Total dissolved solids (TDS) represent the sum of all common ions (e.g., Na, K, Ca, Mg, chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate) in freshwater. Currently, no federal water quality criteria exist for the protection of aquatic life for TDS, but because the constituents that constitute TDS are variable, the development of aquatic life criteria for specific ions is more practical than development of aquatic life criteria for TDS. Chloride is one such ion for which aquatic life criteria exist; however, the current aquatic life criteria dataset for chloride is more than 20 years old. Therefore, additional toxicity tests were conducted in the current study to confirm the acute toxicity of chloride to several potentially sensitive invertebrates: water flea (Ceriodaphnia dubia), fingernail clams (Sphaerium simile and Musculium transversum), snail (Gyraulus parvus), and worm (Tubifex tubifex), and determine the extent to which hardness and sulfate modify chloride toxicity. The results indicated a significant ameliorating effect of water hardness (calcium and magnesium) on chloride toxicity for all species tested except the snail; for example, the 48-h chloride median lethal concentration (LC50) for C. dubia at 50 mg/L hardness (977 mg Cl(-) /L) was half that at 800 mg/L hardness (1,836 mg Cl(-) /L). Conversely, sulfate over the range of 25 to 600 mg/L exerted a negligible effect on chloride toxicity to C. dubia. Rank order of LC50 values for chloride at a given water hardness was in the order (lowest to highest): S. simile < C. dubia < M. transversum < G. parvus < T. tubifex. Results of the current study support the contention that the specific conductivity or TDS concentration of a water body alone is not a sufficient predictor of acute toxicity and that knowledge of the specific ion composition is critical.

Background Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in family medicine with few clinical treatment options. We implemented and evaluated a group office-visit intervention by family physicians emphasizing nutrition and physical activity within a resiliency psychosocial model, for overweight children and their parents. Methods The intervention lasted for 3 months, with half of the children crossing over to intervention after 6 months on study. Participants included 35 children who met eligibility criteria of being in third through fifth grades and having a body mass index above the 85th percentile. The 3-month twelve-session intervention, “Choices”, included topics on nutrition, physical activity, and resiliency. The sessions were developed for delivery by a family physician, and a nutritionist, who all received training in positive psychology and resilience skills. Main outcome measures were body mass index (BMI) z-scores for age-and-gender, and weight-for-age-and-gender z-scores, as well as qualitative interviews to understand individual and family processes. Results The intervention resulted in a significant effect on one primary outcome, BMI z-score (-0.138 per 9 months (p =0.017) and a trend toward significance on the other, weight for age z-score (-0.87 per 9 months (p=0.09). The net shift of activity from the low METS to the high METS had an intervention effect of 2.84 METS (p = 0.037). Families reported lasting changes in behaviors and attitudes. Discussion The innovative approach used in this study demonstrated modest efficacy in reducing BMI z-score, changing physical activity levels, and possibly shifting family dynamics.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of growth hormone (GH) in the maintenance of the ovarian primordial follicle reserve. Ovaries from 16 mo old GH-deficient Ames Dwarf (df/df) and Normal (N/df) mice were used. A subgroup of df/df and N mice received GH or saline injections for six weeks starting at 14 mo of age. In addition, ovaries from 12 mo old mice overexpressing bovine GH (bGH) and controls were used. df/df mice had higher number of primordial and total follicles than N/df mice (p<0.05), while GH treatment decreased follicle counts in both genotypes (p<0.05). In addition, bGH mice had lower number of primordial and total follicles than the controls (p<0.05). pFoxO3a levels were higher in mice treated with GH and in bGH mice (p<0.05) when comparing with age match controls. These results indicate that increased circulating GH is associated with a reduced ovarian primordial follicle reserve and increased pFoxO3a content in oocytes.

Engineered iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs) have been used extensively for environmental remediation. It may cause the release IO-NPs to the environment affecting the functions of ecosystems. Plants are an important component of ecosystems and can be used for the evaluation of overall fate, transport and exposure pathways of IO-NPs in the environment. In this work, the effects of engineered ferrihydrite and hematite NPs on the germination and growth of maize are studied. The germination and growth of maize were done with treatments at different concentrations of hematite and ferrihydrite NPs, namely 1, 2, 4, and 6 g/L. Biological indicators of toxicity or stress in maize seedlings were not observed in treatments with engineered hematite and ferrihydrite NPs. In contrast, the NPs treatments increased the growth of maize and the chlorophyll content, except for hematite NPs at 6 g/L, where non-significant effects were found. The translocation of engineered ferrihydrite and hematite NPs in maize stems was demonstrated using confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Caloric restriction (CR) increases the preservation of the ovarian primordial follicular reserve, which can potentially delay menopause. Rapamycin also increases preservation on the ovarian reserve, with similar mechanism to CR. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of rapamycin and CR on metabolism, ovarian reserve, and gene expression in mice. Thirty-six female mice were allocated into three groups: control, rapamycin-treated (4 mg/kg body weight every other day), and 30% CR. Caloric restricted females had lower body weight (P < 0.05) and increased insulin sensitivity (P = 0.003), while rapamycin injection did not change body weight (P > 0.05) and induced insulin resistance (P < 0.05). Both CR and rapamycin females displayed a higher number of primordial follicles (P = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively), fewer primary, secondary, and tertiary follicles (P < 0.05) and displayed increased ovarian Foxo3a gene expression (P < 0.05). Despite the divergent metabolic effects of the CR and rapamycin treatments, females from both groups displayed a similar increase in ovarian reserve, which was associated with higher expression of ovarian Foxo3a.