Heated aquatic microcosms for climate change experiments

Ponds and shallow lakes are likely to be strongly affected by climate change, and by increase in environmental temperature in particular. Hydrological regimes and nutrient cycling may be altered, plant and animal communities may undergo changes in both composition and dynamics, and long-term and difficult to reverse switches between alternative stable equilibria may occur. A thorough understanding of the potential effects of increased temperature on ponds and shallow lakes is desirable because these ecosystems are of immense importance throughout the world as sources of drinking water, and for their amenity and conservation value. This understanding can only come through experimental studies in which the effects of different temperature regimes are compared. This paper reports design details and operating characteristics of a recently constructed experimental facility consisting of 48 aquatic microcosms which mimic the pond and shallow lake environment. Thirty-two of the microcosms can be heated and regulated to simulate climate change scenarios, including those predicted for the UK. The authors also summarise the current and future experimental uses of the microcosms

Survival Disparities in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Treatment: An Investigation of Race and Gender

Multiple studies evaluating non-small cell lung cancer disparities reveal male gender and African American race as independent predictors for poorer outcome. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic factors affecting survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving radiation treatment at the University of Washington and to investigate whether race and gender disparities persist at the level of access to radiation treatment. Race, age, stage at presentation, radiation treatment length, and length of time from initial diagnosis to death or last follow-up were recorded and analyzed in a retrospective review of 372 patients receiving radiation treatment from 1994 - 2008. Of a final 372 patients, 306 were Caucasian, 32 African American, 34 Asian American and 134 female, 238 male patients. Cox regression models showed male gender [hazard ratio (HR, 1.34) p-value 0.027] and stage at presentation [stage III: HR, 1.93, p-value .001, stage IV: HR, 2.46, P value \u3c 0.001] were predictors for shorter survival. In these analyses, race had no significant effect on length of survival. These results suggest disparate origins of race and gender inequity in non-small cell lung cancer outcome, highlighting that race differences in lung cancer survival disappear at the level patients have access to radiation treatment. This supports the notion that gender survival differences are likely the result of biologic differences, while racial survival disparities are an issue of healthcare access- however, additional studies are needed to conclusively discern the etiology of these disparities

A new methodology for automating acoustic emission detection of metallic fatigue fractures in highly demanding aerospace environments: An overview

The acoustic emission (AE) phenomenon has many attributes that make it desirable as a structural health monitoring or non-destructive testing technique, including the capability to continuously and globally monitor large structures using a sparse sensor array and with no dependency on defect size. However, AE monitoring is yet to fulfil its true potential, due mainly to limitations in location accuracy and signal characterisation that often arise in complex structures with high levels of background noise. Furthermore, the technique has been criticised for a lack of quantitative results and the large amount of operator interpretation required during data analysis. This paper begins by introducing the challenges faced in developing an AE based structural health monitoring system and then gives a review of previous progress made in addresing these challenges. Subsequently an overview of a novel methodology for automatic detection of fatigue fractures in complex geometries and noisy environments is presented, which combines a number of signal processing techniques to address the current limitations of AE monitoring. The technique was developed for monitoring metallic landing gear components during pre-flight certification testing and results are presented from a full-scale steel landing gear component undergoing fatigue loading. Fracture onset was successfully identify automatically at 49,000 fatigue cycles prior to final failure (validated by the use of dye penetrant inspection) and the fracture position was located to within 10. mm of the actual location

A Phase II study of pulse dose imatinib mesylate and weekly paclitaxel in patients aged 70 and over with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), interstitial hypertension is a barrier to chemotherapy delivery, and is mediated by platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). Antagonizing PDGFR with imatinib may improve intra-tumoral delivery of paclitaxel, increasing response rate (RR). METHODS: This single-stage, open-label phase II study evaluated pulse dose imatinib and weekly paclitaxel in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. Eligible patients were aged ≥ 70 with untreated, stage IIIB-IV NSCLC and ECOG performance status 0-2. Primary endpoint was RR. Secondary endpoints included median progression free and overall survival (PFS, OS) and correlatives of PDGFR pathway activation. Baseline Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and Vulnerable Elder Survey-13 (VES-13) were correlated with outcomes. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients with median age 75 enrolled. Eleven of 29 (38%) were frail by VES-13 score. Overall RR was 11/34 (32%; 95% CI 17%-51%), meeting the primary endpoint. Median PFS and OS were 3.6 and 7.3 months, respectively. High tumoral PDGF-B expression predicted inferior PFS. Frail patients by VES-13 had significantly worse median PFS (3.2 vs. 4.5 months; p=0.02) and OS (4.8 vs. 12 months; p=0.02) than non-frail. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of imatinib and paclitaxel had encouraging activity as measured by the primary endpoint of RR. However, PFS and OS were typical for elderly patients treated with single agent chemotherapy and the regimen is not recommended for further study. Adjunct imatinib did not overcome the established association of tumoral PDGF-B expression with inferior PFS. VES-13 was a powerful predictor of poor survival outcomes. Frailty should be further studied as a predictor of non-benefit from chemotherapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01011075

The protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae causes adult and nestling mortality in a declining population of European Turtle Doves, Streptopelia turtur

Studies incorporating the ecology of clinical and sub-clinical disease in wild populations of conservation concern are rare. Here we examine sub-clinical infection by Trichomonas gallinae in a declining population of free-living European Turtle Doves and suggest caseous lesions cause mortality in adults and nestlings through subsequent starvation and/or suffocation. We found a 100% infection rate by T. gallinae in adult and nestling Turtle Doves (n = 25) and observed clinical signs in three adults and four nestlings (28%). Adults with clinical signs displayed no differences in any skeletal measures of size but had a mean 3·7% reduction in wing length, with no overlap compared to those without clinical signs. We also identified T. gallinae as the suggested cause of mortality in one Red-legged Partridge although disease presentation was different. A minimum of four strains of T. gallinae, characterized at the ITS/5·8S/ITS2 ribosomal region, were isolated from Turtle Doves. However, all birds with clinical signs (Turtle Doves and the Red-legged Partridge) carried a single strain of T. gallinae, suggesting that parasite spill over between Columbidae and Galliformes is a possibility that should be further investigated. Overall, we highlight the importance of monitoring populations for sub-clinical infection rather than just clinical disease

Developing and enhancing biodiversity monitoring programmes: a collaborative assessment of priorities

1.Biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates, and it is increasingly important that these changes are quantified through monitoring programmes. Previous recommendations for developing or enhancing these programmes focus either on the end goals, that is the intended use of the data, or on how these goals are achieved, for example through volunteer involvement in citizen science, but not both. These recommendations are rarely prioritized. 2.We used a collaborative approach, involving 52 experts in biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to develop a list of attributes of relevance to any biodiversity monitoring programme and to order these attributes by their priority. We also ranked the attributes according to their importance in monitoring biodiversity in the UK. Experts involved included data users, funders, programme organizers and participants in data collection. They covered expertise in a wide range of taxa. 3.We developed a final list of 25 attributes of biodiversity monitoring schemes, ordered from the most elemental (those essential for monitoring schemes; e.g. articulate the objectives and gain sufficient participants) to the most aspirational (e.g. electronic data capture in the field, reporting change annually). This ordered list is a practical framework which can be used to support the development of monitoring programmes. 4.People's ranking of attributes revealed a difference between those who considered attributes with benefits to end users to be most important (e.g. people from governmental organizations) and those who considered attributes with greatest benefit to participants to be most important (e.g. people involved with volunteer biological recording schemes). This reveals a distinction between focussing on aims and the pragmatism in achieving those aims. 5.Synthesis and applications. The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes

Heated aquatic microcosms for climate change experiments

We are experiencing global climate change (e.g. Houghton et al. 1996; Huanget al. 2000). One of the main features of this change is a significant andcontinuing rise in temperature, attributable at least in part to anthropogenicenhancement of the greenhouse effect (Kerr 2000). The projected magnitudeand rapidity of this phenomenon is cause for major concern about how thebiosphere will respond

Incidence and Distribution of Microfungi in a Treated Municipal Water Supply System in Sub-Tropical Australia

Drinking water quality is usually determined by its pathogenic bacterial content. However, the potential of water-borne spores as a source of nosocomial fungal infection is increasingly being recognised. This study into the incidence of microfungal contaminants in a typical Australian municipal water supply was carried out over an 18 month period. Microfungal abundance was estimated by the membrane filtration method with filters incubated on malt extract agar at 25 °C for seven days. Colony forming units were recovered from all parts of the system and these were enumerated and identified to genus level. The most commonly recovered genera were Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Fusarium. Nonparametric multivariate statistical analyses of the data using MDS, PCA, BEST and bubble plots were carried out with PRIMER v6 software. Positive and significant correlations were found between filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria. This study has demonstrated that numerous microfungal genera, including those that contain species which are opportunistic human pathogens, populate a typical treated municipal water supply in sub-tropical Australia

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Derived by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

SummaryReprogramming somatic cells into pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been envisioned as an approach for generating patient-matched nuclear transfer (NT)-ESCs for studies of disease mechanisms and for developing specific therapies. Past attempts to produce human NT-ESCs have failed secondary to early embryonic arrest of SCNT embryos. Here, we identified premature exit from meiosis in human oocytes and suboptimal activation as key factors that are responsible for these outcomes. Optimized SCNT approaches designed to circumvent these limitations allowed derivation of human NT-ESCs. When applied to premium quality human oocytes, NT-ESC lines were derived from as few as two oocytes. NT-ESCs displayed normal diploid karyotypes and inherited their nuclear genome exclusively from parental somatic cells. Gene expression and differentiation profiles in human NT-ESCs were similar to embryo-derived ESCs, suggesting efficient reprogramming of somatic cells to a pluripotent state.PaperCli