Systemic effects of pesticides on insectivorous bats: a proteomics approach.

Bats play a critical role controlling agricultural pests, yet foraging in croplands exposes them to hazardous pesticides. These chemicals pose significant risks for bats by impairing immune function, locomotion, and cognition even at low doses, jeopardizing their survival and ecological role. Here, we employed proteomics-a powerful, yet underused, tool in ecotoxicology-to examine the systemic effects of Chlorpyrifos (CPF), a commonly used insecticide, on big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus).

Incorporating biobanking into the future of healthcare: exploring patient and healthcare worker perspectives at a Canadian tertiary academic hospital.

Biobanks are an essential resource for researchers conducting scientific and translational research but require significant support from institutions and healthcare workers (HW) to operate and are reliant on patient consent and participation. In order to better understand the barriers to institution-wide biobanking, we conducted a survey to examine the knowledge, attitudes and concerns of patients and HW on a range of biobanking-related topics, including consenting practices, privacy and trust in the healthcare team and researchers, and current practices at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Overall, we found that there is strong patient and HW support for biobanking as a resource for research (89-96%).

Association of overgeneral autobiographical memory with personality impairment, pathological trait domains, and the borderline pattern specifier in a female psychiatric sample.

The proposed model of personality disorder in the , 11th revision ) comprises ratings of the severity of self and interpersonal impairment, pathological trait domains, and a borderline pattern specifier. The incremental validity of the different components of the model has primarily been studied in relation to symptoms, traits, and psychosocial functioning, whereas associations with cognitive- and identity-related factors have not yet been characterized. The present study investigated the unique associations of each component of the model with overgeneral autobiographical memory, which reflects aspects of identity integration and episodic memory retrieval.

Assessing the 1918/19 Pandemic Influenza and Respiratory Tuberculosis Interaction in Malta: Operationalizing a Syndemic During a Crisis Event.

Studies have indicated that there was a disease interaction of pandemic influenza with respiratory tuberculosis (TB) in Malta, which could explain the heightened mortality recorded in young adults. We revisit the 1918/19 influenza and TB syndemic potential on the island of Malta. Borrowing from crisis studies that explore the harvesting effect, we used the method of assessing changes in pre-pandemic, pandemic, fallow, and post-pandemic mortality/life expectancy to reveal the syndemic experience.

Insect gut-dwelling fungus Zancudomyces culisetae: A hidden player in mosquito development.

Mosquitoes and their gut-dwelling fungi have been documented worldwide, yet their relationships remain poorly understood. Harpellales fungi (Kickxellomycotina, Zoopagomycota) have traditionally been considered commensals, but recent studies suggest they may exhibit parasitic or mutualistic characteristics under certain conditions. In this study, we explored these interactions using two well-established laboratory models: Aedes aegypti and Zancudomyces culisetae.

Bridging Citizen Science and Expert Surveys in urban biodiversity monitoring: Insights from insect diversity in Macao.

Urban ecosystems present unique challenges for biodiversity monitoring, demanding efficient methods to document species diversity in rapidly changing environments. This study quantifies insect diversity in Macao SAR - a hyper-urbanised region - by integrating data on 1,339 species documented in expert-led surveys and 1,012 species recorded in citizen-science observations between 2019 and 2023. Striking divergence emerged between the expert and citizen-science datasets: only 462 species (33.

Probing sources of strontium exposure in pregnant individuals living near unconventional oil and gas wells using urinary Sr/Sr isotope ratios.

Background: In the Exposures in the Peace River Valley (EXPERIVA) study, pregnant individuals living in a region of natural gas exploitation had higher biological concentrations of certain trace elements, including strontium (Sr), than the general population. However, sources remained unidentified.

Objectives: To measure urinary Sr/Sr isotope ratio in EXPERIVA participants, assess its reliability, and explore how its variance fluctuates based on Sr concentrations in biological (urine, hair, nails) and environmental (tap water) samples, as well as the density/proximity of unconventional oil and gas wells around participants' residence.

Associations Between Cannabis Use and Mental Health in Patients Accessing Treatment for Substance Use Disorders: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study.

: Cannabis use is common among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), yet its relationship with mental health characteristics in treatment-seeking populations remains unclear. : This study examined associations between cannabis use and mental health in patients seeking SUD treatment, to understand whether cannabis use relates to clinical characteristics relevant to SUD care. : A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 544 patients in Ontario, Canada seeking treatment for any SUD (including cannabis use disorder).

Benchtop NMR Spectroscopy of Multicellular Organisms.

NMR spectroscopy is a critical tool for environmental and biological research, but the physical and financial barriers of standard "high-field" NMR spectrometers can limit applications, especially in the environmental sciences. Low-field benchtop NMR (H resonance frequencies generally ≤100 MHz) is more accessible, but its lower sensitivity and increased spectral overlap have limited the study of complex samples. Living organisms are among the most heterogeneous samples, and it is unclear if useful information can be extracted using benchtop NMR.

Formal E-waste facilities as a source of mercury to air and soil in Türkiye.

Spatio-temporal variations of mercury concentrations in air and soil were measured near 20 formal e-waste recycling facilities and 8 background locations in 8 provinces in Türkiye between June 2021 and May 2022. Annual average Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) concentrations in air at the studied formal e-waste facilities averaged 34 ng/m (range from 2.2 to 273 ng/m), exceeding by more than an order of magnitude average levels of 2.

Bifunctional MoS-BiVO heterojunction boosts photoelectrochemical and colorimetric dual-mode sialic acid sensing.

Sialic acid (SA), a vital biomarker, plays a key role in diagnosing and monitoring various diseases. Herein, a dual-mode sensing system integrating photoelectrochemical (PEC) and colorimetric detection approaches was developed for the sensitive and selective detection of sialic acid in serum samples. This system offers cross-validated, independent signal readouts, thereby enhancing detection accuracy and reliability.

The ecological validity of two novel non-immersive virtual reality tests of attention and executive functions in an mTBI population.

Introduction: Within the realm of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) research, it has been argued that current test measures of attention are not sufficiently sensitive to assess the various aspects of attention involved in everyday life. The literature indicates that virtual reality (VR) test measures that resemble real-life situations have good ecological validity. Novel VR assessment tools were developed and their predictive ability investigated as it pertains to return to work (RTW) in a sample of patients in the post-acute recovery period of mTBI.

Spatial occurrence records and distributions of tropical Asian butterflies.

Insect biogeography is poorly documented globally, particularly in the tropics. Recent intensive research in tropical Asia, combined with increasingly available records from citizen science, provides an opportunity to map the distributions of tropical Asian butterflies. We compiled a dataset of 730,190 occurrences of 3,752 tropical Asian butterfly species by aggregating records from GBIF (651,285 records), published literature (27,217), published databases (37,695), and unpublished data (13,993).

Sources and temporal trends of chlorinated paraffins in PM in a megacity in central China.

The widespread use of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) poses significant ecological and health risks. However, existing studies on CPs are generally short, and studies on their regional sources are limited. Herein, we continuously monitored the concentrations of short-chain CPs (SCCPs) and medium-chain CPs (MCCPs) in PM in a megacity near industrial areas to investigate their sources, seasonal and annual variations, and potential health risks.

Fruit Availability and Maternal Energy Expenditure Associated With Infant Independence in an Arboreal Primate (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii).

A range of ecological and social factors have been shown to affect early-life behaviour in mammals. Primate infants are altricial and thus unable to move independently at birth. As a result, infants in some species are continuously held or carried (handled) by their mother or another caregiver (allomother).

A Study on the Possible Link of Brucellosis to Increased Stillbirths in the Maltese Islands from 1919 to 1954.

Background: Human brucellosis, otherwise known as undulant fever, is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases in the world. Even though 9%-15% of stillbirths are known to be caused by infectious diseases, the study of the link between human and the termination of births in humans is a topic that has received little attention. This study examines if there was an association between infection of undulant fever, an endemic zoonotic disease in the Maltese Islands from 1919 until 1954, and reproductive loss through stillbirths.

The Association of Food Security Status with Transactional Sex Engagement Among Female Adolescents Aged 15-24: Evidence from Cameroon.

Transactional sex has been identified as a risk factor for HIV acquisition. While studies have investigated the various factors associated with transactional sex among women, its association with food security status in sub-Saharan African countries remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, we utilized data from the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey and applied multivariate logit models to examine the relationship between food security status and engagement in transactional sex among unmarried adolescent girls and young women in Cameroon.

Use of Health Administrative Data to Identify Migraine in Individuals With a Recognized Pregnancy: A Validation Study in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Migraine is a common risk factor for adverse perinatal outcomes, showing the importance of studying migraine in pregnancy. Despite the growing use of routinely collected administrative data in health research, the validity of such data to detect migraine in pregnant populations is unestablished. We validated algorithms to identify a history of migraine among pregnant individuals using health administrative data and population-representative self-report data.

Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health of persons with disabilities: Insights from the 2021 Canadian Housing Survey.

Mental health (MH) remains a major public health concern in Canada and has been exacerbated by the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions on physical movement. While considerable work has been done on the impact of COVID-19 on the physical and MH of the general population, relatively less work has focused on the MH of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Although the COVID-19 containment measures including lockdowns, social distancing, quarantine, and closure of nonessential services were intended to reduce the direct risks of COVID-19, the socioeconomic consequences of those restrictions and the uncertainties surrounding the virus, inadvertently had adverse impact on the MH and well-being of Canadian residents, particularly, among already marginalized groups such as PWDs.

Cognitive Dysfunction in the Addictions (CDiA): protocol for a neuron-to-neighbourhood collaborative research program.

Substance use disorders (SUDs), including Alcohol Use Disorder, are pressing global public health problems. Executive functions (EFs) are prominently featured in mechanistic models of addiction. However, significant gaps remain in our understanding of EFs in SUDs, including the dimensional relationships of EFs to underlying neural circuits, molecular biomarkers, disorder heterogeneity, and functional ability.

Exosome-related genes influence the progression of stroke through neuroinflammatory responses.

Ischemic stroke (IS) ranks among the top causes of mortality and disability globally. Exosomes exert a crucial effect on maintaining a complex regulatory balance with neuroinflammation in IS. Hence, this research aimed to elucidate the roles of exosome-related genes IS.

Toward "Receive-Only" Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Microcoil Arrays for High-Throughput Analysis of Environmental Samples.

neonates and eggs are critical life stages that show different susceptibilities to toxins and stressors compared to adults. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has unique potential to uncover the underlying biochemical causes, but such very small, mass-limited samples are challenging to study. While the enhanced mass sensitivity of microcoils leads to markedly improved NMR analysis, experiments are often still long, leading to low throughput.

Sensitivity of diffusion tensor imaging to regional mixed cerebrovascular pathology.

Diffusion tensor imaging is a candidate biomarker in cerebrovascular disease. Yet, little is known about the sensitivity of diffusion tensor imaging to mixed forms of cerebrovascular pathology: stroke and white matter hyperintensities. We evaluated the sensitivity of diffusion tensor imaging to regional lesion load, considering both stroke and white matter hyperintensity lesions.

A Paper Strip-Based Photoinduced Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Platform with CTF/PMo12 Heterojunction-Sensitive Glutamic Acid Detection.

Glutamic acid (GA), a crucial neurotransmitter, plays a significant role in brain function, muscle health, and various neurological disorders. Elevated GA levels have been associated with conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease. Accurate detection of GA levels is paramount for both diagnostic and research purposes.