General practitioner experience and perception of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) care pathways: a multimethod research study

This is the final version of the article. Available from BMJ Publishing via the DOI in this recordOBJECTIVES: This is a pilot study with the objective of investigating general practitioner (GP) perceptions and experiences in the referral of mentally ill and behaviourally disturbed children and adolescents. DESIGN: Quantitative analyses on patient databases were used to ascertain the source of referrals into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and identify the relative contribution from GP practices. Qualitative semistructured interviews were then used to explore challenges faced by GPs in referring to CAMHS. SETTING: GPs were chosen from the five localities that deliver CAMHS within the local Trust (Peterborough City, Fenland, Huntingdon, Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire). PARTICIPANTS: For the quantitative portion, data involving 19 466 separate referrals were used. Seven GPs took part in the qualitative interviews. RESULTS: The likelihood of a referral from GPs being rejected by CAMHS was over three times higher compared to all other referral sources combined within the Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. Interviews showed that detecting the signs and symptoms of mental illness in young people is a challenge for GPs. Communication with referral agencies varies and depends on individual relationships. GPs determine whether to refer on a mixture of the presenting conditions and their perceived likelihood of acceptance by CAMHS; the criteria for the latter were poorly understood by the interviewed GPs. CONCLUSIONS: There are longstanding structural weaknesses in the services for children and young people in general, reflected in poor multiagency cooperation at the primary care level. GP-friendly guidelines and standards are required that will aid in decision-making and help with understanding the referrals process. We look to managers of both commissioning and providing organisations, as well as future research, to drive forward the development of tools, protocols, and health service structures to help aid the recognition and treatment of mental illness in young people.This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC), grant number RNAG-186

Early embryonic development, assisted reproductive technologies, and pluripotent stem cell biology in domestic mammals

Over many decades assisted reproductive technologies, including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in vitro production (IVP) of embryos, cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), and stem cell culture, have been developed with the aim of refining breeding strategies for improved production and health in animal husbandry. More recently, biomedical applications of these technologies, in particular, SCNT and stem cell culture, have been pursued in domestic mammals in order to create models for human disease and therapy. The following review focuses on presenting important aspects of pre-implantation development in cattle, pigs, horses, and dogs. Biological aspects and impact of assisted reproductive technologies including IVP, SCNT, and culture of pluripotent stem cells are also addressed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Charge Generation and Selective Separation at PbS Quantum Dot Metal Oxide Interfaces

Charge separation and transfer at the interface between layers of oleic acid capped PbS quantum dots QDs and Titanium and Indium Tin oxide TiO2 and ITO films were investigated by surface photovoltage SPV measurements. Photoluminescence PL measurements were performed in order to check for excitonic transitions and determine the QD band gaps. The QDs diameter of 4.2 nm and 5.0 nm were estimated by using the PL band gaps and the theoretical equation derived by Wang et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 87 1987 7315]. The SPV spectra of the PbS QDs TiO2 system reveal a positive charge on the PbS film surface and show three distinguished regions which demonstrate i the charge separation across QDs, ii the electron injection from QDs into TiO2 and iii the fundamental absorption in TiO2. The on set of the electron injection depends on the QD size QD band gap it shifts to lower photon energies for lower QD dimensions for higher QD band gaps . Thus, a better conduction band alignment is achieved in the latter case. In contrast to PbS QDs TiO2, the SPV spectra of the PbS QDs ITO structure reveal the negative charge on PbS surface. Moreover, the charge transfer at this interface is not observed. Instead, the SPV peculiarities in the photon energy range 1.4 3.0 eV point out to trapped holes on the ITO surface state

The novel extremely acidophilic, cell-wall-deficient archaeon Cuniculiplasma divulgatum gen. nov., sp. nov. represents a new family, Cuniculiplasmataceae fam. nov., of the order Thermoplasmatales

Two novel cell-wall-less, acidophilic, mesophilic, organotrophic and facultatively anaerobic archaeal strains were isolated from acidic streamers formed on the surfaces of copper-ore-containing sulfidic deposits in south-west Spain and North Wales, UK. Cells of the strains varied from 0.1 to 2 μm in size and were pleomorphic, with a tendency to form filamentous structures. The optimal pH and temperature for growth for both strains were 1.0-1.2 and 37-40 °C, with the optimal substrates for growth being beef extract (3 g l- 1) for strain S5T and beef extract with tryptone (3 and 1 g l- 1, respectively) for strain PM4. The lipid composition was dominated by intact polar lipids consisting of a glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) core attached to predominantly glycosidic polar headgroups. In addition, free GDGT and small relative amounts of intact and core diether lipids were present. Strains S5T and PM4 possessed mainly menaquinones with minor fractions of thermoplasmaquinones. The DNA G+C content was 37.3 mol% in strain S5T and 37.16 mol% for strain PM4. A similarity matrix of 16S rRNA gene sequences (identical for both strains) showed their affiliation to the order Thermoplasmatales, with 73.9-86.3 % identity with sequences from members of the order with validly published names. The average nucleotide identity between genomes of the strains determined in silico was 98.75 %, suggesting, together with the 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis, that the strains belong to the same species. A novel family, Cuniculiplasmataceae fam. nov., genus Cuniculiplasma gen. nov. and species Cuniculiplasma divulgatum sp. nov. are proposed based on the phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic analyses and physiological properties of the two isolates, S5T and PM4 ( = JCM 30641 = VKM B-2940). The type strain of Cuniculiplasma divulgatum is S5T ( = JCM 30642T = VKM B-2941T)

Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Sievert, S. M., Buehring, S., Gulmann, L. K., Hinrichs, K.-U., Ristova, P. P., & Gomez-Saez, G. Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), (2022): 96, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00426-5.Hydrothermalism in coastal sediments strongly impacts biogeochemical processes and supports chemoautotrophy. Yet, the effect of fluid flow on microbial community composition and rates of chemoautotrophic production is unknown because rate measurements under natural conditions are difficult, impeding an assessment of the importance of these systems. Here, in situ incubations controlling fluid flow along a transect of three geochemically distinct locations at a shallow-water hydrothermal system off Milos (Greece) show that Campylobacteria dominated chemoautotrophy in the presence of fluid flow. Based on injected 13C-labelled dissolved inorganic carbon and its incorporation into fatty acids, we constrained carbon fixation to be as high as 12 µmol C cm−3 d−1, corresponding to areal rates up to 10-times higher than previously reported for coastal sediments, and showed the importance of fluid flow for supplying the necessary substrates to support chemoautotrophy. Without flow, rates were substantially lower and microbial community composition markedly shifted. Our results highlight the importance of fluid flow in shaping the composition and activity of microbial communities of shallow-water hydrothermal vents, identifying them as hotspots of microbial productivity.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL

Metal acetate based synthesis of small sized Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals effect of injection temperature and synthesis time

We report the colloidal synthesis of small sized Cu2ZnSnS4 CZTS nanocrystals NCs via a hot injection method using zinc and tin acetates in combination with copper acetylacetonate as metal precursors. A systematic investigation of the in amp; 64258;uence of the injection temperature in the range from 190 o C to 300 o C on the size distribution, composition and phase purity of CZTS nanocrystals has been performed. It has been found that temperature plays the key role in changing of the metal sources reactivity and in amp; 64258;uences the amp; 64257;nal composition of the nanocrystals. The mechanism of nanocrystal formation has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy of aliquots of their solutions. It starts from the formation of a Cu2 xS phase as a core followed by the incorporation of Zn2 and Sn4 atoms into its structure regardless of injection temperature

Starvation and recovery in the deep-sea methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti

In the deep ocean, the conversion of methane into derived carbon and energy drives the establishment of diverse faunal communities. Yet specific biological mechanisms underlying the introduction of methane-derived carbon into the food web remain poorly described, due to a lack of cultured representative deep-sea methanotrophic prokaryotes. Here, the response of the deep-sea aerobic methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti to methane starvation and recovery was characterized. By combining lipid analysis, RNA analysis, and electron cryotomography, it was shown that M. sedimenti undergoes discrete cellular shifts in response to methane starvation, including changes in headgroup-specific fatty acid saturation levels, and reductions in cytoplasmic storage granules. Methane starvation is associated with a significant increase in the abundance of gene transcripts pertinent to methane oxidation. Methane reintroduction to starved cells stimulates a rapid, transient extracellular accumulation of methanol, revealing a way in which methane-derived carbon may be routed to community members. This study provides new understanding of methanotrophic responses to methane starvation and recovery, and lays the initial groundwork to develop Methyloprofundus as a model chemosynthesizing bacterium from the deep sea

Microbial conversion of inorganic carbon to dimethyl sulfide in anoxic lake sediment (Plußsee, Germany)

In anoxic environments, volatile methylated sulfides like methanethiol (MT) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) link the pools of inorganic and organic carbon with the sulfur cycle. However, direct formation of methylated sulfides from reduction of dissolved inorganic carbon has previously not been demonstrated. When studying the effect of temperature on hydrogenotrophic microbial activity, we observed formation of DMS in anoxic sediment of Lake Plußsee at 55 °C. Subsequent experiments strongly suggested that the formation of DMS involves fixation of bicarbonate via a reductive pathway in analogy to methanogenesis and engages methylation of MT. DMS formation was enhanced by addition of bicarbonate and further increased when both bicarbonate and H<sub>2</sub> were supplemented. Inhibition of DMS formation by 2-bromoethanesulfonate points to the involvement of methanogens. Compared to the accumulation of DMS, MT showed the opposite trend but there was no apparent 1:1 stoichiometric ratio between both compounds. Both DMS and MT had negative δ<sup>13</sup>C values of −62‰ and −55‰, respectively. Labeling with NaH<sup>13</sup>CO<sub>3</sub> showed more rapid incorporation of bicarbonate into DMS than into MT. The stable carbon isotopic evidence implies that bicarbonate was fixed via a reductive pathway of methanogenesis, and the generated methyl coenzyme M became the methyl donor for MT methylation. Neither DMS nor MT accumulation were stimulated by addition of the methyl-group donors methanol and syringic acid or by the methyl-group acceptor hydrogen sulphide. The source of MT was further investigated in a H<sub>2</sub><sup>35</sup>S labeling experiment, which demonstrated a microbially-mediated process of hydrogen sulfide methylation to MT that accounted for only <10% of the accumulation rates of DMS. Therefore, the major source of the <sup>13</sup>C-depleted MT was neither bicarbonate nor methoxylated aromatic compounds. Other possibilities for isotopically depleted MT, such as other organic precursors like methionine, are discussed. This DMS-forming pathway may be relevant for anoxic environments such as hydrothermally influenced sediments and fluids and sulfate-methane transition zones in marine sediments