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Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was evaluated as a tool to segregate different types of bovine meat and predict several chemical fractions on samples from two breeds, three muscles and six grading (Chilean system) categories. Samples previously minced, frozen and thawed, were scanned (400–2500 nm) and then analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, total ash and collagen content, after freeze drying. Discriminant analysis using a partial least squares regression technique and cross validation, correctly identified breed and muscle type for most samples, but carcass grades, with the exception of samples from calves, were not successfully predicted. Best calibrations for chemical composition tested by cross-validation, showed R2 and standard errors of cross validation of 0.77 and 0.58% (dry matter), 0.82 and 0.48% (crude protein), 0.82 and 0.44% (ether extract). Calibrations for total ash showed a poor, and for collagen, a very poor prediction ability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Health information technologies, including electronic health records (EHRs), have revolutionized health care delivery. These technologies promise to enhance the efficiency and quality of care through improved patient health information management. Despite the transformative potential of EHRs, the extent to which patient access contributes to increased engagement with health care services within different clinical setting remains a distinct and underexplored facet., Objective: This systematic review aims to investigate the impact of patient access to EHRs on health care engagement. Specifically, we seek to determine whether providing patients with access to their EHRs contributes to improved engagement with health care services., Methods: A comprehensive systematic review search was conducted across various international databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, to identify relevant studies published from January 1, 2010, to November 15, 2023. The search on these databases was conducted using a combination of keywords and Medical Subject Heading terms related to patient access to electronic health records, patient engagement, and health care services. Studies were included if they assessed the impact of patient access to EHRs on health care engagement and provided evidence (quantitative or qualitative) for that. The guidelines of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 statement were followed for study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. The included studies were assessed for quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and the results were reported using a narrative synthesis., Results: The initial search from the databases yielded 1737 studies, to which, after scanning their reference lists, we added 10 studies. Of these 1747 studies, 18 (1.03%) met the inclusion criteria for the final review. The synthesized evidence from these studies revealed a positive relationship between patient access to EHRs and health care engagement, addressing 6 categories of health care engagement dimensions and outcomes, including treatment adherence and self-management, patient involvement and empowerment, health care communication and relationship, patient satisfaction and health outcomes, use of health care resources, and usability concerns and barriers., Conclusions: The findings suggested a positive association between patient access to EHRs and health care engagement. The implications of these findings for health care providers, policy makers, and patients should be considered, highlighting the potential benefits and challenges associated with implementing and promoting patient access to EHRs. Further research directions have been proposed to deepen our understanding of this dynamic relationship., (©Dalia Alomar, Maryam Almashmoum, Iliada Eleftheriou, Pauline Whelan, John Ainsworth. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 20.11.2024.)

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are complex, encompassing many types of heart pathophysiologies and associated etiologies. Radiotherapy studies have shown that fractionated radiation exposure at high doses (3-17 Gy) to the heart increases the incidence of CVD. However, the effects of low doses of radiation on the cardiovascular system or the effects from space travel, where radiation and microgravity are important contributors to damage, are not clearly understood. Herein, the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework was applied to develop an AOP to abnormal vascular remodeling from the deposition of energy. Following the creation of a preliminary pathway with the guidance of field experts and authoritative reviews, a scoping review was conducted that informed final key event (KE) selection and evaluation of the Bradford Hill criteria for the KE relationships (KERs). The AOP begins with a molecular initiating event of deposition of energy; ionization events increase oxidative stress, which when persistent concurrently causes the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, suppresses anti-inflammatory mechanisms and alters stress response signaling pathways. These KEs alter nitric oxide levels leading to endothelial dysfunction, and subsequent abnormal vascular remodeling (the adverse outcome). The work identifies evidence needed to strengthen understanding of the causal associations for the KERs, emphasizing where there are knowledge gaps and uncertainties in both qualitative and quantitative understanding. The AOP is anticipated to direct future research to better understand the effects of space on the human body and potentially develop countermeasures to better protect future space travelers., (© 2024 The Author(s). Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society.)

Bone loss, commonly seen in osteoporosis, is a condition that entails a progressive decline of bone mineral density and microarchitecture, often seen in post-menopausal women. Bone loss has also been widely reported in astronauts exposed to a plethora of stressors and in patients with osteoporosis following radiotherapy for cancer. Studies on mechanisms are well documented but the causal connectivity of events to bone loss development remains incompletely understood. Herein, the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework was used to organize data and develop a qualitative AOP beginning from deposition of energy (the molecular initiating event) to bone loss (the adverse outcome). This qualitative AOP was developed in collaboration with bone loss research experts to aggregate relevant findings, supporting ongoing efforts to understand and mitigate human system risks associated with radiation exposures. A literature review was conducted to compile and evaluate the state of knowledge based on the modified Bradford Hill criteria. Following review of 2029 studies, an empirically supported AOP was developed, showing the progression to bone loss through many factors affecting the activities of bone-forming osteoblasts and bone-resorbing osteoclasts. The structural, functional, and quantitative basis of each proposed relationship was defined, for inference of causal changes between key events. Current knowledge and its gaps relating to dose-, time- and incidence-concordance across the key events were identified, as well as modulating factors that influence linkages. The new priorities for research informed by the AOP highlight areas for improvement to enable development of a quantitative AOP used to support risk assessment strategies for space travel or cancer radiotherapy., (© 2024 The Author(s). Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society.)

Cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness, with an estimated 95 million people affected worldwide. A hallmark of cataract development is lens opacification, typically associated not only with aging but also radiation exposure as encountered by interventional radiologists and astronauts during the long-term space mission. To better understand radiation-induced cataracts, the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework was used to structure and evaluate knowledge across biological levels of organization (e.g., macromolecular, cell, tissue, organ, organism and population). AOPs identify a sequence of key events (KEs) causally connected by key event relationships (KERs) beginning with a molecular initiating event to an adverse outcome (AO) of relevance to regulatory decision-making. To construct the cataract AO and retrieve evidence to support it, a scoping review methodology was used to filter, screen, and review studies based on the modified Bradford Hill criteria. Eight KEs were identified that were moderately supported by empirical evidence (e.g., dose-, time-, incidence-concordance) across the adjacent (directly linked) relationships using well-established endpoints. Over half of the evidence to justify the KER linkages was derived from the evidence stream of biological plausibility. Early KEs of oxidative stress and protein modifications had strong linkages to downstream KEs and could be the focus of countermeasure development. Several identified knowledge gaps and inconsistencies related to the quantitative understanding of KERs which could be the basis of future research, most notably directed to experiments in the range of low or moderate doses and dose-rates, relevant to radiation workers and other occupational exposures., (© 2024 Crown copyright, His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and The Authors. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society. This article is published with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the King's Printer for Scotland. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Health Canada.)

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 2 have mildly damaged kidneys but they still work well. The dentist can proceed with the required restorative dental treatment, which is considered a low-risk non-surgical dental procedure, with no major complications expected. Patients with CKD stage 3 have moderate impairment of renal function with altered drug metabolism, bioavailability, and rate of excretion. Diabetes is a common comorbidity in patients with CKD., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Dialysis patients have an increased risk of acquiring hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV because the dialysis machine is disinfected, not sterilized. Therefore, the dentist must follow standard precautions for infection control when treating dialysis patients. Following the medical complexity status (MCS) system, the patient can be designated as MCS 2B category., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Patients with ESRD have an increased risk of bleeding owing to platelet dysfunction associated with uremia. It is important to obtain coagulation tests and complete blood count before the surgical procedure, and abnormal values should be discussed with the patient's physician. A conservative surgical technique must be followed to decrease the risk of bleeding and infection. The dentist should ensure the availability of local hemostatic agents at the dental office to be used as needed to obtain hemostasis. Following the medical complexity status (MCS) system, the patient can be designated as MCS 2B category., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open, and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e., berry mass, number of fruits, and fruit density [kg/ha], among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), North America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). Sampling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001-2005 (21 studies), 2006-2010 (40), 2011-2015 (88), and 2016-2020 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non-commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY-NC-SA)., (© 2021 The Ecological Society of America.)

Under the predicted conditions of climate change, the productivity of temperate grasslands may be affected by drought stress, especially in spring and summer. In this scenario, water-deficit-tolerant species such as plantain and chicory are interesting alternatives for use in sheep production systems. In this study, we compared a mixture of plantain and chicory herbage (PCH) with a grass-based permanent sward (GBS) on the weight gain and meat quality of lambs finished on these grasslands. Fifteen weaned lambs (31.3 kg and 4 months of age) were assigned to each treatment for seven weeks in late spring and live weight gain (LWG), carcass and meat quality were evaluated. There was a tendency ( p = 0.09) in final weight (40.3 ± 0.8 kg) and live weight gain (173 ± 10 g/d) to be higher in PCH compared to GBS. Carcass weight, dressing percentage and meat quality in terms of pH, color and tenderness did not differ ( p > 0.05) and were considered to be of good quality. We concluded that both swards result in comparable lamb performance and good meat quality.

Habitat fragmentation threatens plant and pollinator communities, as well as their interactions. However, the effects of landscape fragmentation on the pollination of wild plant species are not well understood yet, partly because there are many correlated features in fragmented landscapes (e.g., decreased patch size, increased isolation, and patch complexity) whose influences are difficult to disentangle. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we assessed the direct and indirect effects of landscape fragmentation (patch size, isolation and complexity, percentage of surrounding land in forest) on the abundance, functional-group richness, and evenness of pollinators of 24 habitat fragments within an agricultural landscape in Southern Norway. In addition, we studied how these variables affected visitation rates (visits per flower) and seed production (seed set, seed mass) in the four most abundant plant species in the area. Flower abundance was higher in larger and complex patches and decreased with the percentage of forest in the surroundings, while flower richness increased with patch complexity. We found a direct negative relationship between patch complexity and the overall number of pollinator visits that the habitat fragments received. Apart from this direct landscape effect, pollinator visits were mostly affected by the floral communities, with overall flower abundance and richness increasing both total number of pollinator visits and pollinator-group richness, and flower richness having an additional negative influence on pollinator-group evenness. Interestingly, we did not find any direct link between visitation rates and reproductive success for any of the study plant species. Instead, several landscape variables directly affected species seed production, although the effects of landscape on seed production were highly species specific. Patch complexity had a negative effect on seed production in two of the four focal species, while other components of the landscape had species-specific effects. Increasing fragmentation of agricultural landscapes affects pollination interactions at the community level and the reproduction of wild plants. However, understanding the effects of fragmentation on seed production requires going beyond estimating visitation rates, since landscape effects on plant reproduction are not always related to overall interaction frequencies., (© 2020 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Lichen planus (LP) is an immune-mediated mucocutaneous disorder with a wide array of clinical presentations. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is characterized clinically by striae, desquamation, and/or ulceration. Lichen planopilaris (LPP), a variant of LP, affects the scalp, resulting in perifollicular erythema and scarring of cutaneous surfaces accompanied by hair loss. The association between OLP and LPP has been reported previously with scant information on concomitant or sequential disease presentation. We describe a patient with concomitant OLP and LPP, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on OLP preceding the onset of LPP., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study was to compare the prediction efficiency of IgG concentration in bovine colostrum by NIRS, using liquid and dried (Dry-Extract Spectroscopy for Infrared Reflectance, DESIR) samples by transflectance and reflectance modes, respectively. Colostrum samples (157), obtained from 2 commercial Holstein dairy farms, were collected within the first hour after calving and kept at -20 °C until analysis. After thawing and homogenisation, a subsample of 500 mg of liquid colostrum was placed in an aluminium mirror transflectance cell (0·1 mm path length), in duplicate, to collect the spectrum. A glass fiber filter disc was infused with another subsample of 500 mg of colostrum, in duplicate, and dried in a forced-air oven at 60 °C for 20 min. The samples were placed in cells for dry samples to collect the spectra. The spectra in the VIS-NIR region (400-2500 nm) were obtained with a NIRSystems 6500 monochromator. Mathematical treatments, scatter correction treatments and number of cross-validation groups were tested to obtain prediction equations for both techniques. Reference analysis for IgG content was performed by radial immunodiffusion. The DESIR technique showed a higher variation in the spectral regions associated with water absorption bands, compared with liquid samples. The best equation for transflectance method (liquid samples) obtained a higher coefficient of determination for calibration (0·95 vs. 0·94, respectively) and cross validation (0·94 vs. 0·91, respectively), and a lower error of cross validation (9·03 vs. 11·5, respectively) than the best equation for reflectance method (DESIR samples). In final, both methods showed excellent capacity for quantitative analysis, with residual predictive deviations above 3. It is concluded that, regarding accuracy of prediction and time for obtaining results of IgG from bovine colostrum, NIRS analysis of liquid samples (transflectance) is recommended over dried samples (DESIR technique by reflectance).