Humans are environmentally exposed to potentially toxic Cd and Hg species and to the Hg compound thimerosal (THI), an antibactericidal vaccine additive. Previous studies have revealed that Cd2+, Hg2+ and CH3Hg+ are taken up by red blood cells (RBCs) and bind to cytosolic glutathione (GSH) and/or hemoglobin (Hb). Since interactions in the cytosol of RBCs may be linked to their hemolysis, a more com

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for many organisms, and in vertebrates has a variety of roles associated with protection from reactive oxygen species. Over the past two decades there have been conflicting reports upon human health benefits and detriments arising from consumption of selenium dietary supplements. Thus, early studies report a decrease in the incidence of certain types of cance

The compounds of mercury can be more toxic than those of any other non-radioactive heavy element. Despite this, environmental mercury pollution and human exposure to mercury are widespread, and are increasing. While the unusual ability of selenium to cancel the toxicity of mercury compounds has been known for nearly five decades, only recently have some aspects of the molecular mechanisms begun to

In recent years larval stage zebrafish have been emerging as a standard vertebrate model in a number of fields, ranging from developmental biology to pharmacology and toxicology. The tyrosinase inhibitor 1-phenyl-2-thiourea (PTU) is used very widely with larval zebrafish to generate essentially transparent organisms through inhibition of melanogenesis, which has enabled many elegant studies in are

The effects of mercury added as Hg(2+) and selenium as selenite to cultures of the sulfate reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans were investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. There was no significant difference in the growth curves in comparison to control except in the 0.5 μM Hg-6.3 μM Se combined system in which Hg methylation was significantly reduced. A significant decreas

Background The WHO estimates a global shortage of 2.8 million physicians, with severe deficiencies especially in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). The unequitable distribution of physicians worldwide is further exacerbated by the migration of physicians from LMICs to high-income countries (HIC). This large-scale migration has numerous economic consequences which include increased mortality a

Results are presented from the measurement by ATLAS of long-range (| Δ η| > 2) dihadron angular correlations in s=8 and 13 TeV pp collisions containing a Z boson. The analysis is performed using 19.4 fb - 1 of s=8 TeV data recorded during Run 1 of the LHC and 36.1 fb - 1 of s=13 TeV data recorded during Run 2. Two-particle correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angl

Environmental context Chronic ingestion of arsenic leads to its accumulation in keratinous tissues, which can represent a risk factor for developing cancer. We use synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy to investigate chemical bonding of arsenic in the keratins from nail clippings of volunteers from areas in Atlantic Canada with low-to-moderate arsenic contamination of drinking water. The study

1989 was a turning point in the socio-economic development in the former Eastern bloc, initiating a systemic transformation that affected the society at large. It also contributed to the crystallisation of certain cultural landscapes, hitherto largely illegible due to the inhibition of spatial processes encountered during socialism. In Poland, after a quarter-century of a free market economy, the

A model is developed to depict the formation of InP/GaxIn1-xP axial heterostructures in self-catalyzed GaxIn1-xP nanowires. The composition profiles of the InP/GaxIn1-xP axial heterostructure are calculated taking into account elastic stresses. It is shown that the InP/GaxIn1-xP axial heterojunction width at the growth temperature of 450°C is larger than 12 monolayers for nanowires with the radius

Fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) deployments are being rolled out in both the C–band (3.3 - 5.0 GHz) and millimeter-wave (mmWave) band (24.5 - 29.5 GHz). For outdoor scenarios, the C–band is expected to provide wide area coverage and throughput uniformity, whereas the mmWave band is expected to provide ultra-high throughput to dedicated areas within the C-band coverage. Due to the differences

Background: With the increasing use of robot-assisted techniques for urologic and gynecologic surgery in patients with severe comorbidities, the risk of a critical incidence during surgery increases. Due to limited access to the patient the start of effective measures to treat a life-threatening emergency could be delayed. Therefore, we tested the management of an acute emergency in an operating r

Loss of memory during Alzheimer's disease (AD), a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, is associated with neuronal loss and the aggregation of amyloid proteins into neurotoxic β‐sheet enriched structures. However, the mechanism of amyloid protein aggregation is still not well understood due to many challenges when studying the endogenous amyloid structures in neurons or in brain tissue. Available met

Today, there are increased expectations that welfare employees should conduct service innovative improvements that enable more effective ways to meet the needs of children.In this study we use the definition of ‘service innovation’ as a way to change the value-adding process of the user so that it becomes better for the end-user than it was before, such as easier to handle things or situations. In

BACKGROUND: A slight increase in revisions for infected joint arthroplasties has been observed in the Nordic countries since 2000 for which the reasons are unclear. However, in 2007 a Swedish study of the timing for prophylactic antibiotics in a random sample of knee arthroplasties found that only 57% of the patients had received the antibiotic during the optimal time interval 45-15 minutes before