) was calculated for each EDTA treatment used in the phosphate rock, considering the total phosphorus solubilized in H₂SO₄ (40 % v/v) at 30 °C. The statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences between the treatments used, where (16.87 %) was presented highest ASI* for the treatment with 2Na-EDTA (0.353 M).

PMID:34411927 | DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131786

Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2021 Aug 16;70:64-73. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.07.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Modern recording technologies now enable simultaneous recording from large numbers of neurons. This has driven the development of new statistical models for analyzing and interpreting neural population activity. Here, we provide a broad overview of recent developments in this area. We compare and contrast different approaches, highlight strengths and limitations, and discuss biological and mechanistic insights that these methods provide.

PMID:34411907 | DOI:10.1016/j.conb.2021.07.003

J Perinat Med. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1515/jpm-2021-0132. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the cardiotocograph (CTG) traces of 224 women infected with novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and analyze whether changes in the CTG traces are related to the severity of COVID-19.

METHODS: We designed a prospective cohort study. Two-hundred and twenty-four women who had a single pregnancy of 32 weeks or more, and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were included. Clinical diagnosis and classifications were made according to the Chinese management guideline for COVID-19 (version 6.0). Patients were classified into categories as mild, moderate, severe and the CTG traces were observed comparing the hospital admission with the third day of positivity.

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and CTG category, variability, tachycardia, bradycardia, acceleration, deceleration, and uterine contractility, Apgar 1st and 5th min.

CONCLUSIONS: Maternal COVID-19 infection can cause changes that can be observed in CTG. Regardless of the severity of the disease, COVID-19 infection is associated with changes in CTG. The increase in the baseline is the most obvious change.

PMID:34411469 | DOI:10.1515/jpm-2021-0132

J Osteopath Med. 2021 Aug 17. doi: 10.1515/jom-2021-0124. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT: Healthcare delivery was dramatically affected during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many outpatient visits were cancelled or forgone for fear of exposure to the virus, allowing telemedicine to take on a much larger role in healthcare. The delivery of manual therapies, such as osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), via telehealth posed a unique challenge as these are typically provided in-person by a trained osteopathic physician. This study provides a description of one osteopathic pediatrician’s experience in delivering osteopathic interventions to pediatric patients via telehealth. To our knowledge, these techniques have not previously been described in the literature.

OBJECTIVES: To detail the experience of one osteopathic pediatrician’s experience in delivering osteopathic interventions via telehealth.

METHODS: Patients were offered the option of converting their existing OMT appointment to a telehealth visit. Prior to the appointment, instructions were emailed to the patient’s parent or guardian along with a voluntary survey to provide feedback. Thirty-minute telehealth visits were conducted during which the provider gave verbal and visual instructions to a parent or guardian over a video platform to guide them in providing treatment to the patient based on osteopathic principles. Patients aged 3 and older rated their pain before and after the appointment using the Wong-Baker FACES scale. Deidentified patient demographics, chief complaints, treatments, anatomic locations, and pain scores were recorded in a REDcap database. Descriptive statistics were analyzed and paired samples t-tests were used with a p-value of <0.05 used to determine significance.

RESULTS: Eighteen patients ranging from 6 months to 19 years of age were treated utilizing osteopathic interventions via telehealth during 54 distinct visits. The most common chief complaints treated were back (n=31; 26.3%) and neck (n=28; 23.7%) pain. The most common osteopathic techniques upon which instruction was based were inhibition (n=131; 29.7%) soft tissue (n=127; 28.8%) and counterstrain (n=78; 17.7%). The average post-treatment pain score (2.57) was significantly lower than the average pre-treatment pain score (6.77) p<0.01. No serious complications were observed.

CONCLUSIONS: In our small retrospective case series, osteopathic interventions via telehealth resulted in decreased average pain scores following treatment while minimizing risk of viral exposure and transmission. Further study is needed to determine if such treatment methods could be effective on a larger scale when distance or illness preclude an in-person OMT visit.

PMID:34411468 | DOI:10.1515/jom-2021-0124

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1002/anie.202109201. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Co 3 O 4 nanocubes are evaluated concerning their intrinsic electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by means of single-entity electrochemistry. Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) provides data on the electrocatalytic OER activity from several individual measurement areas covering one Co 3 O 4 nanocube. We were able to evaluate a comparatively high number of individual particles with sufficient statistical reproducibility. Single-particle-on-nanoelectrode measurements performed with the same Co 3 O 4 nanocubes provide, on the one hand, an accelerated stress test at highly alkaline conditions with current densities of up to 5.5 A∙cm -2 , and on the other hand, allows to derive TOF values of up to 2.8 x 10 4 s -1 at 1.92 V vs. RHE for surface Co atoms of a single cubic nanoparticle. Obtaining such current densities combined with identical-location transmission electron microscopy allows monitoring structural changes during electrocatalysis, specifically the formation of an oxy(hydroxide) surface layer. Combining the information from two independent single-entity electrochemistry measurements provides the basis for elucidating structure-activity relations of single electrocatalyst nanoparticles with well-define surface structure.

PMID:34411401 | DOI:10.1002/anie.202109201

Eur J Neurol. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1111/ene.15074. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To validate a clinical score of vascular origin in patients with acute transient visual disturbances (TVD) without diplopia.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective study in an ophthalmology emergency department and a TIA clinic. Patients underwent clinical evaluation including a tailored questionnaire, brain, vascular, and ophthalmic investigations, and 3-month follow-up. TVD were classified according to vascular or nonvascular origin by three independent experts based on all clinical, cerebrovascular, and ophthalmologic investigations, but blind to the questionnaire results. A clinical score was derived based on clinical variables independently associated with a vascular origin, and was externally validated in an independent cohort.

RESULTS: An ischemic origin of TVD was found in 45% (67/149) of patients in the derivation cohort. Age and six questions were independently associated with an ischemic origin. A nine-point score (≥70 years=2; monocular visual loss=2; black or white vision=1; single episode=1; lack of headache=2; diffuse, constricted, altitudinal or lateralized visual loss pattern on drawings=1) showed good discriminative power in identifying ischemic origin (c-statistic 0.82) and was replicated in the validation cohort (n=130; 25% of ischemic origin; c-statistic 0.75). With a score ≥4, sensitivity was 85% (95% confidence interval 68-95) and specificity was 52% (95% confidence interval 41-62). In both cohorts, ophthalmic evaluation found a vascular cause in 4% and was noncontributive in 85%. After 3 months, no patients had a stroke, TIA, or retinal infarct.

CONCLUSION: Our score may assist in predicting a nonvascular origin of TVD. Ophthalmic evaluation, when not readily available, should not delay the neurovascular evaluation.

PMID:34411384 | DOI:10.1111/ene.15074

Aust N Z J Public Health. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.13143. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: In June 2020, the Australian Government announced that personal importation of nicotine vaping products (NVP) would be prohibited, pending a 12-month classification and regulation review by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. This brief report examines the themes of responses on Twitter to this announcement.

METHODS: Simple random sampling was used to retrieve tweets containing keywords from 19 to 26 June 2020. Tweets were manually coded and descriptive statistics calculated for themes and policy position.

RESULTS: The vast majority of the 1,168 tweets were anti-policy. Themes included: criticism towards government (59.8%), activism against NVP restriction (38%), potential adverse consequences (30.8%) and support for NVP restriction (1.4%). Tweets that identified potential adverse consequences of NVP restriction cited: smoking relapse for individuals currently using NVPs (75.6%); the impact of policy enforcement (8.6%); illicit market (8.3%); panic buying (3.6%); difficulty obtaining prescriptions (2.8%); and impacts on NVP businesses (2.8%).

CONCLUSION: Tweets predominately objected to the policy announcement. Approximately three-quarters of tweets that cited potential adverse consequences of the policy mentioned smoking relapse as their primary concern. Implications for public health: User-generated content on Twitter was primarily used to lobby against the proposed policy, which was subsequently amended.

PMID:34411375 | DOI:10.1111/1753-6405.13143

Skin Res Technol. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1111/srt.13082. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Skin pores are structural features of the skin, which tend to change as the skin ages. Since previous studies measured pores two-dimensionally, precise measurements using three-dimensional imaging were needed to comprehensively understand skin pores. This study aimed to determine the patterns behind the changes in skin pores during one’s lifetime and to identify new characteristics of the pores in aged.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skin surface profiles were measured three-dimensionally from the cheeks of 101 Korean women from February to March 2020 to analyze the exact state of their pores. The researchers performed K-means clustering to classify the skin pores, and topographical features of pores were analyzed as well. Statistical analyses were performed to verify the differences in the skin pore characteristics among clusters and the correlation between clusters and ages.

RESULTS: Skin pores were classified into five groups based on size, density, and elongation. The skin conditions of the cluster groups were well correlated with aging, despite excluding age as a factor in pore classification. Adjacent skin pores tend to connect in the elderly.

CONCLUSION: Skin pores become larger and longer over time. Skin pores connect together in the elderly, which might be related to wrinkle formation. This phenomenon strongly suggests skin pores as a characteristic of aging skin and as a potential target for anti-aging treatment.

PMID:34411370 | DOI:10.1111/srt.13082

Am J Addict. 2021 Aug 19. doi: 10.1111/ajad.13209. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The adverse impact of chronic methamphetamine (MA) use on cognitive function has been described in previous studies, but limited evidence is available for abstinent users from prospective longitudinal studies. The aim of the present study was to assess cognitive function of varying abstinent duration.

METHODS: This prospective longitudinal study was conducted with baseline and four follow-up interviews every 6 months over 2 years in 358 MA users in Guangdong province, China. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used to measure cognitive function. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis was used to examine within-subjects relationships between abstinence and cognitive consequences over time.

RESULTS: The repeated measure analysis of variance showed significant differences in the total MoCA score and all subscale scores (except Orientation) in the 24 months follow-up. The GEE model showed that abstinence from MA in the past 6 months predicted an increase of 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.29 to 1.05, p = .002) in MoCA score changes compared with the nonabstinence MA users. Abstinence in the past 12, 18, and 24 months predicted an increase in MoCA total score changes of 1.25 (95% CI = -0.23 to 2.74), 2.15 (95% CI = -0.79 to 5.09), and 5.28 (95% CI = -2.01 to 12.58), respectively, but none of these was statistically significant.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive function was potentially improved following 6 months of MA abstinence.

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This study extends prior research by long-term follow-up in big sample MA abstinence users. Findings from study support the need for a comprehensive measure to decrease MA use and promote the recovery of cognitive impairment.

PMID:34411367 | DOI:10.1111/ajad.13209