Annual variation in the levels of transcripts of sex-specific genes in the mantle of the common mussel, Mytilus edulis

Mytilus species are used as sentinels for the assessment of environmental health but sex or stage in the reproduction cycle is rarely considered even though both parameters are likely to influence responses to pollution. We have validated the use of a qPCR assay for sex identification and related the levels of transcripts to the reproductive cycle. A temporal study of mantle of Mytilus edulis found transcripts of male-specific vitelline coat lysin (VCL) and female-specific vitelline envelope receptor for lysin (VERL) could identify sex over a complete year. The levels of VCL/VERL were proportional to the numbers of sperm/ova and are indicative of the stage of the reproductive cycle. Maximal levels of VCL and VERL were found in February 2009 declining to minima between July - August before increasing and re-attaining a peak in February 2010. Water temperature may influence these transitions since they coincide with minimal water temperature in February and maximal temperature in August. An identical pattern of variation was found for a cryptic female-specific transcript (H5) but a very different pattern was observed for oestrogen receptor 2 (ER2). ER2 varied in a sex-specific way with male > female for most of the cycle, with a female maxima in July and a male maxima in December. Using artificially spawned animals, the transcripts for VCL, VERL and H5 were shown to be present in gametes and thus their disappearance from mantle is indicative of spawning. VCL and VERL are present at equivalent levels in February and July-August but during gametogenesis (August to January) and spawning (March to June) VCL is present at lower relative amounts than VERL. This may indicate sex-specific control mechanisms for these processes and highlight a potential pressure point leading to reduced reproductive output if environmental factors cause asynchrony to gamete maturation or release

Understanding Plant-Microbe Interactions for Phytoremediation of Petroleum-Polluted Soil

Plant-microbe interactions are considered to be important processes determining the efficiency of phytoremediation of petroleum pollution, however relatively little is known about how these interactions are influenced by petroleum pollution. In this experimental study using a microcosm approach, we examined how plant ecophysiological traits, soil nutrients and microbial activities were influenced by petroleum pollution in Phragmites australis, a phytoremediating species. Generally, petroleum pollution reduced plant performance, especially at early stages of plant growth. Petroleum had negative effects on the net accumulation of inorganic nitrogen from its organic forms (net nitrogen mineralization (NNM)) most likely by decreasing the inorganic nitrogen available to the plants in petroleum-polluted soils. However, abundant dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was found in petroleum-polluted soil. In order to overcome initial deficiency of inorganic nitrogen, plants by dint of high colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi might absorb some DON for their growth in petroleum-polluted soils. In addition, through using a real-time polymerase chain reaction method, we quantified hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial traits based on their catabolic genes (i.e. alkB (alkane monooxygenase), nah (naphthalene dioxygenase) and tol (xylene monooxygenase) genes). This enumeration of target genes suggests that different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria experienced different dynamic changes during phytoremediation and a greater abundance of alkB was detected during vegetative growth stages. Because phytoremediation of different components of petroleum is performed by different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, plants’ ability of phytoremediating different components might therefore vary during the plant life cycle. Phytoremediation might be most effective during the vegetative growth stages as greater abundances of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria containing alkB and tol genes were observed at these stages. The information provided by this study enhances our understanding of the effects of petroleum pollution on plant-microbe interactions and the roles of these interactions in the phytoremediation of petroleum-polluted soil

Reconstruction and identification of τ lepton decays to hadrons and ντ at CMS

This paper describes the algorithms used by the CMS experiment to reconstruct and identify τ → hadrons + νtau; decays during Run 1 of the LHC. The performance of the algorithms is studied in proton-proton collisions recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb-1. The algorithms achieve an identification efficiency of 50-60%, with misidentification rates for quark and gluon jets, electrons, and muons between per mille and per cent levels

Influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients: systematic review and meta-analysis from a public health policy perspective.

Immunocompromised patients are vulnerable to severe or complicated influenza infection. Vaccination is widely recommended for this group. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients in terms of preventing influenza-like illness and laboratory confirmed influenza, serological response and adverse events

Rural and urban disparities in the care of Canadian patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a population-based study

Eric I Benchimol,1–5 M Ellen Kuenzig,1,2,5 Charles N Bernstein,6,7 Geoffrey C Nguyen,5,8 Astrid Guttmann,5,9 Jennifer L Jones,10 Beth K Potter,4 Laura E Targownik,6,7 Christina A Catley,5 Zoann J Nugent,6,11 Divine Tanyingoh,12,13 Nassim Mojaverian,5 Fox E Underwood,12,13 Shabnaz Siddiq,1,2 Anthony R Otley,14 Alain Bitton,15 Matthew W Carroll,16 Jennifer C deBruyn,17 Trevor JB Dummer,18 Wael El-Matary,19 Anne M Griffiths,9 Kevan Jacobson,20,21 Desmond Leddin,10 Lisa M Lix,22 David R Mack,1–3 Sanjay K Murthy,4,23 Juan Nicolás Peña-Sánchez,24 Harminder Singh,6,7 Gilaad G Kaplan12,13 On behalf of the Canadian Gastro-Intestinal Epidemiology Consortium 1Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario IBD Centre, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada; 2Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada; 3Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; 4School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; 5ICES, Toronto, Canada; 6University of Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Centre, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; 7Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; 8Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital Centre for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; 9Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; 10Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada; 11CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; 12Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 13Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 14Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada; 15Division of Gastroenterology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada; 16Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; 17Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada; 18School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada; 19Department of Pediatrics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; 20Department of Pediatrics, The University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada; 21Child and Family Research Institute, The University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada; 22Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; 23The Ottawa Hospital IBD Centre, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 24Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada Background and aims: Canada’s large geographic area and low population density pose challenges in access to specialized health care for remote and rural residents. We compared health services use, surgical rate, and specialist gastroenterologist care in rural and urban inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in Canada.Methods: We used validated algorithms that were applied to population-based health administrative data to identify all people living with the following three Canadian provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario (ON). We compared rural residents with urban residents for time to diagnosis, hospitalizations, outpatient visits, emergency department (ED) use, surgical rate, and gastroenterologist care. Multivariable regression compared the outcomes in rural/urban patients, controlling for confounders. Provincial results were meta-analyzed using random-effects models to produce overall estimates.Results: A total of 36,656 urban and 5,223 rural residents with incident IBD were included. Outpatient physician visit rate was similar in rural and urban patients. IBD-specific and IBD-related hospitalization rates were higher in rural patients (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.17, 95% CI 1.02–1.34, and IRR 1.27, 95% CI 1.04–1.56, respectively). The rate of ED visits in ON were similarly elevated for rural patients (IRR 1.53, 95% CI 1.42–1.65, and IRR 1.33, 95% CI 1.25–1.40). There were no differences in surgical rates or prediagnosis lag time between rural and urban patients. Rural patients had fewer IBD-specific gastroenterologist visits (IRR 0.79, 95% CI 0.73–0.84) and a smaller proportion of their IBD-specific care was provided by gastroenterologists (28.3% vs 55.2%, P<0.0001). This was less pronounced in children <10 years at diagnosis (59.3% vs 65.0%, P<0.0001), and the gap was widest in patients >65 years (33.0% vs 59.2%, P<0.0001).Conclusion: There were lower rates of gastroenterologist physician visits , more hospitalizations, and greater rates of ED visits in rural IBD patients. These disparities in health services use result in costlier care for rural patients. Innovative methods of delivering gastroenterology care to rural IBD patients (such as telehealth, online support, and remote clinics) should be explored, especially for communities lacking easy access to gastroenterologists. Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease, epidemiology, health services research, access to care, health administrative data, routinely collected health dat