Changes in Water and Sediment Quality of a River Being Impounded and Differences Among Functional Zones of the New Large Tropical Hydroelectric Reservoir

Though more large tropical reservoirs are being constructed to meet the increasing energy demand, knowledge on the impact of damming a tropical river and the differences along the river after its impoundment is scarce. Thus, the present study aimed to increase our understanding of such differences both longitudinally and vertically. Water and sediment samples were collected at three different functional zones in the Murum River basin 10 months after impoundment began. Results show that the impoundment has an impact on both the water and sediment. Longitudinal variations of water and sediment characteristics were observed at different functional zones. The upstream riverine zone subjected to anthropogenic activities serves as the main input of suspended solids and nutrients to the reservoir. The nitrogen changed from a high nitrate and low ammonia condition prior to impoundment to a low nitrate and high ammonia condition due to the accumulation of organic matter and slow nitrification rate after impoundment. In the transitional and lacustrine zones, vertical stratifications of dissolved oxygen and temperature were observed. The thickness of a well-oxygenated column for sensitive aquatic organisms was only 2 m at some stations. Water quality in all zones showed impairment during the filling phase as compared to the good water quality index before impoundment. The reduction of suspended solids in the surface water column in the transitional and lacustrine zones is a positive change for aquatic organisms. Sediment characteristics were found to be distinct in the transitional zone, where it was lower in sand and higher in silt, clay, organic carbon and nutrients in contrast to the riverin

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

HUMAN BLASTOCYST CULTURE, TRANSFER AND OUTCOME WITH A VIEW TO IMPROVING IVF, UNDERSTANDING IMPLANTATION AND DEVELOPING HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

THE MODULATION OF FOLLICLE-STIMULATING HORMONE-INDUCED AROMATASE ACTIVITY BY PROGESTINS IN PORCINE GRANULOSA CELLS IN VITRO

Bachelor'sBACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS

HUMAN TUBAL CELL COCULTURE : IN VITRO CELL BEHAVIOUR AND USE OF CONDITIONED MEDIUM FOR EMBRYONIC SUPPORT

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

The effects of ultrarapid freezing on meiotic and mitotic spindles of mouse oocytes and embryos

Gamete Research214385-401GAMR

Fertilization, cleavage, and cytogenetics of 48-hour zona-intact and zona- free human unfertilized oocytes reinseminated with donor sperm

Fertility and Sterility571129-133FEST

Fertilization, cleavage, and cytogenetics of 48-hour zona-intact and zona- free human unfertilized oocytes reinseminated with donor sperm

Fertility and Sterility571129-133FEST

(A-C) Differentiation of cells from WJ, PV, SA, AM and MC into adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages.

<p>Cells from WJ, PV, SA, AM and MC stained <b>(A)</b> Oil Red O positive for adipocytes, <b>(B)</b> Von Kossa positive for osteocytes and <b>(C)</b> Alcian blue positive for chondrocytes when exposed to their respective differentiation media for each of the lineages. Adipocyte colonies stained with Oil Red O were similar in number with no differences in staining intensity between WJ, PV, SA, AM and MC. However, Von Kossa and Alcian blue stained cells for osteocytes and chondrocytes were greater in numbers and staining intensities in WJ compared to PV, SA, AM and MC.</p