Calcium Oxalate Crystal Production in Two Members of the Mucorales

Calcium oxalate crystals are found in association with the sporangia of Mucor hiemalis and Rhizopus oryzae. Crystals observed in each species vary in morphology from simple crystals consisting of single spines in M. hiemalis to complex crystals with twin spines, sometimes three-parted, on a common base in R. oryzae. The early development of the crystals is similar in both species with a layer of the cell wall covering in the initial crystals. The spines of M. hiemalis rapidly emerge while the crystals of R. oryzae appear to remain covered with a layer of outer wall material. The crystals of both species become fully developed just prior to spore release. Details of crystal development are compared and possible mechanisms for crystal development are explored

Patterns of Calcium Oxalate Crystal Production by Three Species of Wood Decay Fungi

Wood decay experiments using red spruce wood resting on moist soil were conducted to discern temporal and spatial patterns of calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystal production by three species of fungi over the course of decay. All three species produced crystals of calcium oxalate dihydrate, but not monohydrate, in and on wood. Over the course of decay, the production of CaOx crystals was shown to be heterogeneous in both space and time. The relative quantity, morphology and longevity of CaOx crystals varied among species. Gloeophyllum (G.) trabeum produced substantial quantities of free crystals; Fomitopsis (F.) pinicola produced encrusting crystals; and Trichaptum (T.) abietinum produced adhering crystals and druses. Paramorphic corrosion of crystals was observed most frequently in the brown rot fungus G. trabeum and not at all in the white-rot fungus T. abietinum. Often associated with crystal precipitations was the production of crystal surface-obscuring extracellular matrix. All the species observed produced CaOx crystals more consistently in or on soil than in wood. The study of crystal production patterns and crystal morphologies could yield important information about the microenvironmental conditions in wood during biodegradation and the mechanisms by which wood decay fungi decompose lignocellulose

Photoacoustic and nephelometric spectroscopy of aerosol optical properties with a supercontinuum light source

A novel multi-wavelength photoacousticnephelometer spectrometer (SC-PNS) has been developed for the optical characterization of atmospheric aerosol particles. This instrument integrates a white light supercontinuum laser with photoacoustic and nephelometric spectroscopy to measure aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients at five wavelength bands (centered at 417, 475, 542, 607, and 675 nm). These wavelength bands are selected from the continuous spectrum of the laser (ranging from 400-2200 nm) using a set of optical interference filters. Absorption and scattering measurements on laboratory-generated aerosol samples were performed sequentially at each wavelength band. To test the instrument we measured the wavelength dependence of absorption and scattering coefficients of kerosene soot and common salt aerosols. Results were favorably compared to those obtained with a commercial 3-wavelength photoacoustic and nephelometer instrument demonstrating the utility of the SC light source for studies of aerosol optical properties at selected wavelengths. Here, we discuss instrument design, development, calibration, performance and experimental results

Re-Inventing Public Education:The New Role of Knowledge in Education Policy-Making

This article focuses on the changing role of knowledge in education policy making within the knowledge society. Through an examination of key policy texts, the Scottish case of Integrated Children Services provision is used to exemplify this new trend. We discuss the ways in which knowledge is being used in order to re-configure education as part of a range of public services designed to meet individuals' needs. This, we argue, has led to a 'scientization' of education governance where it is only knowledge, closely intertwined with action (expressed as 'measures') that can reveal problems and shape solutions. The article concludes by highlighting the key role of knowledge policy and governance in orienting education policy making through a re-invention of the public role of education

Enhancing Communication about Paediatric Medicines: Lessons from a Qualitative Study of Parents' Experiences of Their Child's Suspected Adverse Drug Reaction

Background: There is little research on parents’ experiences of suspected adverse drug reactions in their children and hence little evidence to guide clinicians when communicating with families about problems associated with medicines. Objective: To identify any unmet information and communication needs described by parents whose child had a suspected adverse drug reaction. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents of 44 children who had a suspected adverse drug reaction identified on hospital admission, during in-patient treatment or reported by parents using the Yellow Card Scheme (the UK system for collecting spontaneous reports of adverse drug reactions). Interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone; most interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. Analysis was informed by the principles of the constant comparative method. Results: Many parents described being dissatisfied with how clinicians communicated about adverse drug reactions and unclear about the implications for their child’s future use of medicines. A few parents felt that clinicians had abandoned their child and reported refusing the use of further medicines because they feared a repeated adverse drug reaction. The accounts of parents of children with cancer were different. They emphasised their confidence in clinicians’ management of adverse drug reactions and described how clinicians prospectively explained the risks associated with medicines. Parents linked symptoms to medicines in ways that resembled the established reasoning that clinicians use to evaluate the possibility that a medicine has caused an adverse drug reaction. Conclusion: Clinicians’ communication about adverse drug reactions was poor from the perspective of parents, indicating that improvements are needed. The accounts of parents of children with cancer indicate that prospective explanation about adverse drug reactions at the time of prescription can be effective. Convergence between parents and clinicians in their reasoning for linking children’s symptoms to medicines could be a starting point for improved communication

An agent-based approach to assess drivers’ interaction with pre-trip information systems.

This article reports on the practical use of a multi-agent microsimulation framework to address the issue of assessing drivers’ responses to pretrip information systems. The population of drivers is represented as a community of autonomous agents, and travel demand results from the decision-making deliberation performed by each individual of the population as regards route and departure time. A simple simulation scenario was devised, where pretrip information was made available to users on an individual basis so that its effects at the aggregate level could be observed. The simulation results show that the overall performance of the system is very likely affected by exogenous information, and these results are ascribed to demand formation and network topology. The expressiveness offered by cognitive approaches based on predicate logics, such as the one used in this research, appears to be a promising approximation to fostering more complex behavior modelling, allowing us to represent many of the mental aspects involved in the deliberation process

Mechanisms of action of the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin on tubular inflammation and damage:A post-hoc mediation analysis of the CANVAS trial

AIMS: Exposure of tubular cells to albumin stimulates pro-inflammatory pathways including the release of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1) which may result in interstitial fibrosis and tubular damage reflected by increased urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1). SGLT2 inhibition reduces urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) and small studies suggest it also reduces MCP-1 and KIM-1. We hypothesised that the reduction in KIM-1 observed with the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin is mediated through its effect on UACR and MCP-1. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the proportion of effect of canagliflozin on KIM-1 mediated through its effects on MCP-1 and UACR in patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric kidney disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: KIM-1 and MCP-1 were measured in urine samples of the CANVAS trial at baseline and week 52 with the Mesoscale QuickPlex SQ 120 platform. KIM-1 and MCP-1 were standardized by urinary creatinine. The proportion of mediated effect of canagliflozin through UACR and MCP-1/Cr on KIM-1/Cr was estimated with G-computation. RESULTS: In total, 763 (17.6% of total cohort) patients with micro- or macroalbuminuria were included. Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the canagliflozin and placebo group. At year 1, canagliflozin compared to placebo reduced UACR, MCP-1/Cr, and KIM-1/Cr by 40.4% (95%CI 31.0, 48.4), 18.1% (95%CI 8.9, 26.4), and 30.9% (95%CI 23.0, 38.0), respectively. The proportion of the effect of canagliflozin on KIM-1/Cr mediated by its effect on UACR and in turn on MCP-1/Cr was 15.2% (95%CI 9.4, 24.5). CONCLUSION: Canagliflozin reduces urinary KIM-1 suggesting decreased tubular damage. This effect was partly mediated through a reduction in MCP-1, indicative of reduced tubular inflammation, which was in turn mediated by a reduction in UACR. This post-hoc analysis suggest that urinary albumin leakage may lead to tubular inflammation and induction of injury, and provide mechanistic insight for how canagliflozin may ameliorate tubular damage, but further research is required to confirm these findings. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Vertically resolved aerosol optical properties over the ARM SGP site

We will present an overview of early airborne results obtained aboard the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRP AS) Twin Otter aircraft during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program aerosol intensive observation period in May 2003