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Due to ingestion of contaminated foods, the human gastrointestinal tract is the most likely site of exposure to microplastics (MPs) with gut barrier dysfunction and intestinal inflammation. Aimed to assess the effects induced by MPs with different granulometry (polystyrene (PS) 3 and 10 µm), we performed an in vitro study by using the human intestinal cell line HT29. As a novelty, we assessed the sub-chronic exposure extending the treatment up to 48 days simulating the in vivo situation. In the range of 100–1600 particles mL−1, both the PS suspensions had moderate cytotoxicity after 24 h with percentages of mortality between 6.7 and 21.6 for the 10 µm and 6.1 and 29.6 for the 3 µm PS. Microscopic observation highlighted a more pronounced lysosomal membrane permeabilization in HT29 exposed to PS 3µm. Reactive oxygen species production was higher in cells exposed to PS 10 µm, but sub-chronic exposure highlighted the ability of the cells to partially neutralize this effect. Comet-assay confirmed the temporary oxidative damage that was PS-induced. Overall, considering the very fast turnover of intestinal cells, the increase in cell mortality, equal to 25% and 11% for 3 and 10 µm PS-MPs for each time point, could trigger intestinal disorders due to prolonged exposure.

Background A lifestyle including poor diet, physical inactivity, excessive gaming and inadequate sleep hygiene is frequently seen among Dutch children. These lifestyle behaviors can cause long-term health problems later in life. Unhealthy lifestyle and poor physical health are even more prevalent among children with mental illness (MI) such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety. However, research on lifestyle interventions among children with MI is lacking. As a result, there are currently no guidelines, or treatment programs where children with MI and poor lifestyle can receive effective support. To address these issues and to provide insight into the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in children with MI and their families, the Movementss study was designed. This paper describes the rationale, study design, and methods of an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the short-term (12 weeks) and long-term (1 year) effects of a lifestyle intervention with care as usual (CAU) in children with MI and an unhealthy lifestyle. Methods A total of 80 children (6–12 years) with MI according to DSM-V and an unhealthy lifestyle are randomized to the lifestyle intervention group or CAU at a specialized child and adolescent mental hospital. The primary outcome measure is quality of life measured with the KIDSCREEN. Secondary outcomes include emotional and behavior symptoms, lifestyle parameters regarding diet, physical activity, sleep, and screen time, cognitive assessment (intelligence and executive functions), physical measurements (e.g., BMI), parenting styles, and family functioning, prior beliefs, adherence, satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness. Assessments will take place at the start of the study (T0), after 12 weeks (T1), six months (T2), and 12 months of baseline (T3) to measure long-term effects. Discussion This RCT will likely contribute to the currently lacking knowledge on lifestyle interventions in children with MI. Trial registration trialsearch.who.int/ NL9822. Registered at November 2 nd , 2021.

We experimentally investigated how pollinator- and herbivore-induced changes influence the performance of the long-lived herb Primula veris. Eight treatments that corresponded to natural factors normally affecting this species were designed to enhance or reduce reproductive success and resource availability (flower removal, supplementary pollination, defoliation). During the experimental season and in the following year we quantified responses in terms of survival, growth, and seed production of reproductive plants. Matrix population models were used to calculate population growth rate using the demographic parameters recorded in permanent plots and respective treatment groups. Seed production was not limited by pollen availability, and we found no evidence of a cost of reproduction. Leaf removal had either no effect or a negative effect on future performance, depending on the timing of removal. Defoliation early in the season reduced current seed production and future growth, whereas removal during fruit development affected performance in the following year. Demographic models suggest that leaf damage has a smaller negative impact than flower removal on overall performance in this population. Our results suggest that the source-sink paths vary over the season and that the timing of herbivory may influence the extent to which effects are carried over to subsequent reproductive seasons.

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the effects of e-government on corruption prevalence by using a sample of 29 European countries over the period 2012–2019.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) model to mitigate the problems of cross-sectional dependence. The PCSE model is also considered to reexamine the findings when the presence of heteroscedasticity, fixed effects and endogeneity issues are taken into account. The theoretical model incorporates one-year-lagged explanatory variables to deal with endogeneity. The autoregressive distributed lag method using the dynamic fixed effects estimator is chosen to deal with the time and country-fixed effects in the effort to measure the short- and long-run effects of e-government more precisely.FindingsThe results indicate that e-government plays a critical role in improving the population’s perception of corruption. Furthermore, e-government appears to have an effect in the short run. Notably, the estimation results show that there is a nonlinear relationship between e-government, especially user centricity and key enablers and the corruption perception index in the U-shaped curve.Practical implicationsThe short-run and nonlinear effects of e-government on corruption prevalence suggest that the fight against corruption requires countries to pursue a consistent and continuous improvement and development of the e-government system.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the literature by providing a consistent and precise answer to this relationship in the case of European countries. Another contribution of the work is to use diverse indicators to reflect e-government in a typical country, which helps us confirm the reliability and robustness of the findings.

Background Food may trigger Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Therefore, an elimination diet (ED) might be an effective treatment for children with ADHD. However, earlier studies were criticized for the nature of the control group, potential confounders explaining the observed effects, unsatisfactory blinding, potential risks of nutritional deficiencies and unknown long term and cost-effectiveness. To address these issues, this paper describes the rationale, study design and methods of an ongoing two arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the short (5 week) and long term (1 year) effects of an elimination diet and a healthy diet compared with care as usual (CAU) in children with ADHD. Methods A total of N  = 162 children (5–12 years) with ADHD will be randomized to either an ED or a healthy diet. A comparator arm including N  = 60 children being solely treated with CAU (e.g. medication) is used to compare the effects found in both dietary groups. The two armed RCT is performed in two youth psychiatry centers in the Netherlands, with randomization within each participating center. The primary outcome measure is response to treatment defined as a ≥ 30% reduction on an ADHD DSM-5 rating scale (SWAN) and/or on an emotion dysregulation rating scale (SDQ: dysregulation profile). This is assessed after 5 weeks of dietary treatment, after which participants continue the diet or not. Secondary outcome measures include the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observational Schedule (DB-DOS), parent and teacher ratings of comorbid symptoms, cognitive assessment (e.g. executive functions), school functioning, physical measurements (e.g. weight), motor activity, sleep pattern, food consumption, nutritional quality of the diet, adherence, parental wellbeing, use of health care resources and cost-effectiveness. Assessments take place at the start of the study (T0), after five weeks (T1), four months (T2), eight months (T3) and 12 months of treatment (T4). T0, T1 and T4 assessments take place at one of the psychiatric centers. T2 and T3 assessments consist of filling out online questionnaires by the parents only. Discussion This RCT will likely contribute significantly to clinical practice for ADHD by offering insight into the feasibility, nutritional quality, (cost-)effectiveness and long term effects of dietary treatments for ADHD. Trial registration www.trialregister.nl , NTR5434 . Registered at October 11th, 2015.

Short- and long-term effects of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients with cirrhosis are still unclear. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore CBF alteration patterns in cirrhotic patients after TIPS. Thirteen cirrhotic patients (7 male, 6 female, mean age 50.0 ± 9.3 years) underwent arterial-spin labeling (ASL) MRI 1–9 days (median 1 days) before TIPS. Follow-up MR examinations were performed about 1 week (median 6 days), 3 months ( n  = 6), 6–9 months ( n  = 5) and 12–18 months ( n  = 5) after TIPS. CBF, ammonia level, Child-Pugh score, number connection test type A (NCT-A) and digit symbol test (DST) scores were converted into relative values by dividing by his/her pre-TIPS values, and then, compared via one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Correlations between the pre- and post-TIPS changes of relative CBF (rCBF) and the changes of relative ammonia (rAmmonia), Child-Pugh (rChild-Pugh), and NCT-A/DST (rNCT-A/rDST) scores were calculated by crossing subjects. Compared with the pre-TIPS level, the global rCBF slightly increased by 10.9 % about 1 week later, then rapidly decreased by 14.2 % 3 months later, and flatly decreased by 17.2 % in 6–9 months and 18.0 % in 12–18 months following TIPS. The changes of 3-month rDST score were slightly correlated with 3-month rCBF rather than 1-week rCBF, ( P  < 0.1, FDR-corrected) No difference was found between the pre- and post-TIPS rAmmonia levels, rChild-Pugh and rNCT-A/rDST scores (Post-hoc P  > 0.05). CBF measured at different time points after TIPS insertion showed different patterns, indicating varying longitudinal effects of TIPS on CBF. A sharp decline of rCBF was found in the 1 week to 3 months period after insertion, indicating that high event rate of hepatic encephalopathy might relate with the unadaptable CBF in patients undergoing TIPS insertion.

This paper investigates the effects of marital and non-marital separation on individuals' housing tenure in England and Wales. We apply competing risks event history models to data from the British Household Panel Survey and the UK Household Longitudinal Study to analyse the risk of a residential move to different tenure types, for single, married, cohabiting, and separated men and women. Separated individuals are more likely to move and experience a tenure change than those who are single or in a relationship. Among separated people, private renting is the most common outcome of a move; however, women are also likely to move to social renting, whereas men tend to move to homeownership. This pattern persists when we account for time since separation and order of move, indicating a potential long-term effect of separation on housing tenure. This long-term effect is especially pertinent to separated women who cannot afford homeownership.

The present paper analyses the impact of sales promotions on store performance, in the short and long term, from the retailer's point of view. Relationships among promoted and regular sales in the hypermarkets of a large-scale retail chain of national importance, are investigated by means of a structural vector autoregressive model (SVAR). Statistically significant effects of sales promotions in the heavy household section on store sales are found in the short-run; these promotions produce additional sales and thus act as an attractive factor. Promotions in textile category, on the contrary, produce an immediate negative effect on net sales. In the long run, negative statistically significant effects on regular sales are detected when promotions are repeatedly implemented within perishables category. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Background How cognition is influenced by electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) and major depressive disorder (MDD) is still debated. The development and etiology of neurocognitive impairment in MDD were examined by investigating the cognitive profile following ECT related to the state, scar, and trait perspectives, with the former predicting improvements parallel with depressive symptoms, while the two latter expected persisting impairments. Executive functions (EF) and attention are central to cognition and alterations in these functions could influence other domains like memory. The main aims of the present study were to examine the short and long-term effects of ECT on EF and attention in patients with major depressive disorder by exploiting the rapid antidepressant effect of this treatment. Methods A case-control longitudinal follow-up design was used to investigate the effects of unilateral brief-pulse ECT on EF and attention in patients with depression ( n  = 36) compared to untreated healthy controls ( n  = 16). EF and attention were measured pre-treatment, approximately two weeks, and six months post-treatment. Results The patient group showed significantly worse performance on most tests compared to healthy controls pre-treatment, and no short- or long-term worsening of EF and attention following ECT was found. Significant improvement was identified in patients’ attention, processing speed and inhibition after ECT. Conclusions The present study showed that there was no cognitive worsening after ECT treatment. An improvement in several of the tests measuring inhibition, attention, and processing speed was parallel to symptom reduction, with the former showing associations to symptom change, suggesting state-related effects from improved mood. Still, the patient group performed significantly worse on most measures both pre-treatment and at the short and long-term follow-ups, indicating prevailing trait or scar effects on cognitive functions and potential lack of practice effects. Clinical trial number NCT04348825 (14.04.20).

This chapter contains sections titled: Impact of obesity on fertility Impact of obesity on breastfeeding The impact of breastfeeding on obesity Oral contraceptives Contraceptive vaginal ring The transdermal patch Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (injection) Intrauterine devices Barrier contraceptives Sterilization Recommendations for contraception for obese women References