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The extensive anthropogenic use of the platinum group elements (PGE: Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir and Pt) is the main factor responsible for the widespread dispersion of these elements throughout the environment. Significant quantities of the PGE enter fluvial systems via road runoff, storm drains and wastewater and sewage treatment systems, and may accumulate in fluvial sediments by physical and chemical processes. A baseline survey of contemporary fluvial sediments in the Kentish Stour river, east Kent, England, has been undertaken to document the sources and distribution of anthropogenic PGE in an attempt to constrain some of the physical and chemical parameters that may influence the distribution of these elements. The geology of the catchment of the Kentish Stour is dominated by carbonate and silicate sedimentary rocks, and the river passes through urban and rural land and receives inputs of waste from sewage works. Nine sedimentary rocks, 4 motorway-runoff sediments and 22 river sediments were analysed for PGE by NiS fire assay preconcentration and ICP–MS. The highest element abundances occur in the motorway-runoff sediments (maximum total PGE content of 55 ng/g), whilst the lowest values were recorded in the sedimentary rocks, where some samples contain PGE at concentrations below the limit of detection. The total PGE content of the river sediments ranged from 0.4 to 10.8 ng/g. The distribution and variation in concentrations and ratios of the PGE in the contemporary fluvial sediments of the Kentish Stour correspond strongly with land-use changes (urban versus rural) and with points of discharge from sewage works. The absence of a pure catalytic converter signature in the river sediments, however, indicates that source signatures may be mixed in sewage works or that PGE may chemically fractionate in the fluvial environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The anoctamin 5 gene (ANO5) encodes the anoctamin 5 protein that acts as a calcium-sensitive chloride channel. Pathogenic ANO5 variants give rise to four main phenotypes: Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type R12 (LGMDR12), Miyoshi distal muscular dystrophy type 3 (MMD3), Pseudometabolic myopathy, and Asymptomatic hyperCKemia. The clinical phenotypes have been investigated in an extensive European study, while the muscle MRI phenotypes have been studied in only a few smaller studies. Thus, this study examines the MRI phenotype in a large cohort of patients with Anoctaminopathies to describe patterns of muscle involvement, sex differences, the extent of asymmetry, and potential phenotype-genotype correlations. The study is a retrospective, cross-sectional study. We expect to include MRI scans and clinical data from around 200 patients with Anoctaminopathies from 16 centers in 10 countries. The MRI data are shared through MYO-SHARE – an online platform that enables researchers to share pseudonymized MRI scans and to score the intramuscular fat content with the Mercuri scale. T1-weighted MRIs of the lower back and lower limbs will be collected from all patients when available, as well as T1-weighted MRIs and Dixon images from any other body part. Clinical data are shared through REDCap and contain information on genotype, phenotype, muscle function, and cardiac affection. The collection of data is expected to end around Summer 2024. Data will be presented at the conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underlying maternal vascular disease has been implicated as one of several pathways contributing to preterm delivery (PTD) and psychosocial factors such as hostility, anomie, effortful coping, and mastery may be associated with PTD by affecting maternal vascular health. Using data from the Pregnancy Outcomes and Community Health (POUCH) study, we included 2018 non-Hispanic White and 743 African American women from 52 clinics in five Michigan, USA communities. Women were interviewed at 15-27 weeks' gestation and followed to delivery. We found that relations between psychosocial factors and PTD subtypes (i.e. medically indicated, premature rupture of membranes, spontaneous labor) varied by race/ethnicity and socio-economic position (Medicaid insurance status). Among African American women not insured by Medicaid, anomie levels in mid-pregnancy were positively associated with medically indicated PTD after adjusting for maternal age and education. Among all women not insured by Medicaid, hostility levels were positively associated with spontaneous PTD after adjusting for maternal race/ethnicity, age, and education. Failure to detect links between psychosocial factors and PTD risk in poorer women may be due to their excess risk in multiple PTD pathways and/or a more complex web of contributing risk factors. In a subset of 395 women monitored for blood pressure, anomie scores were positively associated with systolic blood pressure and heart rate and hostility scores were positively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and mean arterial pressure in models that included time, awake/asleep, race/ethnicity, and age as covariates. Further adjustment for body mass index and smoking attenuated the anomie-vascular relations but had little effect on the hostility-vascular relations. Overall this study of pregnant women provides some physiologic evidence to support findings linking levels of anomie and hostility with risk of PTD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]