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Abstract: This work constitutes the first study on the photochemical degradation process of CF3(CH2)2CHO. Firstly, the wavelength and temperature dependence of the UV absorption cross sections, σ λ , was determined. The n →π* electronic transition band of Chore was characterized between 230 and 340nm in the 269–323K range. A hyperchromic effect was observed in the structured part of the band when the temperature decreases. Maximum σ λ =283, 291nm at 323K is ca. 22% larger than those at 269K. Secondly, the pulsed laser photolysis of a stationary mixture of CF3(CH2)2CHO/cyclohexane (OH-scavenger)/air or N2 was carried out at 308nm. On-line Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to monitor the decay of CF3(CH2)2CHO and to obtain the photolysis quantum yield, Φ λ =308nm, as a function of total pressure (20.5–760Torr). A slight curvature in the Stern–Volmer plot was observed at pressures lower than 75Torr. At high pressures, the pressure dependence of Φ λ =308nm can be described by a Stern–Volmer relationship. Photodissociation of CF3(CH2)2CHO at 308nm can produce HCO and CF3(CH2)2 radicals , CF3CH2CH3 and CO and CF3(CH2)2CO radicals and H atoms . HCO radicals are rapidly converted into CO in the presence of O2. Formation of CF3CH2CHO and CF3CH2CH2OH evidences the importance of secondary chemistry involving CF3(CH2)2 radicals formed in channel . Further photodegradation of CF3CH2CHO yields mainly CF3CHO. Small quantities of HC(O)OH were also detected. CF3(CH2)2C(O)OH was only observed in the absence of OH-scavenger, implying that formation of CF3(CH2)2CO radicals in channel is not an important photolysis pathway. Consequently, photodissociation of CF3(CH2)2CHO in the actinic region is a source of shorter fluorinated oxygenated compounds, but it is not expected to be a source of fluorinated acids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The relative-rate technique has been used to determine the rate coefficient for the reaction of C x F 2x+1 CH CH 2 (x = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6) with ozone at (298 ± 2) K and (720 ± 5) Torr of air by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and by GC-MS/SPME (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy with Solid Phase Micro Extraction) in two different atmospheric simulation chambers. The following rate coefficients, in units of 10 −19  cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 , were obtained: (3.01 ± 0.10) for CF 3 CH CH 2 , (2.11 ± 0.35) for C 2 F 5 CH CH 2 , (2.34 ± 0.42) for C 3 F 7 CH CH 2 , (2.05 ± 0.31) for C 4 F 9 CH CH 2 and (2.07 ± 0.39) for C 6 F 13 CH CH 2 , where uncertainties represent ±2σ statistical error. The atmospheric lifetime of C x F 2x+1 CH CH 2 due to reaction with ozone was estimated from the reported rate coefficients. Additionally, the gaseous products formed in these reactions were investigated in the presence of synthetic air simulating a clean atmosphere. Perfluoroaldehydes, C x F 2x+1 C(O)H (PFALs), formaldehyde, formic acid and CF 2 O were identified as reaction products in the investigated reactions. The identified products made possible to propose a reaction mechanism that justifies the observed products. The atmospheric implications of these results are discussed in terms of the potential contribution of the atmospheric degradation of these species to PFAL and PFCA burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsaturated ethers are oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) emitted by anthropogenic sources. Potential removal processes in the troposphere are initiated by hydroxyl (OH) radicals and photochemistry. In this work, we report for the first time the rate coefficients of the gas-phase reaction with OH radicals ( k OH ) of 2-chloroethyl vinyl ether (2ClEVE), allyl ether (AE), and allyl ethyl ether (AEE) as a function of temperature in the 263–358 K range, measured by the pulsed laser photolysis–laser induced fluorescence technique. No pressure dependence of k OH was observed in the 50–500 Torr range in He as bath gas, while a slightly negative T -dependence was observed. The temperature dependent expressions for the rate coefficients determined in this work are: k OH , 2 ClEVE ( T ) = ( 9.0 ± 2.0 ) × 10 − 12 exp ( 478 ± 72 T ) c m 3 molecul e − 1 s − 1 , k OH , AE ( T ) = ( 1.3 ± 0.4 ) × 10 − 11 exp ( 442 ± 91 T ) c m 3 molecul e − 1 s − 1 , k OH , AEE ( T ) = ( 5.8 ± 1.3 ) × 10 − 12 exp ( 563 ± 62 T ) cm 3 molecule − 1 s − 1 , The estimated atmospheric lifetimes (τ OH ) assuming k OH at 288 K were 3, 2, and 4 h for 2ClEVE, AE and AEE, respectively. The kinetic results are discussed in terms of the chemical structure of the unsaturated ethers by comparison with similar compounds. We also report ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) absorption cross sections (σ λ and σ ( ν ˜ ) , respectively). We estimate the photolysis rate coefficients in the solar UV actinic region to be less than 10 −7 s −1 , implying that these compounds are not removed from the atmosphere by this process. In addition, from σ ( ν ˜ ) and τ OH , the global warming potential of each unsaturated ether was calculated to be almost zero. A discussion on the atmospheric implications of the titled compounds is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in plant cover after afforestation induce variations in litter inputs and soil microbial community structure and activity, which may promote the accrual and physical-chemical protection of soil organic carbon (SOC) within soil aggregates. In a long-term experiment (20 years) we have studied the effects, on soil aggregation and SOC stabilization, of two afforestation techniques: a) amended terraces with organic refuse (AT), and b) terraces without organic amendment (T). We used the adjacent shrubland (S) as control. Twenty years after stand establishment, aggregate distribution (including microaggregates within larger aggregates), sensitive and slow organic carbon (OC) fractions, basal respiration in macroaggregates, and microbial community structure were measured. The main changes occurred in the top layer (0-5 cm), where: i) both the sensitive and slow OC fractions were increased in AT compared to S and T, ii) the percentage and OC content of microaggregates within macroaggregates (Mm) were higher in AT than in S and T, iii) basal respiration in macroaggregates was also higher in AT, and iv) significant changes in the fungal (rather than bacterial) community structure were observed in the afforested soils (AT and T) - compared to the shrubland soil. These results suggest that the increase in OC pools linked to the changes in microbial activity and fungal community structure, after afforestation, promoted the formation of macroaggregates - which acted as the nucleus for the formation and stabilization of OC-enriched microaggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed description of a new pulsed supersonic uniform gas expansion system is presented together with the experimental validation of the setup by applying the CRESU (French acronym for Cinétique de Réaction en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme or Reaction Kinetics in a Uniform Supersonic Flow) technique to the gas-phase reaction of OH radicals with 1-butene at ca. 23 K and 0.63 millibars of helium (carrier gas). The carrier gas flow, containing negligible mixing ratios of OH-precursor and 1-butene, is expanded from a high pressure reservoir (337 millibars) to a low pressure region (0.63 millibars) through a convergent-divergent nozzle (Laval type). The novelty of this experimental setup is that the uniform supersonic flow is pulsed by means of a Teflon-coated aerodynamic chopper provided with two symmetrical apertures. Under these operational conditions, the designed Laval nozzle achieves a temperature of (22.4 ± 1.4) K in the gas jet. The spatial characterization of the temperature and the total gas density within the pulsed uniform supersonic flow has also been performed by both aerodynamical and spectroscopic methods. The gas consumption with this technique is considerably reduced with respect to a continuous CRESU system. The kinetics of the OH+1-butene reaction was investigated by the pulsed laser photolysis/laser induced fluorescence technique. The rotation speed of the disk is temporally synchronized with the exit of the photolysis and the probe lasers. The rate coefficient (kOH) for the reaction under investigation was then obtained and compared with the only available data at this temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Groundwaters, like other natural waters, are solutions of a variety of substances in the solvent water. Human impact upon groundwater systems has created many environmental problems so that hydrogeochemical studies related to pollution have become very important. In this context high abundance of nitrogen species, particularly nitrates, can cause adverse health effects, their main sources being fertilizer, animal or human waste, natural soil organic matter, nitrogen fixation and rain. Graphical representations of hydrogeochemical data (for example molar ratio diagrams, stochiometric diagrams, triangular diagrams, mixing diagrams) pose considerable problems if statistical evaluations have to be performed. In fact, since hydrochemical data are compositional (proportional data), their sample space is the simplex, a constrained space where the application of the standard geometrical approach may provide misleading information. In this paper classical binary diagrams used to investigate the whole chemistry of water as well as the behaviour of nitrogen species were substituted by new equivalent graphs coherent with the properties of compositional data, thus opening new perspectives in the evaluation of geochemical processes affecting water resources. Moreover, since nitrogen species are often affected by the presence of numerous data below the detection limit, their role was investigated by considering different imputation methods, and evaluating their performance in the sub-composition NH4 +, NO2 −, NO3 −. The first phase of the analysis did not consider the presence of data below the detection limit but subsequently, step by step, the possibility to recuperate this type of information was explored. The opportunity to recover information about data below the detection limit from the variance–covariance structure of the whole composition (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, HCO3 −, Cl−and SO4 2− and available nitrogen data) was also investigated by considering a multivariate framework. The approaches, coherent with compositional data analysis theory, pointed out interesting aspects of 1) the relationships in the sub-composition of NH4 +, NO2 −, and NO3 −, giving us a different perception of the background level of these species as well as of their source; 2) the effects on the variance–covariance structure of the whole composition (main anions and cations and nitrogen species); and 3) the loss of information about the covariance between chemical variables (coherence of geochemical behaviour), which is able to affect the understanding of geochemical systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The results of an experiment to evaluate the effect of rainfall characteristics on organic carbon (OC) losses and on the type of particles mobilised by erosion under natural rainfall and under different land uses (non-disturbed forested area, and a non-irrigated olive cropland) at plot scale are presented. Labile (particulate organic carbon, POC) and stable (mineral associated organic carbon, MOC) carbon pools were measured in soil and sediments. Based on the product of total rainfall and I30 (mmmmh−1), as a measure of rainfall erosivity, events were divided into three classes (from low to high erosivity). A positive correlation between P*I30 and OC concentration (r=0.54, p<0.01) and P*I30 and OC enrichment ratios (r=0.43, p<0.05) was observed for the forest plot, while no correlation and even a negative trend between both variables were observed in the olive plot. These opposite responses are due to the effect that vegetation cover had on aggregate soil stability and on OC mobilisation and transport through the plot. With high intensity storms the high sediment removal in the olive plot led to subsoil and topsoil becoming mixed reducing the overall nutrient and OC concentration of the eroded sediment. Enrichment ratios of OC (EROC) were higher in the olive than in the forest plot in events of low rainfall erosivity (class 1), which represented almost 50% of the total events occurring in this area, while the differences between plots as regards the total mobilised OC were greater after the high rainfall erosivity events, until up to three times more carbon being mobilised in the olive plot compared with the forest one. POC transport in sediments was higher in the olive plots and was more likely to occur in events of low intensity. MOC was transported in high intensity events: in aggregate form with a greater probability of being sequestered in the sediment (aggregates smaller than 20μm) or in particulate form (after the rupture of aggregates) with a greater probability of mineralisation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The daily variations of surface ozone, NO2 and SO2 have been investigated in a heavily industrialised area in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula (Puertollano) using hourly values recorded during two years (2008–2009) with an active LP-DOAS system. The meteorological conditions and air masses have been studied using the HYSPLIT model. The maximum hourly levels of these air pollutants exceeded 100ppb for ozone, 150ppb for SO2 and 210ppb for NO2. However, mean values for ozone, NO2 and SO2 were of 49, 10 and 3ppb respectively. Daily–monthly evolutions (defined as daily evolutions for different months) have been analysed in order to know the general daily behaviour of these species. Air pollution problems have been identified using the thresholds defined in the European Directive 2008. The limits to protect human health (human health protection limitations) have been exceeded during the study period. In order to find a set of representative daily cycles for each pollutant at different air quality regimes, a K-mean cluster technique has been applied. Five and four optimal cluster numbers have been obtained for the daily patterns of ozone and SO2 respectively. In addition, we studied the daily variation of the temperature, relative and specific humidity and wind speed associated with each air pollutant daily pattern. Ozone daily patterns showed typical daily variations with one exception of a cluster which presents a peak in the early morning. For SO2, the first two clusters present a low mixing ratio, however cluster 3 and 4 are less frequent but with higher levels. The more frequent air pollutant daily patterns do not exceed the threshold defined in the Directive. Nevertheless, clusters with lower frequency (representing between 5 and 7% of days) exceed the thresholds and could be considered as air pollution events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Relative rate coefficients for the gas-phase reaction of chlorine atoms (Cl) with tetrahydropyran (THP) have been determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC–MS). The averaged rate coefficient is (2.21±0.32)×10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 (with 2σ uncertainty) and was obtained using different reference compounds, Cl precursors, and bath gases at 740±5Torr and 298±2K. Products of the title reaction were identified and quantified by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to a GC–MS. Additionally, the first step of the reaction was theoretically studied by ab initio calculations. Reaction mechanism seems to proceed mainly by the H-abstraction from α and γ positions. THP tropospheric lifetime is estimated from the rate coefficient reported here. The atmospheric implications of the Cl reactivity are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An experiment to evaluate the impact of water erosion and cultivation on the soil carbon dynamic and carbon stock in a semiarid area of South-East Spain was carried out. The study was performed under three different land use scenarios: (1) forest; (2) abandoned agricultural field; and (3) non-irrigated olive grove. Experimental erosion plots (in olive grove and forest) and sediment traps (in the abandoned area) were used to determine the carbon pools associated with sediments and runoff after each event occurring between September 2005 and November 2006. Change in land use from forest to cultivated enhanced the risk of erosion (total soil loss in olive cropland seven-fold higher than in the forest area) and reduced the soil carbon stock (in the top 5cm) by about 50%. Mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC) represented the main C pool in the three study areas although its contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) was significantly higher in the disturbed areas (78.91±1.81% and 77.29±1.21% for abandoned and olive area, respectively) than in the forest area (66.05±3.11%). In both, the olive and abandoned soils, the reduction in particulate organic carbon (POC) was proportionally greater than the decline in MOC. The higher degree of sediment production in the olive cropland had an important consequence in terms of the carbon losses induced by erosion compared to the abandoned and forest plots. Thus, the total OC lost by erosion in the sediments was around three times higher in the cultivated (5.12gCm−2) than the forest plot (1.77gCm−2). The abandoned area displayed similar OC losses as a result of erosion as the forest plot (in the measurement period: 2.07gCm−2, 0.63gCm−2 and 0.65gCm−2 for olive, forest and abandoned area, respectively). MOC represented the highest percentage of contribution to total sediment OC for all the events analysed and in all uses being, in general these values higher in Olive (74–90%) than in the other two areas (55–80%). The organic carbon lost was basically linked to the solid phase in the three land uses, although the contribution of DOC to total carbon loss by erosion varied widely with each event. Data from this study show that the more labile OC fraction (POC) lost in soil in the cultivated area was mainly due to the effect of cultivation (low overall biomass production and residue return together with high C mineralization) rather than to water erosion, given that the major part of the OC lost in sediments was in the form of MOC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Soil erosion plots of different types and sizes are widely used to investigate the geomorphological processes related to soil erosion. This field method has provided a variety of results, depending on the characteristics of the plots, on their suitability to reflect the ecosystem''s characteristics and on the objectives of each particular research. The coupling of real soil loss at patch and slope scale within a landscape and the values obtained by field plots depend, among other things, on how good the methodology performs over a set of ecosystem properties, such as those related with temporal and spatial scale issues, disturbance and representation of natural conditions, and the ability to account for the complexity of ecosystem interactions. Here, we present a review of (i) the advantages and limitations of the use of field plots to measure soil erosion; and (ii) the potential sources of variation in the results obtained due to a lack of harmony between methodological conditions and the processes operating in the environment at different scales. As regards the spatial and temporal scale of measurements, topics such as the exhaustion of available material within closed plots in long term measurements, the different erosion processes operating (and measured) at different spatial scales and the problems and alternatives of extrapolation of the results from larger to smaller scales, are the main causes of variation between measurements. The disturbance and inadequate representation of natural conditions, such as the heterogeneity, continuity and connectivity of factors and processes, are also sources of variation in the results of specific measurements. In short, the key factor is the difficulty to encapsulate the complexity of system interactions and to represent these interactions by means of field plots. The complexity concept is translated in the connectivity of water and sediment fluxes in the landscape and the interaction between processes and patterns of vegetation and surface components operating across scales. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Evaluates the changes of organic carbon and nitrogen under natural rainfall conditions in a semiarid Mediterranean soil. Effect of vegetation removal on amount of organic carbon stored in the soil; Role of intense oxidation in the reduction of organic carbon amount in soils; Consequences of erosion and mineralization on soil organic content.

Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Parachute Acrobatic Patrol of the Air Force (PAPEA) is an international elite team in this sport. The environmental conditions in which they do his work; 3-4 daily jumps from 2300-11000 feet, the speed of their bodies during the free fall, the abrupt changes of altitude, and also temperature and atmospheric pressure can produce modifications in their bodily composition and level of hydration. Objective: To assess the body fat measurement by anthropometric equations and bioelectrical impedance methods of PAPEA. Method: Cross sectional study where 9 members of the masculine team of the PAPEA have participated: men aged 34.4±4.36 years; experience 3,944.4±2,780.8 jumps and 8.6±5.6 years in the team. Device OMRON BF 306 has been used to quantify fat mass. Body fat percentage have been calculated anthropometrically from the formula of Yuhasz, after the measurement of skinfold of biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac regions. Results: The average values of weight, height and BMI are 77.18±7,45Kg, 173.56±6.73cm and 25.61±1.92Kg/ m² respectively. The percentage of body fat average with bioelectrical impedance is 20.49±3.93%. Anthropometrically, the percentage of fat is 12.49±2.88%. The average of the relation between both percentages is 0.61±0.1. Its coefficient of correlation is r=0.7325. Conclusions: The values of both measurements are different but with a relation among them. The differences could be due to the non-evaluation of the muscular mass or because of t the level of hydration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetic study of the gas-phase reactions of hydroxyl (OH) radicals and chlorine (Cl) atoms with CF 3 CHFCF 2 OCH 3 (HFE-356mec3) and CHF 2 CHFOCF 3 (HFE-236ea1) was performed by the pulsed laser photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence technique and a relative method by using Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as detection technique. The temperature dependences of the OH-rate coefficients (k OH (T) in cm 3 s -1 ) between 263 and 353 K are well described by the following expressions: 9.93 × 10 -13 exp{-(988 ± 35)/T}for HFE-356mec3 and 4.75 × 10 -13 exp{-(1285 ± 22)/T} for HFE-236ea1. Under NO x -free conditions, the rate coefficients k Cl at 298 K and 1013 mbar (760 Torr) of air were determined to be (2.30 ± 1.08) × 10 -13 cm 3 s -1 and (1.19 ± 0.10) × 10 -15 cm 3 s -1 , for HFE-356mec3 and HFE-236ea1, respectively. Additionally, the relative kinetic study of the Cl + CH 2 ClCHCl 2 reaction was investigated at 298 K, as it was used as a reference reaction in the kinetic study of the Cl-reaction with HFE-356mec3 and discrepant rate coefficients were found in the literature. The global atmospheric lifetimes were estimated relative to CH 3 CCl 3 at the tropospheric mean temperature (272 K) as 1.4 and 8.6 years for HFE-356mec3 and HFE-236ea1, respectively. These values combined with the radiative efficiencies for HFE-356mec3 and HFE-236ea1 derived from the measured IR absorption cross sections (0.27 and 0.41 W m -2 ppv -1 ) yield global warming potentials at a 100-yrs time horizon of 143 and 1473, respectively. The contribution of HFE-356mec3 and HFE-236ea1 to global warming of the atmosphere would be large if they become widespread increasing their atmospheric concentration., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In the present work, we study different physicochemical properties related to LADME processes of volasertib, a Polo-like kinase 1 inhibitor in advanced clinical trials. Firstly, the protonation equilibria, the extent of ionization at the physiological pH and pK a values of this drug are studied combining spectroscopic techniques and computational calculations. Secondly, the binding process of volasertib to the human serum albumin (HSA) protein is analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy. We report a high binding constant to HSA (K a  = 4.10 × 10 6 M -1 ) and their pharmacokinetic implications are discussed accordingly. The negative enthalpy and entropy (ΔH 0  = -54.49 kJ/mol; ΔS 0  = -58.90 J K -1 mol -1 ) determined for the binding process suggests the implication of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions in the formation of the HSA-volasertib complex. Additionally, volasertib is encapsulated in an alginate/montmorillonite bionanocomposite as a proof of concept for an oral delivery nanocarrier. The physical properties of that nanocomposite as well as volasertib delivery kinetics are analyzed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Andres Garzon Ruiz reports financial support was provided by Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Ivan Bravo reports financial support was provided by Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha. Andres Garzon Ruiz reports financial support was provided by Spain Ministry of Science and Innovation. Margarita Darder reports financial support was provided by Spain Ministry of Science and Innovation. Pedro J. Pacheco Linan reports financial support was provided by Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha. Diego Herrera reports financial support was provided by University of Castilla-La Mancha. If there are other authors, they 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 Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the association between arm elevation and neck/shoulder pain, and trunk forwarding bending and low back pain among home care workers., Methods: Home care workers (N = 116) from 11 home care units in Trondheim, Norway, filled in pain assessment and working hours questionnaire, and wore 3 accelerometers for up to 7 consecutive days. Work time was partitioned into upright awkward posture, nonawkward posture, and nonupright time, i.e. sitting. Within a compositional approach framework, posture time compositions were expressed in terms of log-ratio coordinates for statistical analysis and modeling. Poisson generalized linear mixed models were used to analyze the relationship between arm elevation in upright postures and neck/shoulder pain, and between trunk forward bending in upright postures and low back pain, respectively. Isotemporal substitution analysis was used to investigate the association of pain assessment with the reallocation of time spent in the different postures., Results: Time spent in awkward postures was modest, especially for the more extreme angles (60° and 90°). Adjusting for age, gender, and body mass index, our study suggested that the compositions of time spent by home care workers in awkward postures were significantly associated with pain assessment (P < 0.01). Isotemporal substitution analysis showed that reallocating 5 min from upright posture with arms elevated below to above 60° and 90° was associated with a 6.8% and 19.9% increase in the neck/shoulder pain score, respectively. Reallocating 5 min from a forward bending posture while upright below to above 30°, 60°, and 90° was associated with 1.8%, 3.5%, and 4.0% increase in low back pain, respectively., Conclusions: Although the exposure to awkward postures was modest, our results showed an association between increased time spent in awkward postures and an increase in neck/shoulder pain and low back pain in home care workers. As musculoskeletal pain is the leading cause of sickness absence, these findings suggest that home care units could benefit from re-organizing work to avoid excessive arm elevation and trunk forward bending in workers., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.)

Neosporosis and toxoplasmosis are major causes of abortion in livestock worldwide, leading to substantial economic losses. Detection tools are fundamental to the diagnosis and management of those diseases. Current immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests, using sera raised against whole parasite lysates, have not been able to distinguish between Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum. We used T. gondii and N. caninum recombinant proteins, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using insoluble conditions, to produce specific polyclonal rabbit antisera. We aimed to develop species-specific sera that could be used in IHC on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections to improve the diagnosis of ruminant abortions caused by protozoa. Two polyclonal rabbit sera, raised against recombinant proteins, anti- Neospora -rNcSRS2 and anti- Toxoplasma -rTgSRS2, had specificity for the parasite they were raised against. We tested the specificity for each polyclonal serum using FFPE tissue sections known to be infected with T. gondii and N. caninum . The anti- Neospora -rNcSRS2 serum labeled specifically only N. caninum- infected tissue blocks, and the anti- Toxoplasma -rTgSRS2 serum was specific to only T. gondii- infected tissues. Moreover, tissues from 52 cattle and 19 sheep previously diagnosed by lesion profiles were tested using IHC with our polyclonal sera and PCR. The overall agreement between IHC and PCR was 90.1% for both polyclonal anti-rNcSRS2 and anti-rTgSRS2 sera. The polyclonal antisera were specific and allowed visual confirmation of protozoan parasites by IHC, but they were not as sensitive as PCR testing., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The welfare and economic impact of bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC), and its associated antibiotic usage, are major challenges to cattle rearing and beef cattle finishing industries. Accurate pathogen diagnosis is important to undertake appropriate treatment and long-term management strategies, such as vaccine selection. Conventional diagnostic approaches have several limitations including high costs, long turnaround times and difficulty in test interpretation, which could delay treatment decisions and lead to unnecessary animal losses. We describe the validation of a multiplex-tandem (MT) reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of seven common pathogens associated with BRDC. This test has the potential to advance pathogen identification and to overcome many of the limitations of current testing methods. It requires a single sample and results are obtained quickly and not influenced by prior antimicrobial therapy or overgrowth of contaminating organisms. We demonstrated a test specificity of 100% and sensitivity ranging from 93.5% to 100% for these seven common pathogens. This test will be a useful addition to advance BRDC investigation and diagnosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None of the authors has any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper. Ausdiagnostic played no role in the above study design nor in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data of the field validation, or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This work discusses and demonstrates the novel use of multivariate analysis and data dimensionality reduction techniques to handle the variety and complexity of data generated in efficacy trials for the development of a prototype vaccine to protect sheep against the Teladorsagia circumcincta nematode. A curated collection of data dimension reduction and visualisation techniques, in conjunction with sensible statistical modelling and testing which explicitly model key features of the data, offers a synthetic view of the relationships between the multiple biological parameters measured. New biological insight is gained into the patterns and associations involving antigen-specific antibody levels, antibody avidity and parasitological parameters of efficacy that is not achievable by standard statistical practice in the field. This approach can therefore be used to guide vaccine refinement and simplification through identifying the most immunologically relevant antigens, and it can be analogously implemented for similar studies in other areas. To facilitate this, the associated data and computer codes written for the R open system for statistical computing are made freely available., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The distribution of time that people spend in physical activity of various intensities has important health implications. Physical activity (commonly categorised by the intensity into light, moderate and vigorous physical activity), sedentary behaviour and sleep, should not be analysed separately, because they are parts of a time-use composition with a natural constraint of 24 h/day. To find out how are relative reallocations of time between physical activity of various intensities associated with health, herewith we describe compositional scalar-on-function regression and a newly developed compositional functional isotemporal substitution analysis. Physical activity intensity data can be considered as probability density functions, which better reflects the continuous character of their measurement using accelerometers. These probability density functions are characterised by specific properties, such as scale invariance and relative scale, and they are geometrically represented using Bayes spaces with the Hilbert space structure. This makes possible to process them using standard methods of functional data analysis in the L 2 space, via centred logratio (clr) transformation. The scalar-on-function regression with clr transformation of the explanatory probability density functions and compositional functional isotemporal substitution analysis were applied to a dataset from a cross-sectional study on adiposity conducted among school-aged children in the Czech Republic. Theoretical reallocations of time to physical activity of higher intensities were found to be associated with larger and more progressive expected decreases in adiposity. We obtained a detailed insight into the dose-response relationship between physical activity intensity and adiposity, which was enabled by using the compositional functional approach., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The NADPH oxidase NOX4 has been proposed as necessary for the apoptosis induced by the Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) in hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. However, whether NOX4 is required for TGF-β-induced canonical (SMADs) or non-canonical signals is not fully understood yet, neither its potential involvement in other parallel actions induced by TGF-β. In this work we have used CRISPR Cas9 technology to stable attenuate NOX4 expression in HCC cells. Results have indicated that NOX4 is required for an efficient SMAD2/3 phosphorylation in response to TGF-β, whereas non-canonical signals, such as the phosphorylation of the Epidermal Growth Receptor or AKT, are higher in NOX4 silenced cells. TGF-β-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation and viability is attenuated in NOX4 silenced cells, correlating with decreased response in terms of apoptosis, and maintenance of high expression of MYC and CYCLIN D1. These results would indicate that NOX4 is required for all the tumor suppressor actions of TGF-β in HCC. However, analysis in human HCC tumors has revealed a worse prognosis for patients showing high expression of TGF-β1-related genes concomitant with high expression of NOX4. Deepening into other tumorigenic actions of TGF-β that may contribute to tumor progression, we found that NOX4 is also required for TGF-β-induced migratory effects. The Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) program does not appear to be affected by attenuation of NOX4 levels. However, TGF-β-mediated regulation of cytoskeleton dynamics and focal adhesions require NOX4, which is necessary for TGF-β-induced increase in the chaperone Hsp27 and correct subcellular localization of Hic-5 within focal adhesions, as well for upregulation of the metalloprotease MMP9. All these results together point to NOX4 as a key element in the whole TGF-β signaling in HCC cells, revealing an unknown role for NOX4 as tumor promoter in HCC patients presenting activation of the TGF-β pathway., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Isabel Fabregat reports financial support was provided by Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain. Rut Espinosa-Sotelo reports financial support was provided by Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain. Isabel Fabregat reports financial support was provided by Asociación Española contra el Cáncer (AECC), Spain. Isabel Fabregat reports financial support was provided by Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya). Isabel Fabregat reports financial support was provided by CIBER, National Biomedical Research Institute, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Performing outdoor activities in blue spaces can help improve human health and mental well-being by reducing stress and promoting social relationships. The number of people surviving cancer has increased globally to experience this disease as a life-changing and chronic condition with physical and psychosocial symptoms that have negative impacts on their quality of life. While there has been a growth of programs in green spaces to meet the needs of cancer patients, such as follow-up post-treatment care, support groups and physical activity programs, very few studies have examined the effects of activities involving the sea for the health and well-being of oncology patients. This is the first study to evaluate whether different outdoor activities in blue spaces can benefit oncological patients' physical and mental health using smartwatches, sphygmomanometers and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. We assessed changes in blood pressure, heart rate, sleep quality and mental health of 16 patients after twelve sessions of three different activities (walking, beach and snorkelling) and four sessions of a control activity. While no significant differences between activities were observed in terms of the data gathered by the smartwatches, a gradient of positive results for human mental health was observed towards exposure to a blue space, assessed through POMS questionnaires. Results show that exposure to blue spaces contributes to tension and anger reduction and improves the vigour mood state of oncology patients. No significant increases in patients' heart rate were recorded after the beach and snorkelling activities, with results similar to the control activity, suggesting that the contribution may be to participants' relaxation., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background : To refine an on-hen mite feeding device, an ethogram was employed to measure the reactions of hens during a routine experimental procedure (feather plucking) and to assess effects of analgesic cream on those reactions. Methods : Three experimental groups were used; one treated with EMLA 5% before plucking ("EMLA group"); one with aqueous cream ("placebo group") and a "no treatment" group. Behaviours were measured and compared on three days: 'dummy handling day' i.e. no plucking; 'plucking day', plucking the left thigh; and 'treatment day' i.e with right thighs plucked post-treatment. Poultry red mite feeding assays were performed to examine effect of creams on mite feeding rates, mortality and fecundity. All data were analysed using generalised linear (mixed) modelling approaches. Results : Use of the ethogram demonstrated no significant difference in hen behaviours in the EMLA group between dummy handling day and treatment day (p = 0.949) alongside a significant reduction in measured behaviours between plucking day and treatment day in the same group (p = 0.028). There was a statistically significant increase in measured behaviours from the dummy handling day to the plucking day in both placebo (p = 0.011) and no treatment group (p < 0.001). Effect sizes and directions were similar between dummy handling and treatment days in the 'placebo' and 'no treatment' groups, though not statistically significant (placebo, p = 0.064; no treatment p = 0.069). Mite feeding in the EMLA group was significantly lower than in the no treatment group in feeding assay 1 (p = 0.029) only. Mite mortality and fertility were unaffected. Conclusions : The ethogram successfully measured changes in observed behaviours between the dummy handling session and procedures. No adverse effects of EMLA cream on hens were demonstrated at 3mg/kg in hens. Use of analgesia for this routine procedure improves hens' experiences during experimental trials., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed., (Copyright: © 2023 Nunn FG et al.)

The binding processes of two Polo-like kinase inhibitors, RO3280 and GSK461364, to the human serum albumin (HSA) protein as well as the protonation equilibria of both compounds have been studied combining absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy experiments together with density functional theory calculations. We found that the charge states of RO3280 and GSK461364 are +2 and +1, respectively, at the physiological pH. Nevertheless, RO3280 binds to HSA in the charge state +1 prior to a deprotonation pre-equilibrium. Binding constants to site I of HSA of 2.23 × 10 6 and 8.80 × 10 4 M -1 were determined for RO3280 and GSK461364, respectively, at 310 K. The binding processes of RO3280 and GSK461364 to HSA are entropy- and enthalpy-driven, respectively. The positive enthalpy found for the RO3280-HSA complex formation could be related to a proton pre-equilibrium of RO3280.

The bacterium Coxiella burnetii can cause the disease Q-fever in a wide range of animal hosts. Ruminants, including sheep, are thought to play a pivotal role in the transmission of C. burnetii to humans; however, the only existing livestock vaccine, namely, Coxevac ® (Ceva Animal Health Ltd., Libourne, France), a killed bacterin vaccine based on phase I C. burnetii strain Nine-Mile, is only approved for use in goats and cattle. In this study, a pregnant ewe challenge model was used to determine the protective effects of Coxevac ® and an experimental bacterin vaccine based on phase II C. burnetii against C. burnetii challenge. Prior to mating, ewes ( n = 20 per group) were vaccinated subcutaneously with either Coxevac ® , the phase II vaccine, or were unvaccinated. A subset of pregnant ewes ( n = 6) from each group was then challenged 151 days later (~100 days of gestation) with 10 6 infectious mouse doses of C. burnetii , Nine-Mile strain RSA493. Both vaccines provided protection against C. burnetii challenge as measured by reductions in bacterial shedding in faeces, milk and vaginal mucus, and reduced abnormal pregnancies, compared to unvaccinated controls. This work highlights that the phase I vaccine Coxevac ® can protect ewes against C. burnetii infection. Furthermore, the phase II vaccine provided comparable levels of protection and may offer a safer and cost-effective alternative to the currently licensed vaccine.

In the present work, the interactions of the novel kinase inhibitors BI-2536, Volasetib (BI-6727) and Ro-3280 with the pharmacological target PLK1 have been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations. High Stern-Volmer constants were found in fluorescence experiments suggesting the formation of stable protein-ligand complexes. In addition, it was observed that the binding constant between BI-2536 and PLK1 increases about 100-fold in presence of the phosphopeptide Cdc25C-p that docks to the polo box domain of the protein and releases the kinase domain. All the determined binding constants are higher for the kinase inhibitors than for their competitor for the active center (ATP) being BI-2536 and Volasertib the inhibitors that showed more affinity for PLK1. Calculated binding free energies confirmed the higher affinity of PLK1 for BI-2536 and Volasertib than for ATP. The higher affinity of the inhibitors to PLK1 compared to ATP was mainly attributed to stronger van der Waals interactions. Results may help with the challenge of designing and developing new kinase inhibitors more effective in clinical cancer therapy., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs), such as CF 3 CH 2 OCH 3 (HFE-263fb2), CHF 2 CF 2 CH 2 OCH 3 (HFE-374pcf), and CF 3 CF 2 CH 2 OCH 3 (HFE-365mcf3), have been proposed in the last few decades as the third-generation replacements for perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) because of their zero stratospheric ozone depletion potentials and relatively low global warming potentials (GWPs). These GWPs depend on the radiative efficiency (RE) and the atmospheric lifetime ( τ OH ) of HFEs due to the reaction with hydroxyl (OH) radicals. The temperature and pressure dependencies of the OH-rate coefficient ( k OH ( T )) for HFE-263fb2, HFE-374pcf, and HFE-365mcf3 are not known. Therefore, in this paper, we present the first study on the temperature (263-353 K) and pressure (50-500 torr of helium) dependence of k OH ( T ) for the titled HFEs. No pressure dependence of k OH ( T ) was observed in the investigated range. From k OH (298 K), estimated τ OH are 17 days (for HFE-263fb2), 12 days (for HFE-374pcf), and 13 days (for HFE-365mcf3). The observed T -dependencies of k OH ( T ) (in cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 ) are well described by (3.88 ± 0.89) × 10 -12 exp[-(508 ± 69)/ T ] for HFE-263fb2, (2.81 ± 0.33) × 10 -12 exp[-(312 ± 35)/ T ] for HFE-374pcf, and (2.60 ± 0.31) × 10 -12 exp[-(319 ± 35)/ T ] for HFE-365mcf3. A correlation between log  k OH (298 K) and the activation energy ( E a ) of the process is presented, allowing the prediction of E a for OH-reactions with other HFEs, exclusively investigated at room temperature. In addition to the kinetic measurements, the infrared absorption cross sections of HFE-263fb2, HFE-374pcf, and HFE-365mcf3 were determined between 520 and 3100 cm -1 . Lifetime corrected REs and GWPs relative to CO 2 at 100 years' time horizon were reexamined. The impact of the investigated HFEs on the radiative forcing of climate change would be negligible.

In this study, 18 animals were fed two forage-based diets: red clover (RC) and grass silage (GS), in a crossover-design experiment in which methane (CH 4 ) emissions were recorded in respiration chambers. Rumen samples obtained through naso-gastric sampling tubes were analysed by NMR. Methane yield (g/kg DM) was significantly lower from animals fed RC (17.8 ± 3.17) compared to GS (21.2 ± 4.61) p = 0.008. In total 42 metabolites were identified, 6 showing significant differences between diets (acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, 3-phenylopropionate, and 2-hydroxyvalerate). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to assess which metabolites were more important to distinguish between diets and partial least squares (PLS) regressions were used to assess which metabolites were more strongly associated with the variation in CH 4 emissions. Acetate, butyrate and propionate along with dimethylamine were important for the distinction between diets according to the PLS-DA results. PLS regression revealed that diet and dry matter intake are key factors to explain CH 4 variation when included in the model. Additionally, PLS was conducted within diet, revealing that the association between metabolites and CH 4 emissions can be conditioned by diet. These results provide new insights into the methylotrophic methanogenic pathway, confirming that metabolite profiles change according to diet composition, with consequences for CH 4 emissions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: To examine the joint associations of daily time spent in different intensities of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep with all-cause mortality., Methods: Federated pooled analysis of six prospective cohorts with device-measured time spent in different intensities of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep following a standardised compositional Cox regression analysis., Participants: 130 239 people from general population samples of adults (average age 54 years) from the UK, USA and Sweden., Main Outcome: All-cause mortality (follow-up 4.3-14.5 years)., Results: Studies using wrist and hip accelerometer provided statistically different results (I 2 =92.2%, Q-test p<0.001). There was no association between duration of sleep and all-cause mortality, HR=0.96 (95% CI 0.67 to 1.12). The proportion of time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity was significantly associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR=0.63 (95% CI 0.55 to 0.71) wrist; HR=0.93 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.98) hip). A significant association for the ratio of time spent in light physical activity and sedentary time was only found in hip accelerometer-based studies (HR=0.5, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.62). In studies based on hip accelerometer, the association between moderate to vigorous physical activity and mortality was modified by the balance of time spent in light physical activity and sedentary time., Conclusion: This federated analysis shows a joint dose-response association between the daily balance of time spent in physical activity of different intensities and sedentary behaviour with all-cause mortality, while sleep duration does not appear to be significant. The strongest association is with time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity, but it is modified by the balance of time spent in light physical activity relative to sedentary behaviour., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Quantitative analysis of sulfate anions in water still remains an important challenge for the society. Among all the methodologies, the most successful one is based on optical supramolecular receptors because the presence of small concentrations of sulfate anion modifies the photophysical properties of the receptor. In this case, fluorescence anion sensors have been designed by the incorporation of guanidine motifs into fluorenyl cores. The photophysical behaviors of the new mono- ( M ) and bis-guanidine ( B ) derivatives were studied through pH dependence, solvent effects, and ion sensing on steady-state spectra and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. In more detail, the results demonstrate that M is a highly selective and sensitive sulfate ion receptor in real water samples and, even more importantly, its function remains unchanged at different ranges of pH. The reason behind this resides on the fluorescence quenching produced by an internal charge-transfer process when the sulfate anion is complexed with M . It is worth noting that the global and partial affinity constants (10 10 M -2 and 10 5 M -1 , respectively) of complex formation are far above from the current sulfate sensors in water (10 4 M -1 ) which give an LOD of 0.10 μM in water with an analytical range of 2.5-10 μM. On the other hand, although it would seem, at first sight, that the B derivate will be the most promising one, the possibility of having two simultaneous protonation states reduces the complex formation and, therefore, its sensitivity to sulfate anions. The results presented here offer the possibility of using a new molecule in water environments, which opens the door to infinite applications such as the detection of trace amounts of sulfate ions in food or water.

Chlamydia abortus , the aetiological agent of enzootic abortion of ewes, is a major cause of reproductive loss in small ruminants worldwide, accounting for significant economic losses to the farming industry. Disease can be managed through the use of commercial inactivated or live whole organism-based vaccines, although both have limitations particularly in terms of efficacy, safety and disease-associated outbreaks. Here we report a comparison of two experimental vaccines (chlamydial outer membrane complex (COMC) and octyl glucoside (OG)-COMC) based on detergent extracted outer membrane preparations of C. abortus and delivered as prime-boost immunisations, with the commercial live vaccine Cevac ® Chlamydia in a pregnant sheep challenge model. No abortions occurred in either experimental vaccine group, while a single abortion occurred in the commercial vaccine group. Bacterial shedding, as a measure of potential risk of transmission of infection to naïve animals, was lowest in the COMC vaccinated group, with reductions of 87.5%, 86.4% and 74% observed for the COMC, OG-COMC and live commercial vaccine groups, respectively, compared to the unvaccinated challenge control group. The results show that the COMC vaccine performed the best and is a safer efficacious alternative to the commercial vaccines. However, to improve commercial viability, future studies should optimise the antigen dose and number of inoculations required.

The role of water vapor (H 2 O) and its hydrogen-bonded complexes in the gas-phase reactivity of organic compounds with hydroxyl (OH) radicals has been the subject of many recent studies. Contradictory effects have been reported at temperatures between 200 and 400 K. For the OH + acetaldehyde reaction, a slight catalytic effect of H 2 O was previously reported at temperatures between 60 and 118 K. In this work, we used Laval nozzle expansions to reinvestigate the impact of H 2 O on the OH-reactivity with acetaldehyde between 21.7 and 135.0 K. The results of this comprehensive study demonstrate that water, instead, slows down the reaction by factors of ∼3 (21.7 K) and ∼2 (36.2-89.5 K), and almost no effect of added H 2 O was observed at 135.0 K.

Aims: Previous prospective studies of the association between mortality and physical activity have generally not fully accounted for the interplay between movement behaviours. A compositional data modelling approach accounts for relative scale and co-dependency in time-use data across physical activity behaviours of the 24-hour day., Methods: A prospective analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006 on N = 1468 adults (d = 135 deaths) in ages 50-79 years was undertaken using compositional Cox regression analysis. Daily time spent in sedentary behaviour, light intensity (LIPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was determined from waist-mounted accelerometer data (Actigraph 7164) and supplemented with self-reported sleep data to determine the daily time-use composition., Results: The composition of time spent in sedentary behaviour, LIPA, MVPA and sleep was associated with mortality rate after allowing for age and sex effects (p < 0.001), and remained significant when other lifestyle factors were added (p < 0.001). This was driven primarily by the preponderance of MVPA; however, significant changes are attributable to LIPA relative to sedentary behaviour and sleep, and sedentary behaviour relative to sleep. The final ratio ceased to be statistically significant after incorporating lifestyle factors. The preponderance of MVPA ceased to be statistically significant after incorporating health at outset and physical limitations on movement., Conclusions: An association is inferred between survival rate and the physical activity composition of the day. The MVPA time share is important, but time spent in LIPA relative to sedentary behaviour and sleep is also a significant factor. Increased preponderance of MVPA may have detrimental associations at higher levels of MVPA., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2019. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Chlamydia abortus infects livestock species worldwide and is the cause of enzootic abortion of ewes (EAE). In Europe, control of the disease is achieved using a live vaccine based on C. abortus 1B strain. Although the vaccine has been useful for controlling disease outbreaks, abortion events due to the vaccine have been reported. Recently, placental pathology resulting from a vaccine type strain (vt) infection has been reported and shown to be similar to that resulting from a natural wild-type (wt) infection. The aim of this study was to extend these observations by comparing the distribution and severity of the lesions, the composition of the predominating cell infiltrate, the amount of bacteria present and the role of the blood supply in infection. A novel system for grading the histological and pathological features present was developed and the resulting multi-parameter data were statistically transformed for exploration and visualisation through a tailored principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the difference between them. The analysis provided no evidence of meaningful differences between vt and wt strains in terms of the measured pathological parameters. The study also contributes a novel methodology for analysing the progression of infection in the placenta for other abortifacient pathogens.

Background: Physical activity levels are low in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and there is limited knowledge about how pulmonary rehabilitation transforms movement behaviors. This study analyzed data from a pulmonary rehabilitation trial and identified determinants of movement behaviors., Methods: Objectively assessed time in daily movement behaviors (sleep, sedentary, light-intensity physical activity, and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity) from a randomized controlled trial (n = 73 participants) comparing home- and center-based pulmonary rehabilitation was analyzed using conventional and compositional analytical approaches. Regression analysis was used to assess relationships between movement behaviors, participant features, and response to the interventions., Results: Compositional analysis revealed no significant differences in movement profiles between the home- and center-based groups. At end rehabilitation, conventional analyses identified positive relationships between exercise capacity (6-min walk distance), light-intensity physical activity, and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity time. Compositional analyses identified positive relationships between a 6-minute walk distance and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity time, accompanied by negative relationships with sleep and sedentary time (relative to other time components) and novel relationships between body mass index and light-intensity physical activity/sedentary time., Conclusion: Compositional analyses following pulmonary rehabilitation identified unique associations between movement behaviors that were not evident in conventional analyses.

Chlamydia abortus is one of the most commonly diagnosed causes of infectious abortion in small ruminants worldwide. Control of the disease (Enzootic Abortion of Ewes or EAE) is achieved using the commercial live, attenuated C. abortus 1B vaccine strain, which can be distinguished from virulent wild-type (wt) strains by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Published studies applying this typing method and whole-genome sequence analyses to cases of EAE in vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals have provided strong evidence that the 1B strain is not attenuated and can infect the placenta causing disease in some ewes. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterise the lesions found in the placentas of ewes vaccinated with the 1B strain and to compare these to those resulting from a wt infection. A C. abortus-free flock of multiparous adult ewes was vaccinated twice, over three breeding seasons, each before mating, with the commercial C. abortus 1B vaccine strain (Cevac® Chlamydia, Ceva Animal Health Ltd.). In the second lambing season following vaccination, placentas (n = 117) were collected at parturition and analysed by C. abortus-specific real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Two placentas, from a single ewe, which gave birth to live twin lambs, were found to be positive by qPCR and viable organisms were recovered and identified as vaccine type (vt) by PCR-RFLP, with no evidence of any wt strain being present. All cotyledons from the vt-infected placentas were analysed by histopathology and immunohistochemistry and compared to those from wt-infected placentas. Both vt-infected placentas showed lesions typical of those found in a wt infection in terms of their severity, distribution, and associated intensity of antigen labelling. These results conclusively demonstrate that the 1B strain can infect the placenta, producing typical EAE placental lesions that are indistinguishable from those found in wt infected animals., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

A study was performed to examine any effect of hen age on the feeding ability and mortality of different life-stages of Dermanyssus gallinae [Poultry Red Mite (PRM)] when fed using a high welfare, on-hen mite feeding device. Mite feeding assays were carried out every two weeks on a cohort of five Lohman Brown hens with devices containing adult and deutonymph PRM or adult and protonymph PRM. Feeding rates and mortality of each PRM life stage and oviposition of adult female PRM were evaluated over an 18-week period. There was a significant reduction in oviposition rates of female PRM as they fed on hens of increasing age. However, no clear trend was detected between the feeding rates of all three haematophagous life stages and hen age. The same conclusion was reached regarding mite mortality post-feeding in both deutonymph and adult female PRMs, although a weak positive association was apparent between hen age and protonymph PRM mortality. This study shows that the on-hen feeding device can be used both for short term studies to assess novel anti-PRM products (new acaricides, vaccines etc.) and longer, longitudinal studies to determine longevity of the effects of such novel anti-PRM products. It also demonstrates that blood feeding by mites on older hens is less able to sustain PRM populations than feeding on younger hens. This on-hen mite feeding device directly impacts upon reduction and refinement by greatly reducing the numbers of birds required per experimental group compared to traditional PRM challenge infestation models and by eliminating the need for birds to be exposed to large numbers of mites for extended periods of time that can cause welfare concerns. This paper describes the methodology for these studies and how to assemble pouches and handle mites both before and after feeding assays., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed., (Copyright: © 2020 Nunn F et al.)

Background: Researchers applying compositional data analysis to time-use data (e.g., time spent in physical behaviors) often face the problem of zeros, that is, recordings of zero time spent in any of the studied behaviors. Zeros hinder the application of compositional data analysis because the analysis is based on log-ratios. One way to overcome this challenge is to replace the zeros with sensible small values. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of three existing replacement methods used within physical behavior time-use epidemiology: simple replacement, multiplicative replacement, and log-ratio expectation-maximization (lrEM) algorithm. Moreover, we assessed the consequence of choosing replacement values higher than the lowest observed value for a given behavior., Method: Using a complete dataset based on accelerometer data from 1310 Danish adults as reference, multiple datasets were simulated across six scenarios of zeros (5-30% zeros in 5% increments). Moreover, four examples were produced based on real data, in which, 10 and 20% zeros were imposed and replaced using a replacement value of 0.5 min, 65% of the observation threshold, or an estimated value below the observation threshold. For the simulation study and the examples, the zeros were replaced using the three replacement methods and the degree of distortion introduced was assessed by comparison with the complete dataset., Results: The lrEM method outperformed the other replacement methods as it had the smallest influence on the structure of relative variation of the datasets. Both the simple and multiplicative replacements introduced higher distortion, particularly in scenarios with more than 10% zeros; although the latter, like the lrEM, does preserve the ratios between behaviors with no zeros. The examples revealed that replacing zeros with a value higher than the observation threshold severely affected the structure of relative variation., Conclusions: Given our findings, we encourage the use of replacement methods that preserve the relative structure of physical behavior data, as achieved by the multiplicative and lrEM replacements, and to avoid simple replacement. Moreover, we do not recommend replacing zeros with values higher than the lowest observed value for a behavior.