Ecophysiology of syntrophic communities that degrade saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids

Syntrophic relationships are the key for biodegradation in methanogenic environments. We review the ecological and physiological features of syntrophic communities involved in the degradation of saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids (LCFA), as well as their potential application to convert lipids/fats containing waste to biogas. Presently, about 14 species have been described with the ability to grow on fatty acids in syntrophy with methanogens, all belonging to the families Syntrophomonadaceae and Syntrophaceae. The principle pathway of LCFA degradation is through β-oxidation, but the initial steps in the conversion of unsaturated LCFA are unclear. Communities enriched on unsaturated LCFA also degrade saturated LCFA, but the opposite generally is not the case. For efficient methane formation, the physical and inhibitory effects of LCFA on methanogenesis need to be considered. LCFA adsorbs strongly to biomass, which causes encapsulation of active syntrophic communities and hampers diffusion of substrate and products in and out of the biomass. Quantification of archaea by real-time PCR analysis suggests that potential LCFA inhibitory effect towards methanogens might be reversible. Rather, the conversion of adsorbed LCFA in batch assays was shown to result in a significant increase of archaeal cell numbers in anaerobic sludge samples.The authors thank J. Prosser for the invitation to write this minireview. We appreciated the critical reading of I.M. Head and of the anonymous reviewers, and we thank them for their constructive comments and suggestions. This work was possible through the financial support provided by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) and European Social Fund (ESF) (grant SFRH/BD/8726/2002), and by the Wageningen Institute for Environmental and Climate Research (WIMEK)

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

Incorporating Avoiding Plagiarism into a Drug Information Course

Background: Maintaining academic integrity is a priority for professional pharmacy programs, but fitting this topic into the curriculum can be a challenge. In the absence of a medical writing course, our institution uses a drug information course to introduce students to the topic of avoiding plagiarism. The professor of this course approached their librarian for ideas on improving the way this topic had historically been presented. The librarian used an existing resource to build a LibWizard tutorial on avoiding plagiarism that is tailored to the PharmD curriculum. Description: The tutorial includes 24 slides that present information and are accompanied by knowledge check questions. The tutorial is completed asynchronously by the students and then discussed in a synchronous class session. Concepts covered include but are not limited to: defining plagiarism, unintentional plagiarism, incorporating common knowledge and opinions, referring to sources in written work, using images, fair use, detecting plagiarism, and consequences of plagiarism. We also point out that common knowledge within the pharmacy field is different versus that of the general population. After the appearance of various AI chatbots in recent years, we felt it was important to add a slide on guidelines for using these tools in an academic setting. The tutorial has been used by three PharmD classes since Fall 2021 (286 submissions). It also has come to serve as a source that any student or professor in the school can use as a refresher when plagiarism issues arise. Conclusion: We will present selected slides from the tutorial and discuss general trends regarding topics that the students understood well and what they appeared to struggle with, including what constitutes plagiarism and incorporating sources via quotation, paraphrase, and summary

Incorporating Avoiding Plagiarism into a Drug Information Course

Background: Maintaining academic integrity is a priority for professional pharmacy programs, but fitting this topic into the curriculum can be a challenge. In the absence of a medical writing course, our institution uses a drug information course to introduce students to the topic of avoiding plagiarism. The professor of this course approached their librarian for ideas on improving the way this topic had historically been presented. The librarian used an existing resource to build a LibWizard tutorial on avoiding plagiarism that is tailored to the PharmD curriculum. Description: The tutorial includes 24 slides that present information and are accompanied by knowledge check questions. The tutorial is completed asynchronously by the students and then discussed in a synchronous class session. Concepts covered include but are not limited to: defining plagiarism, unintentional plagiarism, incorporating common knowledge and opinions, referring to sources in written work, using images, fair use, detecting plagiarism, and consequences of plagiarism. We also point out that common knowledge within the pharmacy field is different versus that of the general population. After the appearance of various AI chatbots in recent years, we felt it was important to add a slide on guidelines for using these tools in an academic setting. The tutorial has been used by three PharmD classes since Fall 2021 (286 submissions). It also has come to serve as a source that any student or professor in the school can use as a refresher when plagiarism issues arise. Conclusion: We will present selected slides from the tutorial and discuss general trends regarding topics that the students understood well and what they appeared to struggle with, including what constitutes plagiarism and incorporating sources via quotation, paraphrase, and summary