Ozone holds a certain fascination in atmospheric science. It is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, central to tropospheric oxidation chemistry, yet harmful to human and ecosystem health as well as being ...an important greenhouse gas. It is not emitted into the atmosphere but is a byproduct of the very oxidation chemistry it largely initiates. Much effort is focused on the reduction of surface levels of ozone owing to its health and vegetation impacts, but recent efforts to achieve reductions in exposure at a country scale have proved difficult to achieve owing to increases in background ozone at the zonal hemispheric scale. There is also a growing realisation that the role of ozone as a short-lived climate pollutant could be important in integrated air quality climate change mitigation. This review examines current understanding of the processes regulating tropospheric ozone at global to local scales from both measurements and models. It takes the view that knowledge across the scales is important for dealing with air quality and climate change in a synergistic manner. The review shows that there remain a number of clear challenges for ozone such as explaining surface trends, incorporating new chemical understanding, ozone-climate coupling, and a better assessment of impacts. There is a clear and present need to treat ozone across the range of scales, a transboundary issue, but with an emphasis on the hemispheric scales. New observational opportunities are offered both by satellites and small sensors that bridge the scales.
Recent studies have indicated that biosurfactants play a role both in maintaining channels between multicellular structures in biofilms and in dispersal of cells from biofilms. A combination of ...caprylic acid (0.01 %
v
/
v
) together with rhamnolipids (0.04 %
v
/
v
) was applied to biofilms of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
ATCC 15442,
Staphylococcus aureus
ATCC 9144 and a mixed culture under BioFlux flowthrough conditions and caused disruption of the biofilms. The biofilms were also treated with a combination of rhamnolipids (0.04 %
v
/
v
) and sophorolipids (0.01 %). Control treatments with PBS 1× had no apparent effect on biofilm disruption. The Gram-positive bacterium (
S. aureus
ATCC 9144) was more sensitive than
P. aeruginosa
ATCC 15442 in terms of disruption and viability as shown by Live/Dead staining. Disruption of biofilms of
P. aeruginosa
ATCC 15442 was minimal. Oxygen consumption by biofilms, after different treatments with biosurfactants, confirms that sophorolipid on its own is unable to kill/inhibit cells of
P. aeruginosa
ATCC 15442, and even when used in combination with rhamnolipids, under static conditions, no decrease in the cell viability was observed. Cells in biofilms exposed to mono-rhamnolipids (0.04 %
v
/
v
) showed behaviour typical of exposure to bacteriostatic compounds, but when exposed to di-rhamnolipids (0.04 %
v
/
v
), they displayed a pattern characteristic of bactericidal compounds.
ULTRACAM is a portable, high-speed imaging photometer designed to study faint astronomical objects at high temporal resolutions. ULTRACAM employs two dichroic beamsplitters and three frame-transfer ...CCD cameras to provide three-colour optical imaging at frame rates of up to 500 Hz. The instrument has been mounted on both the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope on La Palma and the 8.2-m Very Large Telescope in Chile, and has been used to study white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, pulsars, black hole/neutron star X-ray binaries, gamma-ray bursts, cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binary stars, extrasolar planets, flare stars, ultracompact binaries, active galactic nuclei, asteroseismology and occultations by Solar System objects (Titan, Pluto and Kuiper Belt objects). In this paper we describe the scientific motivation behind ULTRACAM, present an outline of its design and report on its measured performance.
The world's population will reach 10.4 billion in 2067, with 81% residing in Africa or Asia. Arable land available for food production will decrease to 0.15 ha per person. Temperature will increase ...in tropical and temperate zones, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, and this will push growing seasons and dairy farming away from arid areas and into more northern latitudes. Dairy consumption will increase because it provides essential nutrients more efficiently than many other agricultural systems. Dairy farming will become modernized in developing countries and milk production per cow will increase, doubling in countries with advanced dairying systems. Profitability of dairy farms will be the key to their sustainability. Genetic improvements will include emphasis on the coding genome and associated noncoding epigenome of cattle, and on microbiomes of dairy cattle and farmsteads. Farm sizes will increase and there will be greater lateral integration of housing and management of dairy cattle of different ages and production stages. Integrated sensors, robotics, and automation will replace much of the manual labor on farms. Managing the epigenome and microbiome will become part of routine herd management. Innovations in dairy facilities will improve the health of cows and permit expression of natural behaviors. Herds will be viewed as superorganisms, and studies of herds as observational units will lead to improvements in productivity, health, and well-being of dairy cattle, and improve the agroecology and sustainability of dairy farms. Dairy farmers in 2067 will meet the world's needs for essential nutrients by adopting technologies and practices that provide improved cow health and longevity, profitable dairy farms, and sustainable agriculture.
Patient-centred outcomes are increasingly used in perioperative clinical trials. The Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine (StEP) initiative aims to define which measures should be used in ...future research to facilitate comparison between studies and to enable robust evidence synthesis.
A systematic review was conducted to create a longlist of patient satisfaction, health-related quality of life, functional status, patient well-being, and life-impact measures for consideration. A three-stage Delphi consensus process involving 89 international experts was then conducted in order to refine this list into a set of recommendations.
The literature review yielded six patient-satisfaction measures, seven generic health-related quality-of-life measures, eight patient well-being measures, five functional-status measures, and five life-impact measures for consideration. The Delphi response rates were 92%, 87%, and 100% for Rounds 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Three additional measures were added during the Delphi process as a result of contributions from the StEP group members. Firm recommendations have been made about one health-related quality-of-life measure (EuroQol 5 Dimension, five-level version with visual analogue scale), one functional-status measure (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule version 2.0, 12-question version), and one life-impact measure (days alive and out of hospital at 30 days after surgery). Recommendations with caveats have been made about the Bauer patient-satisfaction measure and two life-impact measures (days alive and out of hospital at 1 yr after surgery, and discharge destination).
Several patient-centred outcome measures have been recommended for use in future perioperative studies. We suggest that every clinical study should consider using at least one patient-centred outcome within a suite of endpoints.
Systematic studies evaluating clinical benefit of tumor genomic profiling are lacking. We conducted a prospective study in 250 patients with select solid tumors at the Cleveland Clinic. Eligibility ...required histopathologic diagnosis, age of 18 years or older, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2, and written informed consent. Tumors were sequenced using FoundationOne (Cambridge, MA). Results were reviewed at the Cleveland Clinic Genomics Tumor Board. Outcomes included feasibility and clinical impact. Colorectal (25%), breast (18%), lung (13%), and pancreatobiliary (13%) cancers were the most common diagnoses. Median time from consent to result was 25 days (range = 3-140). Of 223 evaluable samples, 49% (n = 109) of patients were recommended a specific therapy, but only 11% (n = 24) received such therapy: 12 on clinical trials, nine off-label, three on-label. Lack of clinical trial access (n = 49) and clinical deterioration (n = 29) were the most common reasons for nonrecommendation/nonreceipt of genomics-driven therapy.
Aims
To establish the ability of the rhamnolipids biosurfactants from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in the presence and absence of caprylic acid and ascorbic acid, to disrupt bacterial biofilms, compared ...with the anionic alkyl sulphate surfactant Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS).
Methods and Results
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 biofilms were disrupted by rhamnolipids at concentrations between 0·5 and 0·4 g l−1 and with SDS at 0·8 g l−1. The combination of rhamnolipids 0·4 g l−1 and caprylic acid at 0·1 g l−1 showed a remarkable effect on biofilm disruption and cell killing. After 30 min of treatment most of the biofilm was disrupted and cell viability was significantly reduced. Neither caprylic acid nor ascorbic acid has any effect on biofilm disruption at 0·1 g l−1. SDS is an effective antimicrobial agent; however, in the presence of caprylic acid its effect was neutralized.
Conclusions
The results show that rhamnolipids at low concentration in the presence of caprylic acid are promising molecules for inhibition/disruption of biofilms formed by Ps. aeruginosa ATCC 15442.
Significance and Impact of the Study
The disruption of biofilms has major significance in many industrial and domestic cleaning applications and in medical situations.
The Banff Working Group on Liver Allograft Pathology reviewed and discussed literature evidence regarding antibody‐mediated liver allograft rejection at the 11th (Paris, France, June 5–10, 2011), ...12th (Comandatuba, Brazil, August 19–23, 2013), and 13th (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, October 5–10, 2015) meetings of the Banff Conference on Allograft Pathology. Discussion continued online. The primary goal was to introduce guidelines and consensus criteria for the diagnosis of liver allograft antibody‐mediated rejection and provide a comprehensive update of all Banff Schema recommendations. Included are new recommendations for complement component 4d tissue staining and interpretation, staging liver allograft fibrosis, and findings related to immunosuppression minimization. In an effort to create a single reference document, previous unchanged criteria are also included.
The Banff Working Group comprehensively updates guidelines for liver allograft pathology on the basis of pertinent literature, data review, and discussion over the last 5 years. See the editorial from O'Grady on page 2773.
Aim
Minimally invasive surgical approaches for cancer of the right colon have been well described with significant patient and equivalent oncological benefits. Robotic surgery has advanced in its ...ability to provide multi‐quadrant abdominal access, leading the surgical community to widen its application outside of the pelvis to other abdominal compartments. Globally it is being realized that a patient's surgical episode of care is becoming the epicentre of cancer treatment. In order to establish the role of robotic surgery in a patient's episode of care, ‘successful patient‐oriented surgical’ parameters in right hemicolectomy for malignancy were measured. The objective was to examine the rates of successful patient‐oriented surgical outcomes in robotic right hemicolectomy (RRH) compared to laparoscopic right hemicolectomy (LRH) for cancer.
Methods
A systematic search of MEDLINE (Ovid: 1946–present), PubMed (NCBI), Embase (Ovid: 1966–present) and Cochrane Library was conducted using PRISMA for parameters of successful patient‐oriented surgical outcomes in RRH and LRH for malignancy alone. The parameters measured included postoperative ileus, anastomotic complication, surgical wound infection, length of stay (LOS), incisional hernia rate, conversion to open, margin status, lymph node harvest and overall morbidity and mortality.
Results
There were 15 studies which included 831 RRH patients and 3241 LRH patients, with a median age of 62–74 years. No study analysed the concept of successful patient‐oriented surgical outcomes. There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative ileus, with less time to first flatus in RRH (2.0–2.7 days, compared with 2.5–4.0 days, P < 0.05). Anastomotic leak rate in one study reported a significant increase in LRH compared to RRH (P < 0.05, 0% vs 8.3%). Significantly decreased LOS following RRH was outlined in six studies. One study reported a significantly higher rate of incisional hernias following LRH with extracorporeal anastomoses compared to RRH with intracorporeal anastomoses. Overall rates of conversion to open surgery were less with RRH (0%–3.9% vs 0%–18%, P < 0.001, 0.05). One study outlined significantly higher rates of incomplete resection with an open right hemicolectomy compared with minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic resections, with positive margin rates of 2.3%, 0.9% and 0% respectively (P < 0.001). Two studies reported significantly higher lymph node harvest in RRH (P < 0.05). Overall morbidity and 30‐day mortality were comparable in both approaches.
Conclusion
Thirty‐day morbidity and mortality were comparable between the two approaches, with patients undergoing RRH having lower anastomotic complications, increased lymph node harvest, and reduced LOS, conversion to open and incisional hernia rates in a number of studies. There are limited data on surgical approach and impact on quality of life and what patients deem successful surgical outcomes. There is a further need for a randomized controlled trial examining successful patient‐oriented outcomes in right hemicolectomy for malignancy.
PDF
