Evidence to indicate that early exposure to environmental contaminants may result in a greater risk of serious disease later on in life has been presented by researchers in a new White Paper. Measures to prevent non-contagious illnesses, such as diabetes, asthma and cancer should therefore focus on the early stages in life, including the time spent in the womb, they suggest.

Ecotoxicity tests that are used to understand the impacts of chemical pollutants on aquatic organisms and ecosystems could be improved by including all life stages of the test animals. These are the conclusions of a study by Belgian researchers, who found that the apparent absorption of some pesticides by the dormant eggs of water fleas may have negative effects on the invertebrates’ later survival and reproduction, although the development and hatching of the eggs are not affected.

This study assessed the effects of herbicides on non-target plants in Denmark and Canada. The findings showed that some plants are more sensitive to herbicides in the reproductive stages of their life cycle and can experience delays in flowering and reduced seed production. The authors say future ecological assessments should consider reproductive outcomes.

Check off your holiday shopping list with gifts that will help children meet their developmental milestones

The Superintendent is implementing the first stages of fire restrictions in the park, beginning June 30. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2011-06-29_restrict.htm

There is provided a DC-DC converter which converts an input voltage into an output voltage for supply to a load, in which an input terminal receives the input voltage, an output terminal outputs the output voltage, power stages each includes: a high side switch, a low side switch and an inductor, the control unit executes a first mode and a second mode wherein the first mode controls the high side switch and the low side switch in each of the power stages so that a ratio of an output current in each of the power stages to a load current flowing through the load becomes a set value and the second mode controls the high side switch and the low side switch in each of the power stages so that duty ratios of the high side switch and the low side switch are equalized among the power stages.

On your marks for the Doggy Dash.

Much-loved actor Anne Phelan, who featured in Australian TV programs including Bellbird and Prisoner, dies at the age of 71. The acclaimed actor was described as "simply one of the best humans".

“Arise: A Simple Story” coasts on its gentle visual language, but is a good option for those looking for a family-friendly game.

Gordon C. Weir
Dec 1, 2004; 53:S16-S21
Section I: Insulin Resistance-Beta-Cell Connection in Type 2 Diabetes

This study aims to model genetic, immunologic, metabolomics, and proteomic biomarkers for development of islet autoimmunity (IA) and progression to type 1 diabetes in a prospective high-risk cohort. We studied 67 children: 42 who developed IA (20 of 42 progressed to diabetes) and 25 control subjects matched for sex and age. Biomarkers were assessed at four time points: earliest available sample, just prior to IA, just after IA, and just prior to diabetes onset. Predictors of IA and progression to diabetes were identified across disparate sources using an integrative machine learning algorithm and optimization-based feature selection. Our integrative approach was predictive of IA (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] 0.91) and progression to diabetes (AUC 0.92) based on standard cross-validation (CV). Among the strongest predictors of IA were change in serum ascorbate, 3-methyl-oxobutyrate, and the PTPN22 (rs2476601) polymorphism. Serum glucose, ADP fibrinogen, and mannose were among the strongest predictors of progression to diabetes. This proof-of-principle analysis is the first study to integrate large, diverse biomarker data sets into a limited number of features, highlighting differences in pathways leading to IA from those predicting progression to diabetes. Integrated models, if validated in independent populations, could provide novel clues concerning the pathways leading to IA and type 1 diabetes.

Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd, 1884.

Preterm children born between 29 and 36 gestational weeks are at higher risk of developmental delay. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) have been recommended as a developmental screening tool.

At 12 months’ corrected age (CA), the ASQ was insufficient in identifying delays on both mental and psychomotor scales of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development but was accurate in detecting mental delay at CA of 24 months. (Read the full article)

The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) has been validated in many countries and translated into numerous languages. In most publications, it has been reported that the ASQ is accurate in detecting true problems in apparently healthy children and even in children with biological risk factors.

This report compares the third version of the ASQ and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition, assessments. Psychometric properties showed a tendency to improve with testing age and when comparing term versus extremely preterm children. (Read the full article)

Earlier genetic and inhibitor studies have shown that epigenetic regulation of gene expression is critical for malaria parasite survival in multiple life stages and a promising target for new anti-malarials. We therefore evaluated the activity of 350 diverse epigenetic inhibitors against multiple stages of Plasmodium falciparum. We observed ≥90% inhibition at 10 μM for 28% of compounds against asexual blood stages and early gametocytes, of which a third retained ≥90% inhibition at 1 μM.

New York needs Broadway to be alive and well, so that tourism, hotels and restaurants do well, observed the spokesperson of a Broadway performers' association, citing a study showing that Broadway contributes nearly $15 billion to the local economy

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has called fears over the coronavirus a "psychosis" and variously suggested drinking vodka, visiting saunas or playing ice hockey to beat the disease.

This year's Tour of Spain will not go through Portugal as planned because of the COVID-19 crisis, organisers said on Saturday.

Scabies is a frequent cutaneous infection caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei in a large number of mammals, including humans. As the resistance of S. scabiei against several chemical acaricides has been previously documented, the establishment of alternative and effective control molecules is required. In this study, the potential acaricidal activity of beauvericin was assessed against different life stages of S. scabiei var. suis and in comparison with dimpylate and ivermectin, two commercially available molecules used for the treatment of S. scabiei infection in animals and/or humans. The toxicity of beauvericin against cultured human fibroblast skin cells was evaluated using an MTT proliferation assay. In our in vitro model, developmental stages of S. scabiei were placed in petri dishes filled with Columbia agar supplemented with pig serum and different concentrations of the drugs. Cell sensitivity assays demonstrated low toxicity of beauvericin against primary human fibroblast skin cells. At 0.5 and 5 mM, beauvericin showed higher activity against adults and eggs of S. scabiei compared to dimpylate and ivermectin. These results revealed that the use of beauvericin is promising and might be considered for the treatment of S. scabiei infection.

In a further amendment to the plans for Vuelta a Espana 2020, the race will not travel through Portugal.

The World Health Organisation's chief has warned that most countries are still in the early stages of their coronavirus epidemics and others are starting to see a resurgence in cases.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he hopes Australia will be mostly reopened by July, and has unveiled the three-step plan agreed to by National Cabinet to get there. Here's how it looks.

Spain saw 229 new deaths related to Covid-19, up from 213 the day before.