In terrestrial ecosystems, fungi are the major agents of decomposition processes and nutrient cycling and of plant nutrient uptake. Hence, they have a vital impact on ecosystem processes and the ...terrestrial carbon cycle. Changes in productivity and phenology of fungal fruit bodies can give clues to changes in fungal activity, but understanding these changes in relation to a changing climate is a pending challenge among ecologists. Here we report on phenological changes in fungal fruiting in Europe over the past four decades. Analyses of 746,297 dated and geo-referenced mushroom records of 486 autumnal fruiting species from Austria, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom revealed a widening of the annual fruiting season in all countries during the period 1970–2007. The mean annual day of fruiting has become later in all countries. However, the interspecific variation in phenological responses was high. Most species moved toward a later ending of their annual fruiting period, a trend that was particularly strong in the United Kingdom, which may reflect regional variation in climate change and its effects. Fruiting of both saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi now continues later in the year, but mycorrhizal fungi generally have a more compressed season than saprotrophs. This difference is probably due to the fruiting of mycorrhizal fungi partly depending on cues from the host plant. Extension of the European fungal fruiting season parallels an extended vegetation season in Europe. Changes in fruiting phenology imply changes in mycelia activity, with implications for ecosystem function.
OBJECTIVE:The primary objective was to conduct a meta-analysis on published observational cohort data describing the association between acetyl-salicylic acid (aspirin) use prior to the onset of ...sepsis and mortality in hospitalized patients.
STUDY SELECTION:Studies that reported mortality in patients on aspirin with sepsis with a comparison group of patients with sepsis not on prior aspirin therapy were included.
DATA SOURCES:Fifteen studies described hospital-based cohorts (n = 17,065), whereas one was a large insurance-based database (n = 683,421). Individual-level patient data were incorporated from all selected studies.
DATA EXTRACTION:Propensity analyses with 1:1 propensity score matching at the study level were performed, using the most consistently available covariates judged to be associated with aspirin. Meta-analyses were performed to estimate the pooled average treatment effect of aspirin on sepsis-related mortality.
DATA SYNTHESIS:Use of aspirin was associated with a 7% (95% CI, 2–12%; p = 0.005) reduction in the risk of death as shown by meta-analysis with considerable statistical heterogeneity (I = 61.6%).
CONCLUSIONS:These results are consistent with effects ranging from a 2% to 12% reduction in mortality risk in patients taking aspirin prior to sepsis onset. This association anticipates results of definitive studies of the use of low-dose aspirin as a strategy for reduction of deaths in patients with sepsis.
Few data exist that provide insight into processes
affecting the long-term carbon cycle at shallow forearc depths. To better
understand the mobilization of C in sediments and crust of the
subducting ...slab, we investigated carbonate materials that originate from the
subduction channel at the Mariana forearc (< 20 km) and were
recovered during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 366.
Calcium carbonates occur as vein precipitates within metavolcanic and
metasedimentary clasts. The clasts represent portions of the subducting
lithosphere, including ocean island basalt, that were altered at lower
blueschist facies conditions and were subsequently transported to the
forearc seafloor by serpentinite mud volcanism. Euhedral aragonite and
calcite and the lack of deformation within the veins suggest carbonate
formation in a stress-free environment after peak metamorphism affected
their hosts. Intergrowth with barite and marked negative Ce anomalies in
carbonate attest the precipitation within a generally oxic environment, that
is an environment not controlled by serpentinization. Strontium and O
isotopic compositions in carbonate (87Sr∕86Sr = 0.7052 to
0.7054, δ18OVSMOW = 20 to 24 ‰)
imply precipitation from slab-derived fluids at temperatures between
∼130 and 300 ∘C. These temperature estimates are
consistent with the presence of blueschist facies phases such as lawsonite
coexisting with the carbonates in some veins. Incorporated C is inorganic
(δ13CVPDB = −1 ‰ to +4 ‰) and likely
derived from the decarbonation of calcareous sediment and/or oceanic crust.
These findings provide evidence for the mobilization of C in the downgoing
slab at depths of < 20 km. Our study shows for the first time in
detail that a portion of this C forms carbonate precipitates in the
subduction channel of an active convergent margin. This process may be an
important asset in understanding the deep carbon cycle since it highlights
that some C is lost from the subducting lithosphere before reaching greater
depths.
To the Editor:
Cheskes et al. (Nov. 24 issue)
1
report outcomes of a trial of different strategies for defibrillation in patients with refractory out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Although this trial ...showed a survival benefit of double sequential external defibrillation (DSED) as compared with standard defibrillation in the intention-to-treat analysis, it did not do so in the analysis according to treatment received. The right energy level or energy “dosage” to deliver to patients with refractory out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is currently not known. Olsen et al. found no apparent difference in short-term outcomes between a strategy of escalating shock energy (from 200 J . . .
Real-time loop closure in 2D LIDAR SLAM Hess, Wolfgang; Kohler, Damon; Rapp, Holger ...
2016 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA),
05/2016
Conference Proceeding
Portable laser range-finders, further referred to as LIDAR, and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) are an efficient method of acquiring as-built floor plans. Generating and visualizing ...floor plans in real-time helps the operator assess the quality and coverage of capture data. Building a portable capture platform necessitates operating under limited computational resources. We present the approach used in our backpack mapping platform which achieves real-time mapping and loop closure at a 5 cm resolution. To achieve realtime loop closure, we use a branch-and-bound approach for computing scan-to-submap matches as constraints. We provide experimental results and comparisons to other well known approaches which show that, in terms of quality, our approach is competitive with established techniques.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal disease with a dismal prognosis. However, while most patients die within the first year of diagnosis, very rarely, a few patients can ...survive for >10 years. Better understanding the molecular characteristics of the pancreatic adenocarcinomas from these very-long-term survivors (VLTS) may provide clues for personalized medicine and improve current pancreatic cancer treatment. To extend our previous investigation, we examined the proteomes of individual pancreas tumor tissues from a group of VLTS patients (survival ≥10 years) and short-term survival patients (STS, survival <14 months). With a given analytical sensitivity, the protein profile of each pancreatic tumor tissue was compared to reveal the proteome alterations that may be associated with pancreatic cancer survival. Pathway analysis of the differential proteins identified suggested that MYC, IGF1R and p53 were the top three upstream regulators for the STS-associated proteins, and VEGFA, APOE and TGFβ-1 were the top three upstream regulators for the VLTS-associated proteins. Immunohistochemistry analysis using an independent cohort of 145 PDAC confirmed that the higher abundance of ribosomal protein S8 (RPS8) and prolargin (PRELP) were correlated with STS and VLTS, respectively. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that ‘High-RPS8 and Low-PRELP' was significantly associated with shorter survival time (HR=2.69, 95% CI 1.46–4.92, P=0.001). In addition, galectin-1, a previously identified protein with its abundance aversely associated with pancreatic cancer survival, was further evaluated for its significance in cancer-associated fibroblasts. Knockdown of galectin-1 in pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts dramatically reduced cell migration and invasion. The results from our study suggested that PRELP, LGALS1 and RPS8 might be significant prognostic factors, and RPS8 and LGALS1 could be potential therapeutic targets to improve pancreatic cancer survival if further validated.
We explored the variation in proportions of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) between and within countries participating in the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System ...and temporal trends in its occurrence. This system collects routine antimicrobial susceptibility tests for S. aureus. We examined data collected from January 1999 through December 2002 (50,759 isolates from 495 hospitals in 26 countries). MRSA prevalence varied almost 100-fold, from <1% in northern Europe to >40% in southern and western Europe. MRSA proportions significantly increased in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and decreased in Slovenia. Within countries, MRSA proportions varied between hospitals with highest variance in countries with a prevalence of 5% to 20%. The observed trends should stimulate initiatives to control MRSA at national, regional, and hospital levels. The large differences between hospitals indicate that efforts may be most effective at regional and hospital levels.
PDF
