Isolation and Characterization of Salinivibrio sp. Strain LP-1 from an Impoundment Used for Marcellus Shale Waste Waters

A euryhalic, gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium was isolated from an enrichment culture found in an impoundment used for storing Marcellus Shale waste water. Designated strain LP-1, its cells were non-spore-forming, motile, curved rods with a single polar flagellum. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed it is a £^-proteobacerium closely related (98%) to Salinivibrio costicola. Carbohydrates serve as energy sources both aerobically and anaerobically. It grew anaerobically on nitrate with hydrogen, acetate, pyruvate, or lactate but not with formate, and did not use arsenate, sulfate, or thiosulfate as electron acceptors. Strain LP-1 grew optimally at 37°C (range 4-65°C), 10.0% NaCl (range 0-20.0%), and a pH of 7.5 (range 4.5-10.5). It is capable of forming pellicles in liquid culture and Strontium and Barium-containing precipitates. These results suggest that the recycling impoundments contain unique microbiota that have adapted to living in a broad range of conditions

Nontrivial temporal scaling in a Galilean stick-slip dynamics

We examine the stick-slip fluctuating response of a rough massive non-rotating cylinder moving on a rough inclined groove which is submitted to weak external perturbations and which is maintained well below the angle of repose. The experiments presented here, which are reminiscent of the Galileo's works with rolling objects on inclines, have brought in the last years important new insights into the friction between surfaces in relative motion and are of relevance for earthquakes, differing from classical block-spring models by the mechanism of energy input in the system. Robust nontrivial temporal scaling laws appearing in the dynamics of this system are reported, and it is shown that the time-support where dissipation occurs approaches a statistical fractal set with a fixed value of dimension. The distribution of periods of inactivity in the intermittent motion of the cylinder is also studied and found to be closely related to the lacunarity of a random version of the classic triadic Cantor set on the line.Comment: 7 pages including 6 figure

Mapping Turnaround Times (TAT) to a Generic Timeline: A Systematic Review of TAT Definitions in Clinical Domains

Background: Assessing turnaround times can help to analyse workflows in hospital information systems. This paper presents a systematic review of literature concerning different turnaround time definitions. Our objectives were to collect relevant literature with respect to this kind of process times in hospitals and their respective domains. We then analysed the existing definitions and summarised them in an appropriate format. Methods: Our search strategy was based on Pubmed queries and manual reviews of the bibliographies of retrieved articles. Studies were included if precise definitions of turnaround times were available. A generic timeline was designed through a consensus process to provide an overview of these definitions. Results: More than 1000 articles were analysed and resulted in 122 papers. Of those, 162 turnaround time definitions in different clinical domains were identified. Starting and end points vary between these domains. To illustrate those turnaround time definitions, a generic timeline was constructed using preferred terms derived from the identified definitions. The consensus process resulted in the following 15 terms: admission, order, biopsy/examination, receipt of specimen in laboratory, procedure completion, interpretation, dictation, transcription, verification, report available, delivery, physician views report, treatment, discharge and discharge letter sent. Based on this analysis, several standard terms for turnaround time definitions are proposed. Conclusion: Using turnaround times to benchmark clinical workflows is still difficult, because even within the same clinical domain many different definitions exist. Mapping of turnaround time definitions to a generic timeline is feasible

Reanalysis-driven climate simulation over CORDEX North America domain using the Canadian Regional Climate Model, version 5: model performance evaluation

The performance of reanalysis-driven Canadian Regional Climate Model, version 5 (CRCM5) in reproducing the present climate over the North American COordinated Regional climate Downscaling EXperiment domain for the 1989–2008 period has been assessed in comparison with several observation-based datasets. The model reproduces satisfactorily the near-surface temperature and precipitation characteristics over most part of North America. Coastal and mountainous zones remain problematic: a cold bias (2–6 °C) prevails over Rocky Mountains in summertime and all year-round over Mexico; winter precipitation in mountainous coastal regions is overestimated. The precipitation patterns related to the North American Monsoon are well reproduced, except on its northern limit. The spatial and temporal structure of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet is well reproduced by the model; however, the night-time precipitation maximum in the jet area is underestimated. The performance of CRCM5 was assessed against earlier CRCM versions and other RCMs. CRCM5 is shown to have been substantially improved compared to CRCM3 and CRCM4 in terms of seasonal mean statistics, and to be comparable to other modern RCMs

C3–C4 composition and prior carbon dioxide treatment regulate the response of grassland carbon and water fluxes to carbon dioxide

During May, July and October 2000, we measured the effects of temporarily increasing or decreasing CO2 concentration by 150–200 μmol mol−1 on daytime net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and water flux (evapotranspiration, ET) of C3–C4 grassland in central Texas, USA that had been exposed for three growing seasons to a CO2 gradient from 200 to 560 μmol mol−1. Grassland grown at subambient CO2 (\u3c 365 μmol mol−1) was exposed for 2 days to an elevated CO2 gradient (\u3e 365 μmol mol−1). Grassland grown at elevated CO2 was exposed for 2 days to a subambient gradient. Our objective was to determine whether growth CO2 affected the amount by which grassland NEE and ET responded to CO2 switching (sensitivity to CO2)

Modelling of the radiative properties of an opaque porous ceramic layer

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) operate at temperatures above 1,100 K where radiation effects can be significant. Therefore, an accurate thermal model of an SOFC requires the inclusion of the contribution of thermal radiation. This implies that the thermal radiative properties of the oxide ceramics used in the design of SOFCs must be known. However, little information can be found in the literature concerning their operating temperatures. On the other hand, several types of ceramics with different chemical compositions and microstructures for designing efficient cells are now being tested. This is a situation where the use of a numerical tool making possible the prediction of the thermal radiative properties of SOFC materials, whatever their chemical composition and microstructure are, may be a decisive help. Using this method, first attempts to predict the radiative properties of a lanthanum nickelate porous layer deposited onto an yttria stabilized zirconium substrate can be reported

HIS-based Kaplan-Meier plots - a single source approach for documenting and reusing routine survival information

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Survival or outcome information is important for clinical routine as well as for clinical research and should be collected completely, timely and precisely. This information is relevant for multiple usages including quality control, clinical trials, observational studies and epidemiological registries. However, the local hospital information system (HIS) does not support this documentation and therefore this data has to generated by paper based or spreadsheet methods which can result in redundantly documented data. Therefore we investigated, whether integrating the follow-up documentation of different departments in the HIS and reusing it for survival analysis can enable the physician to obtain survival curves in a timely manner and to avoid redundant documentation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analysed the current follow-up process of oncological patients in two departments (urology, haematology) with respect to different documentation forms. We developed a concept for comprehensive survival documentation based on a generic data model and implemented a follow-up form within the HIS of the University Hospital Muenster which is suitable for a secondary use of these data. We designed a query to extract the relevant data from the HIS and implemented Kaplan-Meier plots based on these data. To re-use this data sufficient data quality is needed. We measured completeness of forms with respect to all tumour cases in the clinic and completeness of documented items per form as incomplete information can bias results of the survival analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on the form analysis we discovered differences and concordances between both departments. We identified 52 attributes from which 13 were common (e.g. procedures and diagnosis dates) and were used for the generic data model. The electronic follow-up form was integrated in the clinical workflow. Survival data was also retrospectively entered in order to perform survival and quality analyses on a comprehensive data set. Physicians are now able to generate timely Kaplan-Meier plots on current data. We analysed 1029 follow-up forms of 965 patients with survival information between 1992 and 2010. Completeness of forms was 60.2%, completeness of items ranges between 94.3% and 98.5%. Median overall survival time was 16.4 years; median event-free survival time was 7.7 years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It is feasible to integrate survival information into routine HIS documentation such that Kaplan-Meier plots can be generated directly and in a timely manner.</p

IL-4 induces cAMP and cGMP in human monocytic cells

Human monocytes, preincubated with IFN-γ respond to IL-4 by a cGMP increase through activation of an inducible NO synthase. Here, IL-4 was found to induce an accumulation of cGMP (1 – 3 min) and cAMP (20 – 25 min) in unstimulated monocytes. This was impaired with NOS inhibitors, but also with EGTA and calcium/calmodulin inhibitors. These results suggest that: (1) IL-4 may stimulate different NOS isoforms in resting and IFN-γ activated monocytes, and (2) cAMP accumulation may be partially dependent on the NO pathway. By RT-PCR, a type III constitutive NOS mRNA was detected in U937 monocytic cells. IL-4 also increased the [Ca2+]i in these cells. Different NOS may thus be expressed in monocytic cells depending on their differentiation and the signals they receive