Iron supply has a key role in stimulating phytoplankton blooms in high-nitrate low-chlorophyll oceanic waters. However, the fate of the carbon fixed by these blooms, and how efficiently it is ...exported into the ocean's interior, remains largely unknown. Here we report on the decline and fate of an iron-stimulated diatom bloom in the Gulf of Alaska. The bloom terminated on day 18, following the depletion of iron and then silicic acid, after which mixed-layer particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations declined over six days. Increased particulate silica export via sinking diatoms was recorded in sediment traps at depths between 50 and 125 m from day 21, yet increased POC export was not evident until day 24. Only a small proportion of the mixed-layer POC was intercepted by the traps, with more than half of the mixed-layer POC deficit attributable to bacterial remineralization and mesozooplankton grazing. The depletion of silicic acid and the inefficient transfer of iron-increased POC below the permanent thermocline have major implications both for the biogeochemical interpretation of times of greater iron supply in the geological past, and also for proposed geo-engineering schemes to increase oceanic carbon sequestration.
BACKGROUND
Demographic and hospital‐level factors associated with red blood cell (RBC), plasma, and platelet transfusions in hospitalized patients across the U.S. are not well characterized.
METHODS
...We conducted a retrospective analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (2014). The unit of analysis was a hospitalization; sampling weights were applied to generate nationally‐representative estimates. The primary outcome was having ≥ 1 RBC transfusion procedure; plasma and platelet transfusions were similarly assessed as secondary outcomes. For each component, factors associated with transfusion were measured using adjusted prevalence ratios (adjPR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) estimated by multivariable Poisson regression.
RESULTS
The prevalence of RBC, plasma, and platelet transfusion was 5.8%, 0.9%, and 0.7%, respectively. RBC transfusions were associated with older age (≥ 65 vs. < 18 years; adjPR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.66–1.96), female sex (adjPR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.12–1.14), minority race/ethnic status, and hospitalizations in rural hospitals compared to urban teaching hospitals. Prevalence of RBC transfusion was lower among hospitalizations in the Midwest compared to the Northeast (adjPR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.67–0.80). All components were more likely to be transfused in patients with a primary hematologic diagnosis, patients with a higher number of total diagnoses, patients who experienced a higher number of other procedures, and patients who eventually died in the hospital. In contrast to RBC transfusions, prevalence of platelet transfusion was greater in urban teaching hospitals (vs. rural; adjPR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.49–1.98) and lower in blacks (vs. whites; adjPR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.76–0.85).
CONCLUSIONS
Nationally, there is heterogeneity in factors associated with transfusion between each blood component, including by hospital type and location. This variability presents patient blood management programs with potential opportunities to reduce transfusions.
N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from oily fish protect against death from cardiovascular disease. We aimed to assess the hypothesis that incorporation of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs into advanced ...atherosclerotic plaques increases and decreases plaque stability, respectively.
We did a randomised controlled trial of patients awaiting carotid endarterectomy. We randomly allocated patients control, sunflower oil (n-6), or fish-oil (n-3) capsules until surgery. Primary outcome was plaque morphology indicative of stability or instability, and outcome measures were concentrations of EPA, DHA, and linoleic acid in carotid plaques; plaque morphology; and presence of macrophages in plaques. Analysis was per protocol.
188 patients were enrolled and randomised; 18 withdrew and eight were excluded. Duration of oil treatment was 7–189 days (median 42) and did not differ between groups. The proportions of EPA and DHA were higher in carotid plaque fractions in patients receiving fish oil compared with those receiving control (absolute difference 0·5 95% CI 0·3–0·7, 0·4 0·1–0·6, and 0·2 0·1–0·4 g/100 g total fatty acids for EPA; and 0·3 0·0–0·8, 0·4 0·1–0·7, and 0·3 0·1–0·6 g/100 g total fatty acids for DHA; in plaque phospholipids, cholesteryl esters, and triacylglycerols, respectively). Sunflower oil had little effect on the fatty acid composition of lipid fractions. Fewer plaques from patients being treated with fish oil had thin fibrous caps and signs of inflammation and more plaques had thick fibrous caps and no signs of inflammation, compared with plaques in patients in the control and sunflower oil groups (odds ratio 0·52 95% CI 0·24–0·89 and 1·19 1·02–1·57
vs control; 0·49 0·23–0·90 and 1·16 1·01–1·53
vs sunflower oil). The number of macrophages in plaques from patients receiving fish oil was lower than in the other two groups. Carotid plaque morphology and infiltration by macrophages did not differ between control and sunflower oil groups.
Atherosclerotic plaques readily incorporate n-3 PUFAs from fish-oil supplementation, inducing changes that can enhance stability of atherosclerotic plaques. By contrast, increased consumption of n-6 PUFAs does not affect carotid plaque fatty-acid composition or stability over the time course studied here. Stability of plaques could explain reductions in non-fatal and fatal cardiovascular events associated with increased n-3 PUFA intake.
Macrophomina crown and root rot has become a significant soil-borne disease issue in California. For many locations in the state, the disease is associated with fields that are no longer pre-plant, ...flat field fumigated with methyl bromide + chloropicrin. Inoculation experiments indicated that some differences in strawberry cultivar susceptibility to Macrophomina phaseolina were seen a short time after the inoculation, but as disease progressed such differences did not persist. Preliminary characterization studies of Macrophomina phaseolina isolates from strawberry indicated that such isolates may have a host preference for strawberry. Macrophomina phaseolina isolates from watermelon, thyme, and apple failed to cause disease in strawberry. Five cover crop species, which can be rotated with strawberry, did not develop disease when inoculated with strawberry isolates. In preliminary analysis using simple sequence repeat markers, isolates obtained from strawberry formed a separate group compared to isolates recovered from other known Macrophomina phaseolina hosts.
Halorubrum lacusprofundi is an extreme halophile within the archaeal phylum Euryarchaeota. The type strain ACAM 34 was isolated from Deep Lake, Antarctica. H. lacusprofundi is of phylogenetic ...interest because it is distantly related to the haloarchaea that have previously been sequenced. It is also of interest because of its psychrotolerance. We report here the complete genome sequence of H. lacusprofundi type strain ACAM 34 and its annotation. This genome is part of a 2006 Joint Genome Institute Community Sequencing Program project to sequence genomes of diverse Archaea.
Search for the rare decay D 0 → μ + μ Adrover, C.; Affolder, A.; Albrecht, J. ...
Physics letters. B,
08/2013, Volume:
725, Issue:
1-3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
A search for the rare decay $D^0 \to \mu^+ \mu^-$is performed using a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.9 fb$^{-1}$, of $pp$ collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy ...of 7 TeV by the LHCb experiment. The observed number of events is consistent with the background expectations and corresponds to an upper limit of \mbox{${\cal B}(D^0 \to \mu^+ \mu^-) < 6.2(7.6) \times 10^{-9}$} at \mbox{90%} \mbox{(95%)} confidence level. This result represents an improvement of more than a factor twenty with respect to previous measurements.
The p63 gene, a homologue of the tumour-suppressor p53 (refs 1-5), is highly expressed in the basal or progenitor layers of many epithelial tissues. Here we report that mice homozygous for a ...disrupted p63 gene have major defects in their limb, craniofacial and epithelial development. p63 is expressed in the ectodermal surfaces of the limb buds, branchial arches and epidermal appendages, which are all sites of reciprocal signalling that direct morphogenetic patterning of the underlying mesoderm. The limb truncations are due to a failure to maintain the apical ectodermal ridge, a stratified epithelium, essential for limb development. The embryonic epidermis of p63 −/− mice undergoes an unusual process of non-regenerative differentiation, culminating in a striking absence of all squamous epithelia and their derivatives, including mammary, lacrymal and salivary glands. Taken together, our results indicate that p63 is critical for maintaining the progenitor-cell populations that are necessary to sustain epithelial development and morphogenesis.
Memories of Donald Dean Trunkey, MD, FACS Maier, Ronald V; Mullins, Richard J; Ledgerwood, Anna M ...
The journal of trauma and acute care surgery,
10/2019, Volume:
87, Issue:
4
Journal Article
The $\Lambda_b^0\to\Lambda\phi$ decay is observed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb experiment. The decay proceeds at leading order via a $b\to ...s\bar{s}s$ loop transition and is therefore sensitive to the possible presence of particles beyond the Standard Model. A first observation is reported with a significance of $5.9$ standard deviations. The value of the branching fraction is measured to be $(5.18\pm1.04\pm0.35\,^{+0.67}_{-0.62})\times10^{-6}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is related to external inputs. Triple-product asymmetries are measured to be consistent with zero.
PDF
