Phenology of phytoplankton blooms and its response to environmental changes in the Baltic Sea

Changes in the occurrence of cyanobacteria blooms affect the entire Baltic Sea ecosystem. The difficulty of conducting phenological studies is due to the natural variability of cyanobacteria blooms and the temporal and spatial constraints this imposes on bloom detection. However, using in situ observations, a coupled physical-biological model and sediment trap data, it was possible to determine how the phenology of cyanobacteria blooms is changing in the eastern Baltic Sea and how these changes are related to environmental conditions.Veränderungen im Auftreten von Cyanobakterienblüten wirken sich auf das gesamte Ökosystem aus. Die Schwierigkeit bei der Durchführung phänologischer Studien liegt in der natürlichen Variabilität von Cyanobakterienblüten und den damit verbundenen zeitlichen und räumlichen Einschränkungen bei der Erkennung der Blüte. Mit Hilfe von In-situ-Daten, einem gekoppelten physikalisch-biologischen Modell und Daten aus Sinkstofffallen konnte jedoch ermittelt werden, wie sich die Phänologie der Cyanobakterienblüte in der Ostsee verändert und wie diese Veränderungen mit Umweltparametern zusammenhängen

Prueba de toxicidad para la tierra Fuller contaminada con aceite dieléctrico usando lombrices eisenia foetida y suelos con diferentes contenidos de carbono

Fuller’s earth is an adsorbent material used in the electric industry for dielectric oil regeneration. The high amount of polyaromatic hydrocarbons removed from oil and adsorbed in the Fuller’s earth makes this material a hazardous waste. It is necessary to implement a toxicity test and apply a suitable treatment to safely dispose of this waste in a landfill or repurpose it for reuse. In this paper, the toxicity of Fuller’s earth contaminated with dielectric oil is assessed before and after treatment. The toxic potential of the Fuller’s earth and the dielectric oil extracted through decontamination processes was evaluated in two types of soil with different carbon contents, analyzing the effects on the test organisms, Eisenia Foetida earthworms. These tests showed that decontaminated Fuller’s earth is non-toxic, and that  the toxicity of the contaminated Fuller’s earth, or its extracts after treatment, represented by the median lethal concentration (LC50) depends significantly on the type of soil used.La tierra de Fuller es un material adsorbente utilizado en la industria eléctrica para la regeneración de aceite dieléctrico. La gran cantidad de hidrocarburos poliaromáticos eliminados del petróleo y adsorbidos en la tierra de Fuller hace que este material sea un desecho peligroso. Es necesario implementar una prueba de toxicidad y aplicar un tratamiento adecuado para desechar de manera segura estos desechos en un vertedero o reciclar para su reutilización. En este documento, la toxicidad de la tierra de Fuller contaminada con aceite dieléctrico se evalúa antes y después del tratamiento. El potencial tóxico de la tierra de Fuller y el aceite dieléctrico extraído mediante procesos de descontaminación se evaluó en dos tipos de suelo con diferentes contenidos de carbono, analizando los efectos en los organismos de prueba, las lombrices de tierra Eisenia Foetida. Estas pruebas mostraron que la tierra de Fuller descontaminada no es tóxica, y que la toxicidad de la tierra de Fuller contaminada, o sus extractos después del tratamiento, representada por la concentración letal media (CL50) depende significativamente del tipo de suelo utilizado

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Pancreatic surgery outcomes: multicentre prospective snapshot study in 67 countries

Background: Pancreatic surgery remains associated with high morbidity rates. Although postoperative mortality appears to have improved with specialization, the outcomes reported in the literature reflect the activity of highly specialized centres. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes following pancreatic surgery worldwide.Methods: This was an international, prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional snapshot study of consecutive patients undergoing pancreatic operations worldwide in a 3-month interval in 2021. The primary outcome was postoperative mortality within 90 days of surgery. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore relationships with Human Development Index (HDI) and other parameters.Results: A total of 4223 patients from 67 countries were analysed. A complication of any severity was detected in 68.7 percent of patients (2901 of 4223). Major complication rates (Clavien-Dindo grade at least IIIa) were 24, 18, and 27 percent, and mortality rates were 10, 5, and 5 per cent in low-to-middle-, high-, and very high-HDI countries respectively. The 90-day postoperative mortality rate was 5.4 per cent (229 of 4223) overall, but was significantly higher in the low-to-middle-HDI group (adjusted OR 2.88, 95 per cent c.i. 1.80 to 4.48). The overall failure-to-rescue rate was 21 percent; however, it was 41 per cent in low-to-middle-compared with 19 per cent in very high-HDI countries.Conclusion: Excess mortality in low-to-middle-HDI countries could be attributable to failure to rescue of patients from severe complications. The authors call for a collaborative response from international and regional associations of pancreatic surgeons to address management related to death from postoperative complications to tackle the global disparities in the outcomes of pancreatic surgery (NCT04652271; ISRCTN95140761)