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Environmental DNA (eDNA) is widely used in biodiversity, conservation, and ecological studies but despite its successes, similar approaches have not yet been regularly applied to assist in wildlife crime investigations. The purpose of this paper is to review current eDNA methods and assess their potential forensic application in freshwater environments considering collection, transport and persistence, analysis, and interpretation, while identifying additional research required to present eDNA evidence in court. An extensive review of the literature suggests that commonly used collection methods can be easily adapted for forensic frameworks providing they address the appropriate investigative questions and take into consideration the uniqueness of the target species, its habitat, and the requirements of the end user. The use of eDNA methods to inform conservationists, monitor biodiversity and impacts of climate change, and detect invasive species and pathogens shows confidence within the scientific community, making the acceptance of these methods by the criminal justice system highly possible. To contextualise the potential application of eDNA on forensic investigations, two test cases are explored involving i) species detection and ii) species localisation. Recommendations for future work within the forensic eDNA discipline include development of suitable standardised collection methods, considered collection strategies, forensically validated assays and publication of procedures and empirical research studies to support implementation within the legal system., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 40% of the excess mortality identified in people with severe mental illness (SMI). Modifiable CVD risk factors are higher and can be exacerbated by the cardiometabolic impact of psychotropic medications. People with SMI frequently attend primary care presenting a valuable opportunity for early identification, prevention and management of cardiovascular health. The ACCT Healthy Hearts Study will test a coproduced, nurse-led intervention delivered with general practitioners to reduce absolute CVD risk (ACVDR) at 12 months compared with an active control group., Methods/design: ACCT is a two group (intervention/active control) individually randomised (1:1) controlled trial (RCT). Assessments will be completed baseline (pre-randomisation), 6 months, and 12 months. The primary outcome is 5-year ACVDR measured at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include 6-month ACVDR; and blood pressure, lipids, HbA1c, BMI, quality of life, physical activity, motivation to change health behaviour, medication adherence, alcohol use and hospitalisation at 6 and 12 months. Linear mixed-effects regression will estimate mean difference between groups for primary and secondary continuous outcomes. Economic cost-consequences analysis will be conducted using quality of life and health resource use information and routinely collected government health service use and medication data. A parallel process evaluation will investigate implementation of the intervention, uptake and outcomes., Discussion: ACCT will deliver a coproduced and person-centred, guideline level cardiovascular primary care intervention to a high need population with SMI. If successful, the intervention could lead to the reduction of the mortality gap and increase opportunities for meaningful social and economic participation. Trial registration ANZCTR Trial number: ACTRN12619001112156., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

There is a growing concern that air pollution, especially those particles <2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), could increase the risk of cognitive impairment and mental disorders. However, the relationship between ambient PM 2.5 and neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with cognitive impairment is still undetermined. This longitudinal study included 645 pairs of cognitively impaired subjects, who had not changed residence within Seoul, and their caregivers from the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea study cohort between September 2005 and June 2010 (1763 days). Neuropsychiatric symptoms were measured by the Korean version of the Neuropsychiatry Inventory, and caregiver burden was examined by the Neuropsychiatry Inventory Caregiver Distress Scale at the first and second visits at the outpatient clinic. District-specific PM 2.5 concentrations were constructed over 1 month to 1 year prior to each visit. A log-linear regression using generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures was used to assess the relationship between PM 2.5 exposure and neuropsychiatric symptoms or caregiver burden. Aggravated neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with exposure to high PM 2.5 levels (adjusted percent change: 16.7% [95% confidence interval (CI), 5.0-29.7] per 8.3 μg/m 3 increase in 1-month moving averages). Increased caregiver burden was associated with high PM 2.5 exposures only in caregivers for patients with Alzheimer's disease (adjusted percent change: 29.0% [95% CI, 8.1-53.9] per 8.3 μg/m 3 increase in 1-month moving averages). The present results indicate that PM 2.5 exposure is associated with aggravated neuropsychiatric symptoms and increased caregiver burden in subjects with cognitive impairment. The findings in this study suggest that the role of air pollution deserves great consideration in the aging population with cognitive impairment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (PAPs), a group of fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH)-based surfactants commonly used in water- and grease-proof food contact paper, have been suggested as a direct source of human exposure to health-concerned perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs). This study investigated factors affecting biotranformation of 6:2 polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (6:2 PAPs) by three known FTOH-degrading Pseudomonas strains (Pseudomonas butanovora, P. oleovorans, and P. fluorescens DSM 8341) under different co-substrate conditions and compared to that by activated sludge samples. The three pure strains transformed 6:2 PAPs into eight different per- and poly-fluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and/or PFCA precursors. P. fluorescens DSM 8341 produced 5:2 sFTOH [CF 3 (CF 2 ) 4 CH(OH)CH 3 ] and P. oleovorans produced 5:2 ketone [CF 3 (CF 2 ) 4 C(O)CH 3 ] as the primary transformation product, respectively, with citrate having a minimal impact on the transformation. P. butanovora with lactate produced more diverse transformation products than those by any two strains. Activated sludge was more efficient at transforming 6:2 PAPs and produced more transformation products including PFHpA [CF 3 (CF 2 ) 5 COOH] and PFPeA [CF 3 (CF 2 ) 3 COOH], with 5:2 sFTOH as the most abundant product on day 30. The abundance of the alkane hydroxylase (alkB) gene related to alkane oxidation, the changes of total microbial population as well as their community structure in activated sludge during 6:2 PAPs biotransformation were also investigated., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs, [F(CF 2 ) n CH 2 CH 2 OH]) are concerned environmental pollutants with perfluorinated carbon chains. FTOHs can be biotransformed; however, the extent, the pace of the defluorination, and types of metabolites produced vary depending on degradative microorganisms under different environment. In this study, we examined ways to increase the effectiveness of the FTOH defluorination process to less persistent major metabolites. Defined mixed cultures and bioaugmented microbial cultures were engineered to study their ability to biotransform 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol [F(CF 2 ) 6 CH 2 CH 2 OH]. The effects of carbon sources and the concentration of carbon sources were also examined. All experiments resulted in 5:2 sFTOH [F(CF 2 ) 5 CH(OH)CH 3 ] as the primary metabolite at the end point. The carbon sources resulted in different amounts of pathway utilization as well as overall changes in effectiveness. The best overall effectiveness was observed when cosubstrate carbon was kept at low concentrations. Pathway II was best utilized by the P. butanovora+P. fluorescens mixed culture, with lactate having a slight negative impact on pathway II utilization. Additional carbon to augmented activated sludge resulted in decreased 6:2 FTOH biotransformation by 60%. Enrichment cultures showed that shorter chain FTOHs are easier to degrade, with the n-octane enriched culture transforming 20% of 8:2 FTOH, 60% of 6:2 FTOH and 70% of 4:2 FTOH. The microbial communities of the enrichment cultures and the alkane hydroxylase gene were also examined to help understand FTOH biotransformation mechanisms., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Methods: Systemic right ventricular dysfunction and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) are frequently encountered in patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA). Studies using echocardiography have suggested a relationship between the degree of TR and systemic right ventricular dysfunction; however, assessment of systemic right ventricular function by echocardiography is limited. Cardiac MRI (CMR) is the gold standard for volumetric assessment of the systemic right ventricle. We performed a retrospective cohort study at our center evaluating all adult patients with CCTGA who underwent a CMR between 1/1999 and 1/2013 to determine the relationship between the degree of TR and systemic right ventricular function., Results: Of the 33 patients identified, 12 had ≤ mild TR (37%), 13 had moderate TR (40%), and 8 had severe TR (24%). Mean age at CMR was 38 years (23-64). Mean right ventricular ejection fraction (45% vs. 41% vs. 42%, p=0.68) and mean indexed right ventricular end diastolic volume (122 ml/m(2) vs. 136 ml/m(2) vs. 138 ml/m(2)p=0.36) were not significantly different for patients with ≤ mild TR, moderate TR or severe TR. The degree of TR was not associated with additional congenital lesions, prior procedures, presence of an intraventricular conduction delay, or decreased left ventricular function., Conclusion: No association between the degree of TR and right ventricular volume or ejection fraction by CMR was identified. Failure to show worsening function or increased volume with greater degrees of TR suggests that the degree of regurgitation alone may not fully explain the heterogeneity in right ventricular size and function., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Neurosteroids play a significant role in neurodevelopment and are involved in a wide variety of psychopathological processes. There is accumulating evidence on their role in adult psychopathology, including Alzheimer disease, schizophrenia, mood disorder, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Little is known, however, about the possible role of neurosteroids in child and adolescent psychopathology although there is increasing evidence for their critical role from the early stages of brain development until adolescence. In this review we focus on the involvement of neurosteroids in neurodevelopment and mental disorders in children and adolescents. Adequate physiological levels protect the developing neural system from insult and contribute to the regulation of brain organization and function. Neurosteroids may be involved in the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of a variety of disorders in children and adolescents, including schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, aggressive behavior and attention deficit. The complex interaction between neurosteroids, neurodevelopment, life-events, genetics and mental disorders in children and adolescents merits further investigation.