We examined the potential of a subsoil to denitrify nitrate under optimal anaerobic conditions in a laboratory-based incubation when supplied with a range of C substrates of increasing recalcitrance. ...Both topsoil and its associated subsoil were supplied with nitrate and either glucose, starch or cellulose. Microbial respiration and the evolution of N
2O and N
2 were measured. The subsoil supported low amounts of microbial activity and responded only to the glucose treatment; with less than one-fifth of the N
2O production measured in the top soil. Overall, our findings demonstrated that the denitrification potential of this particular subsoil is relatively low and that only simple carbohydrates could be utilised readily by the resident microorganisms.
The functional response is the relationship between the feeding rate of an animal and its food density. It is reliant on two basic parameters; the volume searched for prey per unit time (searching ...rate) and the time taken to consume each prey item (handling time). As fish functional responses can be difficult to determine directly, it may be more feasible to measure their underlying behavioural parameters in controlled conditions and use these to predict the functional response. Here, we tested how accurately a Type II functional response model predicted the observed functional response of roach Rutilus rutilus, a visually foraging fish, and compared it with Type I functional response. Foraging experiments were performed by exposing fish in tank aquaria to a range of food densities, with their response captured using a two‐camera videography system. This system was validated and was able to accurately measure fish behaviour in the aquaria, and enabled estimates of fish reaction distance, swimming speed (from which searching rate was calculated) and handling time to be measured. The parameterised Type II functional response model accurately predicted the observed functional response and was superior to the Type I model. These outputs suggest it will be possible to accurately measure behavioural parameters in other animal species and use these to predict the functional response in situations where it cannot be observed directly.
Current models propose that mitochondrial DNA macrohaplogroups M and N evolved from haplogroup L3 soon after modern humans left Africa. Increasingly, however, analysis of isolated populations is ...filling in the details of, and in some cases challenging, aspects of this general model.
Here, we present the first comprehensive study of three such isolated populations from Madagascar: the Mikea hunter-gatherers, the neighbouring Vezo fishermen, and the Merina central highlanders (n = 266). Complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequences reveal several unresolved lineages, and a new, deep branch of the out-of-Africa founder clade M has been identified. This new haplogroup, M23, has a limited global distribution, and is restricted to Madagascar and a limited range of African and Southwest Asian groups.
The geographic distribution, phylogenetic placement and molecular age of M23 suggest that the colonization of Madagascar was more complex than previously thought.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Introduction
Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs) remain among the most common infectious processes seen in the clinical setting. For patients with complicated ABSSSIs deemed ...to require intravenous antibiotics, vancomycin remains the mainstay therapy. Ceftaroline has been shown to be non-inferior to vancomycin and may result in faster resolution of signs of infection.
Methods
Multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized trial of ceftaroline versus vancomycin for the treatment of adult patients admitted for management of ABSSSIs from April 2012 to May 2016; 166 patients in the clinically evaluable (CE) group were needed to determine a 20% difference in primary outcome of clinical response at day 2 or 3 of antibiotics. Clinical response was defined as cessation of spread of lesion and improvement in systemic signs/symptoms of infection. A secondary outcome was a ≥ 20% reduction in lesion size at day 2 or 3 of antibiotics.
Results
One hundred seventy-four patients were enrolled in the intention-to-treat (ITT) group and 108 were CE. Among CE patients, 54 were randomized to ceftaroline and 54 to vancomycin. Baseline characteristics were similar except patients in the ceftaroline arm were older and had a non-significantly higher degree of comorbidities (median Charlson score 2 vs. 4, respectively). Cellulitis was the most common type of ABSSSI (85.2% vs. 79.6%, respectively). Rapid diagnostic testing of available cultures (
n
= 55) demonstrated high agreement with clinical microbiology for identification of
Staphylococcus aureus
(100%) and MRSA (100%). There was no significant difference in primary outcome of day 2 or 3 clinical response (50.0% vs. 51.9%).
Conclusion
Early clinical response between vancomycin- and ceftaroline-treated ABSSSIs was similar. Patients with ABSSSIs rarely remained hospitalized for > 2–3 days, thus limiting our ability to critically assess clinical outcomes.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT02582203.
Funding
Allergan plc.
Titanium is a material that exhibits many desirable properties including a very high strength to weight ratio and corrosive resistance. However, the specific properties of any components depend upon ...the microstructure of the material, which varies by the manufacturing process. This means it is often necessary to analyse the microstructure when designing new processes or performing quality assurance on manufactured parts. For Ti6Al4V, grain size analysis is typically performed manually by expert material scientists as the complicated microstructure of the material means that, to the authors knowledge, no existing software reliably identifies the grain boundaries. This manual process is time consuming and offers low repeatability due to human error and subjectivity. In this paper, we propose a new, automated method to segment microstructural images of a Ti6Al4V alloy into its constituent grains and produce measurements. The results of applying this technique are evaluated by comparing the measurements obtained by different analysis methods. By using measurements from a complete manual segmentation as a benchmark we explore the reliability of the current manual estimations of grain size and contrast this with improvements offered by our approach.
•Geranium essential oil nanoemulsions (NEs) were prepared using ultrasonication.•Physicochemical and ultrasonic parameters were optimized.•Geranium NEs were stable for 60 days at 25 °C.•Geranium NEs ...were effective to control mosquitoes and Indian meal moth.
Over the last years, nanotechnology has contributed to the development of new botanical insecticides formulations based on essential oils (EO), which are safe for the human health and the environment. Nanoemulsions (NEs) can enhance the bioactivity of the EO to prevent the premature volatility and degradation of the active ingredients. In our work, geranium EO (Geranium maculatum L.) was used to develop micro and nanoemulsions adding Tween 80 as surfactant. For NEs formulation, ultrasound was applied and the physicochemical and ultrasound parameters were optimized: oil: surfactant ratio = 1:2, ultrasound power = 65 W, sonication time = 2 min, cycles = 30 on/20 off and ultrasonic probe distance = 3.7 cm. The NEs obtained had 13.58 nm and polydisperse index (PDI) values of 0.069. They were stored at 25 °C and were stable for 60 days.
The present study also demonstrated the potential of NEs to enhance the toxicity of geranium EO against larvae of Culex pipiens pipiens (EO LC50 = 80.97 ppm, NEs LC50 = 48.27 ppm) and Plodia interpunctella (EO + β-cypermethrin LD50 = 0.16 μg larvae−1, NEs + β-cypermethrin LD50 = 0.07 μg larvae−1). Overall, our findings pointed out that NEs can increase twofold the insecticidal efficacy of EO, and thus, they can be considered further for the development of botanical insecticides.
The level of glutathione transferase Kappa (GSTK1-1) has been correlated with obesity (Liu et.al. 2008 PNAS 105: 18302-7) and a polymorphism in the
hGSTK1 promoter has been associated with insulin ...secretion and fat deposition (Gao et al 2009 Endocr J 56: 487-94). We searched for additional polymorphisms that may influence GSTK1-1 function or expression. Two SNPs were identified in the 5’ non-coding region. A SNP at -1308 that occurs in Chinese subjects is predicted to eliminate a FXR/RXR transcription factor-binding site and causes a 55% increase in transcription rate in HepG2 cells and a 59% decrease in HEK293 cells. These data suggest that the impact of this polymorphism is complex and tissue specific. A SNP at -1032 alters a methylation site and represses transcription by 38%. These observations provide the first functional insight into genetic factors that regulate
hGSTK1 expression and may directly influence insulin secretion and fat deposition.
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