Micro- and Nanoplastic Toxicity in Upper Respiratory Tract: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: To review the current literature findings dedicated to the toxicity of nano- and microplastics (NMPs) in the upper respiratory tract.

Data Sources: PubMED, Cochrane Library and Embase databases.

Review Methods: Three independent investigators conducted the literature search for the documentation and toxicity of NMP in the upper respiratory tract according to the PRISMA statements.

A comprehensive mechanism of polyester enzymatic depolymerization: A novel singular key parameter for streamlined eco-design.

Plastic pollution persists due to polymers' resistance to depolymerization, making eco-design and enzymatic recycling essential for sustainability. However, understanding plastic depolymerization is complex, and studies often separate enzymatic from non-enzymatic degradation, despite their interconnectedness in practice. This study aims to simplify this process, unifying key factors into a single mechanism using polylactide (PLA) as a model.

An adjuvanted chimeric spike antigen boosts lung-resident memory T-cells and induces pan-sarbecovirus protective immunity.

Next-generation vaccines are essential to address the evolving nature of SARS-CoV-2 and to protect against emerging pandemic threats from other coronaviruses. These vaccines should elicit broad protection, provide long-lasting immunity and ensure equitable access for all populations. In this study, we developed a panel of chimeric, full-length spike antigens incorporating mutations from previous, circulating and predicted SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Spontaneous recovery from rocuronium measured by mechanomyography during 100- or 200-Hz tetanic stimulations compared to normalized train-of-four with acceleromyography.

Neuromuscular block recovery was evaluated using high-frequency tetanic ulnar nerve simulations compared to normalized train-of-four (NTOF) in anesthetized patients. Under intravenous general anesthesia, we compared rocuronium-induced neuromuscular recovery using 5 s 100- and 200-Hz tetanic stimulations via isometric mechanomyography to acceleromyographic NTOF in 20 consenting patients. The primary outcome was the comparison by Student's t-tests of 100- and 200-Hz tetanic fade ratios (residual force at the end of the contraction / maximal force reached during the 5 s) before rocuronium administration and at different recovery levels.

Two in One: Recycled Cobalt Aluminate as a Pigment and Synergistic Flame-Retardant Agent for Polylactide.

Cobalt aluminate (CoAlO) pigment, synthesized from recycled aluminum obtained from can seals and transformed into the boehmite phase, was combined with ammonium polyphosphate (APP422) to produce an efficient flame-retardant material for polylactide (PLA) while simultaneously imparting coloration to the polymer matrix. The chemical structure of the pigment was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction prior to its integration into PLA in combination with ammonium polyphosphate (APP422). Thermal gravimetric analysis highlights the superior effect of the APP422/CoAlO combination that enables obtaining a greater amount of char, presenting improved thermal stability and an enhanced protective effect, as clearly evidenced by Mass Loss Cone test results.

Comparing Medicaid Enrolment Death Data to State-Wide Death Records in Maine.

Rationale: Death data available in Medicaid enrolment files may be incomplete and lack cause of death information. We sought to compare Medicaid enrolment death data to state-wide death records in Maine.

Aims And Objectives: (1) To compare the date of death of Medicaid enrollees in Maine according to the Medicaid enrolment data to the date of death obtained through an ongoing quarterly death certificate-Medicaid linkage for 2016-2023; and (2) using the death certificate-Medicaid linkage data, to perform an analysis of the risk of drug overdose death in 2023 by opioid use disorder (OUD) status in 2023, as part of monitoring activities required for one of Maine's new approaches to delivering Medicaid services.

Facile Preparation Route of Cellulose-Based Flame Retardant by Ball-Milling Mechanochemistry.

In this study, a sustainable cellulose-based flame-retardant additive was developed, characterized, and incorporated into polypropylene (PP). Microcrystalline cellulose (Cel) was chemically modified with PO using the solvent-free ball-milling mechanochemistry approach at room temperature. This modification enabled phosphorus grafting onto cellulose, significantly enhancing the cellulose charring ability and improving the thermal stability of the char as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

Whip black corals (Antipatharia: Antipathidae: Stichopathes) of the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystem of Mo'orea (French Polynesia), with the description of a new species.

Black corals are key species of marine ecosystems. They can be found in dense aggregations worldwide, but some parts of the world remain totally unexplored. This is the case of the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystem of Mo'orea where the Under the Pole scientific expedition explored mesophotic ecosystems between 60 and 120 m depth and focused on whip black corals.

Appropriateness of intravenous fluid prescriptions in hospitalised patients: a point prevalence study.

Background: Inappropriate use of intravenous (IV) fluids results in fluid overload, electrolyte disturbances, and increased costs.

Aim: To describe IV fluid prescribing and its appropriateness in hospitalised patients.

Method: A point prevalence study was conducted at two sites (academic and general) of a tertiary care hospital in Belgium.

An engineered enzyme embedded into PLA to make self-biodegradable plastic.

Plastic production reached 400 million tons in 2022 (ref. ), with packaging and single-use plastics accounting for a substantial amount of this. The resulting waste ends up in landfills, incineration or the environment, contributing to environmental pollution.

MEDUSA: Marine benthic Ecological Data from Underwater imagery Surveys of sub-Antarctic Crozet environments.

Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the sub-Antarctic Crozet archipelago is located in a region facing significant environmental changes impacting a poorly known marine biodiversity. Underwater imagery constitutes a valuable non-invasive approach for gathering ecological data and improving our knowledge of ecosystems' vulnerability. We here compiled two datasets, encompassing 17 video-imagery surveys of Crozet nearshore environments conducted in 2021 and 2022 at two sites of Ile de la Possession: Baie du Marin and Crique du Sphinx.

Assessment of two non-invasive techniques for measuring turbulent benthic fluxes in a shallow lake.

Benthic fluxes refer to the exchange rates of nutrients and other compounds between the water column and the sediment bed in aquatic ecosystems. Their quantification contributes to our understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning. Near-bed hydrodynamics plays an important role at the sediment-water interface, especially in shallow lakes, but it is poorly considered by traditional measuring techniques of flux quantification, such as sediment incubations.

Optimal intertemporal curative drug expenses: The case of hepatitis C in France.

We study intertemporal tradeoffs that health authorities face when considering the control of an epidemic using innovative curative medical treatments. We set up a dynamically controlled susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model for an epidemic in which patients can be asymptomatic, and we analyze the optimality conditions of the sequence of cure expenses decided by health authorities at the onset of the drug innovation process. We show that analytical conclusions are ambiguous because of their dependence on parameter values.

Enhancing Immunogenicity of a Thermostable, Efficacious SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Formulation through Oligomerization and Adjuvant Choice.

Currently deployed SARS-CoV-2 vaccines all require storage at refrigerated or sub-zero temperatures. We demonstrate that after month-long incubation at 37 °C, solubilization, and formulation with squalene-in-water emulsion adjuvant, a stabilized receptor binding domain retains immunogenicity and protective efficacy. We also examine the effects of trimerization of the stabilized RBD, as well as of additional adjuvants, on both B and T-cell responses.

Thermal sensitivity of black corals (Antipatharia: Hexacorallia): Comparisons between sympatric species from a thermally fluctuating site in Madagascar and between allopatric congenerics.

This study investigated factors shaping the thermal sensitivity in antipatharians, a taxon whose members form dense aggregations in all oceans, harbouring a high biodiversity. First, we tested the thermal responses of five sympatric species (Antipathes grandis, Cupressopathes abies, Stichopathes cf. maldivensis, Cirrhipathes anguina and Cirrhipathes cf.

Emulsion and liposome-based adjuvanted R21 vaccine formulations mediate protection against malaria through distinct immune mechanisms.

Adjuvanted protein vaccines offer high efficacy, yet most potent adjuvants remain proprietary. Several adjuvant compounds are being developed by the Vaccine Formulation Institute in Switzerland for global open access clinical use. In the context of the R21 malaria vaccine, in a mouse challenge model, we characterize the efficacy and mechanism of action of four Vaccine Formulation Institute adjuvants: two liposomal (LQ and LMQ) and two squalene emulsion-based adjuvants (SQ and SMQ), containing QS-21 saponin (Q) and optionally a synthetic TLR4 agonist (M).

Enhanced protective efficacy of a thermostable RBD-S2 vaccine formulation against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.

With the rapid emergence of variants of concern (VOC), the efficacy of currently licensed vaccines has reduced drastically. VOC mutations largely occur in the S1 subunit of Spike. The S2 subunit of SARS-CoV-2 is conserved and thus more likely to elicit broadly reactive immune responses that could improve protection.

Echocardiographic Parameters Associated With Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Physical Activity in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors.

Background: Children's exposure to chemotherapeutic agents causes several long-term adverse effects but physical activity has been evidenced to be an effective strategy to improve cardiac function. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between physical activity levels, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiac parameters measured by echocardiography.

Methods: Participants were 216n childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors who underwent a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test and self-reported their daily minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

From reproductive behaviour to responses to predators: Ocean acidification does not impact the behaviour of an herbivorous marine gastropod.

Ocean acidification (OA), which reduces ocean pH and leads to substantial changes in seawater carbonate chemistry, may strongly impact organisms, especially those with carbonate skeletons. In marine molluscs, while the physiological effects of OA are well known, with a reduction of growth and shell calcification, there are few studies on behavioural effects. A large marine gastropod, Haliotis tuberculata, was exposed to ambient (pH 8.

Balancing the Strength-Impact Relationship and Other Key Properties in Polypropylene Copolymer-Natural CaSO (Anhydrite)-Filled Composites.

To develop novel mineral-filled composites and assess their enhanced properties (stiffness, a good balance between mechanical strength and impact resistance, greater temperature stability), a high-impact polypropylene copolymer (PPc) matrix containing an elastomeric discrete phase was melt mixed with natural CaSO β-anhydrite II (AII) produced from gypsum rocks. First, in a prior investigation, the PPc composites filled with AII (without any modification) displayed enhanced stiffness, which is correlated with the relative content of the filler. The tensile and impact strengths dramatically decreased, especially at high filling (40 wt.

Negative Capacitance in Nanocomposite Based on High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs).

Negative capacitance (NC), already observed in conducting polymer-based nanocomposites, was recently reported and evidenced at low frequencies (<10 kHz) in non-conducting polymer-based nanocomposites containing conductive particles. In this contribution, we demonstrate that it is possible to produce economic high-density polyethylene (HDPE) nanocomposites exhibiting an NC effect at low frequencies via a convenient and environmentally friendly extrusion-like process by only adjusting the duration of melt-mixing. Nanocomposite materials are produced by confining a limited quantity, i.

Higher daily temperature range at depth is linked with higher thermotolerance in antipatharians from the canary islands.

Sensitivity to ocean warming is generally expected to be lower in populations from more heterogeneous thermal environments, owing to greater phenotypic plasticity and/or genotype selection. While resilience of benthic populations from thermally fluctuating environments has been investigated at a variety of spatial scales, this has received limited attention across depths and has remained unresolved for Antipatharian corals, key habitat-forming species across a wide bathymetric range in all of the world oceans. In this study, we aimed at addressing the thermal sensitivity of Antipatharian corals across depths characterized by different levels of temperature fluctuations.