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Tire wear microrubber particles (TWMP) are a major source of environmental contamination. Degradation of TWMP is slow and leachates contain toxic constituents including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organic additives. Few studies have addressed methods to mitigate the potential ecotoxicity of TWMP leachates. This study investigated the effects of UV-C (254 nm) and combined UV-C and vacuum UV (185 nm) treatment (VUV-UV-C) of TWMP leachates on degradation and ecotoxicity. VUV-UV-C treatment mitigated dissolved zinc and degraded the TWMP constituents fluoranthene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene by up to 90%, and the additives benzothiazole and phthalates by up to 70%. The potential ecotoxicity and genotoxicity of TWMP constituents were examined before and after UV treatment in bioassays with Escherichia coli, the luminescent bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri, the microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata and the crustacean Daphia magna. VUV-UV-C treatment decreased the potential ecotoxicity up to five-fold as indicated by changes in median effective concentrations (EC50). This was likely due to the formation of less toxic and less bioavailable transformation products. The VUV-UV-C treatment did not require the addition of oxidants or catalysts, and the study indicated a potential of VUV-UV-C as an advanced oxidation process to mitigate toxic compounds in TWMP leachates from urban or industrial sources.

Knowledge about local air temperature variations and extremes in Antarctica is of large interest to many polar disciplines such as climatology, glaciology, hydrology, and ecology and it is a key variable to understand climate change. Due to the remote and harsh conditions of Antarctica's environment, the distribution of air temperature observations from Automatic Weather Stations is notably sparse across the region. Previous studies have shown that satellite-derived land and ice surface temperatures can be used as a suitable proxy for air temperature. Here, we developed a daily near-surface air temperature dataset, AntAir ICE for terrestrial Antarctica and the surrounding ice shelves by modelling air temperature from MODIS skin temperature for the period 2003 to 2021 using a linear model. AntAir ICE has a daily temporal resolution and a gridded spatial resolution of 1 km 2 . AntAir ICE has a higher accuracy in reproducing in-situ measured air temperature when compared with the well-established climate re-analysis model ERA5 and a higher spatial resolution which highlights its potential for monitoring temperature patterns in Antarctica., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

A previously unknown hemoglobin (Hb) variant was detected during measurement of glycosylated Hb (Hb A 1c ) after the introduction of a new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) apparatus. Subsequent DNA sequencing revealed a heterozygous single nucleotide substitution at codon 79 (C>A) on the β-globin gene changing an amino acid [β79(EF3)Asp→Glu; HBB : c.240C>A]. The new Hb variant was named Hb Kalundborg after the place of origin of the proband. Heterozygosity for this mutation appears to have no clinical significance in itself except for a possibly slightly lower oxygen affinity. However, it interferes with Hb A 1c measurement by HPLC, causing a falsely high Hb A 1c concentration when using the G11 apparatus with clinical implications possibly to follow.

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate whether an intravenous (IV) strategy based on new-generation midline catheters is an efficacious alternative to a conventional IV strategy consisting of peripheral venous catheters and central venous catheters, for patients needing IV therapy exceeding 5 days., Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, controlled study. Patients requiring more than 5 days of IV treatment were randomized to either a midline catheter-based IV strategy or a conventional strategy. The primary endpoint was the composite of the insertion of a central venous catheter (CVC) or the need for four or more peripheral venous catheter (PVC) insertions. The secondary outcomes included catheter dwell times and reasons for premature removal., Results: One hundred and twenty patients were included. The fraction of patients receiving four or more PVCs or having a CVC inserted was 12/58 (21%) in the midline group versus 38/58 (66%) in the conventional group (p <  0.001); the number needed to treat was 2.2. The median overall catheter dwell time was 7 days (range 0-60 days) in the midline group and 4 days (range 0-84 days) in the conventional group (p =  0.002)., Conclusion: In patients requiring more than 5 days of IV therapy, a midline catheter strategy reduced the need for insertion of a CVC or four or more PVCs., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: The additive effect of parental alcohol use disorders (AUD) is conventionally defined as an increasing risk of the offspring developing AUD relative to family history negative, < family history positive with 1 parent (FHP1), < FHP2. The few studies on the additive effect of parental AUD have focused on the risk of development of offspring AUD and not on the degree of multidimensional AUD addiction severity., Aims: The aims of the present study were to examine the frequency of treatment-seeking outpatients exposed to FHP1 and FHP2 and whether addiction severity was impacted by the additive effect of parental AUD among AUD female and male offspring., Methods: This cross-sectional  study was based on 3,361 consecutive treatment-seeking outpatients from 2006 to 2016, assessed by means of the -European Addiction Severity Index (EUROP-ASI). The -EUROP-ASI assessed multidimensional addiction severity, comprising alcohol and other drug use, somatic and psychiatric health status, family and other social status, economy and employment-related problems and criminal status composite scores at treatment entry., Results: Among females, 40.38% had FHP1 and 15.68% FHP2, whereas males had 40.90% FHP1 and 13.24% FHP2. No conventional additive effect was found on the composite scores among both genders. However, another type of synergistic additive effect, only manifesting with exposure to FHP2, was found for employment-related problems and psychiatric status composite scores among male offspring., Conclusions: Exposure to parental AUD is strikingly high among treatment-seeking outpatients. Nonetheless, the additive effect has a modest impact on multidimensional addiction severity and is mostly related to psycho-social impairment among treatment-seeking male offspring., (© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.)