Flagging greens: hydrobiid snails as substrata for the development of green algal mats (Enteromorpha spp.) on tidal flats of North Atlantic coasts

During the past 3 decades, dense mats of green algae (especially Enteromorpha spp.) have been recorded regularly from tidal flats worldwide. The development of green algal mats on tidal flats may be initiated by overwintering and regrowth of adult plants or by the formation and release of small propagules, i.e. vegetative fragments, zoospores and zygotes. On soft sediments, macroinvertebrates may constitute prime substrata for germination of algal spores. Hydrobud (mud-) snails are widespread along North Atlantic soft sediment shores and were identified previously as important substrata for Enteromorpha spp. germlings in 1 of our study areas. To test the generality of this phenomenon, we investigated the presence of Enteromorpha spp. gerrnlings attached to hydrobud snails from November 1995 to December 1996 on 6 tidal flats of North Atlantic coasts (Tralebergslule, Sweden; Konigshafen Bay, Germany; Mondego Estuary, Portugal; Ria Formosa, Portugal; Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada; Lowes Cove, Maine, USA). With 1 exception, hydrobiid snails were present in all areas studied, and intensive growth of Enteromorpha spp. occurred during summer. Throughout winter 1995/96, hardly any Enteromorpha spp. gerrnlings were found on snail shells, but over the following months germlings developed on up to 60% of the hydrobiid snails present. In 2 areas (Konigshafen, Germany; Lowes Cove, USA), germhng abundance on hydrobuds began to rise before the peak of green algal mat development. In Tralebergskile, Sweden, high mat abundance occurred simultaneous to and after increased germling abundance on Hydrobia ulvae. Densities of snails were very low, however, and hydrobuds appeared to be unimportant as substratum. No clear temporal pattern between high germling abundance on snails followed by mat development was found in the other 3 study areas (Ria Formosa, Portugal; Mondego Estuary, Portugal; Cole Harbour, Canada). In Lowes Cove, USA, gerrnlings and juveniles of Enteromorpha spp. first grew at the site with high Hydrobia abundance and were subsequently drifted to another site where they developed into full mats. We conclude that initiation of green algal mats by germination on Hydrobia spp. may be a general phenomenon, but that other modes of development also occur frequently. Pelagic dnft of overwintering thalli to new sites, followed by prolific growth, might be of similar or greater importance

A new human challenge model for testing heat-stable toxin-based vaccine candidates for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli diarrhea - dose optimization, clinical outcomes, and CD4+T cell responses

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are a common cause of diarrheal illness in young children and travelers. There is yet no licensed broadly protective vaccine against ETEC. One promising vaccine development strategy is to target strains expressing the heat-stable toxin (ST), particularly the human ST (STh), since infections with these strains are among the leading causes of diarrhea in children in low-and-middle income countries. A human challenge model based on an STh-only ETEC strain will be useful to evaluate the protective efficacy of new ST-based vaccine candidates. To develop this model, we experimentally infected 21 healthy adult volunteers with the epidemiologically relevant STh-only ETEC strain TW10722, identified a suitable dose, assessed safety, and characterized clinical outcomes and immune responses caused by the infection. Doses of 1x10(10) colony-forming units (CFU) of TW10722 gave a suitable attack risk of 67% for moderate or severe diarrhea and an overall diarrhea attack risk of 78%. Non-diarrheal symptoms were mostly mild or moderate, and there were no serious adverse events. During the first month after ingesting the challenge strain, we measured significant increases in both activated CD4+ T cells and levels of serum IgG and IgA antibodies targeting coli surface antigen 5 (CS5) and 6 (CS6), as well as the E. coli mucinase YghJ. The CS5-specific CD4+ T cell and antibody responses were still significantly elevated one year after experimental infection. In conclusion, we have developed a safe STh-only ETEC-based human challenge model which can be efficiently used in Phase 2B trials to evaluate the protective efficacy of new ST-based vaccine candidates

Effects of Climate and Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Early to Mid-Term Stage Litter Decomposition Across Biomes

open263siWe acknowledge support by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, funded by the German Research Foundation (FZT 118), Scientific Grant Agency VEGA(GrantNo.2/0101/18), as well as by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement No. 677232)Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its temporal dynamics are of significant importance, since their effects might change over the course of the decomposition process. Within the TeaComposition initiative, we incubated Green and Rooibos teas at 524 sites across nine biomes. We assessed how macroclimate and atmospheric inorganic N deposition under current and predicted scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 8.5) might affect litter mass loss measured after 3 and 12 months. Our study shows that the early to mid-term mass loss at the global scale was affected predominantly by litter quality (explaining 73% and 62% of the total variance after 3 and 12 months, respectively) followed by climate and N deposition. The effects of climate were not litter-specific and became increasingly significant as decomposition progressed, with MAP explaining 2% and MAT 4% of the variation after 12 months of incubation. The effect of N deposition was litter-specific, and significant only for 12-month decomposition of Rooibos tea at the global scale. However, in the temperate biome where atmospheric N deposition rates are relatively high, the 12-month mass loss of Green and Rooibos teas decreased significantly with increasing N deposition, explaining 9.5% and 1.1% of the variance, respectively. The expected changes in macroclimate and N deposition at the global scale by the end of this century are estimated to increase the 12-month mass loss of easily decomposable litter by 1.1-3.5% and of the more stable substrates by 3.8-10.6%, relative to current mass loss. In contrast, expected changes in atmospheric N deposition will decrease the mid-term mass loss of high-quality litter by 1.4-2.2% and that of low-quality litter by 0.9-1.5% in the temperate biome. Our results suggest that projected increases in N deposition may have the capacity to dampen the climate-driven increases in litter decomposition depending on the biome and decomposition stage of substrate.openKwon T.; Shibata H.; Kepfer-Rojas S.; Schmidt I.K.; Larsen K.S.; Beier C.; Berg B.; Verheyen K.; Lamarque J.-F.; Hagedorn F.; Eisenhauer N.; Djukic I.; Caliman A.; Paquette A.; Gutierrez-Giron A.; Petraglia A.; Augustaitis A.; Saillard A.; Ruiz-Fernandez A.C.; Sousa A.I.; Lillebo A.I.; Da Rocha Gripp A.; Lamprecht A.; Bohner A.; Francez A.-J.; Malyshev A.; Andric A.; Stanisci A.; Zolles A.; Avila A.; Virkkala A.-M.; Probst A.; Ouin A.; Khuroo A.A.; Verstraeten A.; Stefanski A.; Gaxiola A.; Muys B.; Gozalo B.; Ahrends B.; Yang B.; Erschbamer B.; Rodriguez Ortiz C.E.; Christiansen C.T.; Meredieu C.; Mony C.; Nock C.; Wang C.-P.; Baum C.; Rixen C.; Delire C.; Piscart C.; Andrews C.; Rebmann C.; Branquinho C.; Jan D.; Wundram D.; Vujanovic D.; Adair E.C.; Ordonez-Regil E.; Crawford E.R.; Tropina E.F.; Hornung E.; Groner E.; Lucot E.; Gacia E.; Levesque E.; Benedito E.; Davydov E.A.; Bolzan F.P.; Maestre F.T.; Maunoury-Danger F.; Kitz F.; Hofhansl F.; Hofhansl G.; De Almeida Lobo F.; Souza F.L.; Zehetner F.; Koffi F.K.; Wohlfahrt G.; Certini G.; Pinha G.D.; Gonzlez G.; Canut G.; Pauli H.; Bahamonde H.A.; Feldhaar H.; Jger H.; Serrano H.C.; Verheyden H.; Bruelheide H.; Meesenburg H.; Jungkunst H.; Jactel H.; Kurokawa H.; Yesilonis I.; Melece I.; Van Halder I.; Quiros I.G.; Fekete I.; Ostonen I.; Borovsk J.; Roales J.; Shoqeir J.H.; Jean-Christophe Lata J.; Probst J.-L.; Vijayanathan J.; Dolezal J.; Sanchez-Cabeza J.-A.; Merlet J.; Loehr J.; Von Oppen J.; Loffler J.; Benito Alonso J.L.; Cardoso-Mohedano J.-G.; Penuelas J.; Morina J.C.; Quinde J.D.; Jimnez J.J.; Alatalo J.M.; Seeber J.; Kemppinen J.; Stadler J.; Kriiska K.; Van Den Meersche K.; Fukuzawa K.; Szlavecz K.; Juhos K.; Gerhtov K.; Lajtha K.; Jennings K.; Jennings J.; Ecology P.; Hoshizaki K.; Green K.; Steinbauer K.; Pazianoto L.; Dienstbach L.; Yahdjian L.; Williams L.J.; Brigham L.; Hanna L.; Hanna H.; Rustad L.; Morillas L.; Silva Carneiro L.; Di Martino L.; Villar L.; Fernandes Tavares L.A.; Morley M.; Winkler M.; Lebouvier M.; Tomaselli M.; Schaub M.; Glushkova M.; Torres M.G.A.; De Graaff M.-A.; Pons M.-N.; Bauters M.; Mazn M.; Frenzel M.; Wagner M.; Didion M.; Hamid M.; Lopes M.; Apple M.; Weih M.; Mojses M.; Gualmini M.; Vadeboncoeur M.; Bierbaumer M.; Danger M.; Scherer-Lorenzen M.; Ruek M.; Isabellon M.; Di Musciano M.; Carbognani M.; Zhiyanski M.; Puca M.; Barna M.; Ataka M.; Luoto M.; H. Alsafaran M.; Barsoum N.; Tokuchi N.; Korboulewsky N.; Lecomte N.; Filippova N.; Hlzel N.; Ferlian O.; Romero O.; Pinto-Jr O.; Peri P.; Dan Turtureanu P.; Haase P.; Macreadie P.; Reich P.B.; Petk P.; Choler P.; Marmonier P.; Ponette Q.; Dettogni Guariento R.; Canessa R.; Kiese R.; Hewitt R.; Weigel R.; Kanka R.; Cazzolla Gatti R.; Martins R.L.; Ogaya R.; Georges R.; Gaviln R.G.; Wittlinger S.; Puijalon S.; Suzuki S.; Martin S.; Anja S.; Gogo S.; Schueler S.; Drollinger S.; Mereu S.; Wipf S.; Trevathan-Tackett S.; Stoll S.; Lfgren S.; Trogisch S.; Seitz S.; Glatzel S.; Venn S.; Dousset S.; Mori T.; Sato T.; Hishi T.; Nakaji T.; Jean-Paul T.; Camboulive T.; Spiegelberger T.; Scholten T.; Mozdzer T.J.; Kleinebecker T.; Runk T.; Ramaswiela T.; Hiura T.; Enoki T.; Ursu T.-M.; Di Cella U.M.; Hamer U.; Klaus V.; Di Cecco V.; Rego V.; Fontana V.; Piscov V.; Bretagnolle V.; Maire V.; Farjalla V.; Pascal V.; Zhou W.; Luo W.; Parker W.; Parker P.; Kominam Y.; Kotrocz Z.; Utsumi Y.Kwon T.; Shibata H.; Kepfer-Rojas S.; Schmidt I.K.; Larsen K.S.; Beier C.; Berg B.; Verheyen K.; Lamarque J.-F.; Hagedorn F.; Eisenhauer N.; Djukic I.; Caliman A.; Paquette A.; Gutierrez-Giron A.; Petraglia A.; Augustaitis A.; Saillard A.; Ruiz-Fernandez A.C.; Sousa A.I.; Lillebo A.I.; Da Rocha Gripp A.; Lamprecht A.; Bohner A.; Francez A.-J.; Malyshev A.; Andric A.; Stanisci A.; Zolles A.; Avila A.; Virkkala A.-M.; Probst A.; Ouin A.; Khuroo A.A.; Verstraeten A.; Stefanski A.; Gaxiola A.; Muys B.; Gozalo B.; Ahrends B.; Yang B.; Erschbamer B.; Rodriguez Ortiz C.E.; Christiansen C.T.; Meredieu C.; Mony C.; Nock C.; Wang C.-P.; Baum C.; Rixen C.; Delire C.; Piscart C.; Andrews C.; Rebmann C.; Branquinho C.; Jan D.; Wundram D.; Vujanovic D.; Adair E.C.; Ordonez-Regil E.; Crawford E.R.; Tropina E.F.; Hornung E.; Groner E.; Lucot E.; Gacia E.; Levesque E.; Benedito E.; Davydov E.A.; Bolzan F.P.; Maestre F.T.; Maunoury-Danger F.; Kitz F.; Hofhansl F.; Hofhansl G.; De Almeida Lobo F.; Souza F.L.; Zehetner F.; Koffi F.K.; Wohlfahrt G.; Certini G.; Pinha G.D.; Gonzlez G.; Canut G.; Pauli H.; Bahamonde H.A.; Feldhaar H.; Jger H.; Serrano H.C.; Verheyden H.; Bruelheide H.; Meesenburg H.; Jungkunst H.; Jactel H.; Kurokawa H.; Yesilonis I.; Melece I.; Van Halder I.; Quiros I.G.; Fekete I.; Ostonen I.; Borovsk J.; Roales J.; Shoqeir J.H.; Jean-Christophe Lata J.; Probst J.-L.; Vijayanathan J.; Dolezal J.; Sanchez-Cabeza J.-A.; Merlet J.; Loehr J.; Von Oppen J.; Loffler J.; Benito Alonso J.L.; Cardoso-Mohedano J.-G.; Penuelas J.; Morina J.C.; Quinde J.D.; Jimnez J.J.; Alatalo J.M.; Seeber J.; Kemppinen J.; Stadler J.; Kriiska K.; Van Den Meersche K.; Fukuzawa K.; Szlavecz K.; Juhos K.; Gerhtov K.; Lajtha K.; Jennings K.; Jennings J.; Ecology P.; Hoshizaki K.; Green K.; Steinbauer K.; Pazianoto L.; Dienstbach L.; Yahdjian L.; Williams L.J.; Brigham L.; Hanna L.; Hanna H.; Rustad L.; Morillas L.; Silva Carneiro L.; Di Martino L.; Villar L.; Fernandes Tavares L.A.; Morley M.; Winkler M.; Lebouvier M.; Tomaselli M.; Schaub M.; Glushkova M.; Torres M.G.A.; De Graaff M.-A.; Pons M.-N.; Bauters M.; Mazn M.; Frenzel M.; Wagner M.; Didion M.; Hamid M.; Lopes M.; Apple M.; Weih M.; Mojses M.; Gualmini M.; Vadeboncoeur M.; Bierbaumer M.; Danger M.; Scherer-Lorenzen M.; Ruek M.; Isabellon M.; Di Musciano M.; Carbognani M.; Zhiyanski M.; Puca M.; Barna M.; Ataka M.; Luoto M.; H. Alsafaran M.; Barsoum N.; Tokuchi N.; Korboulewsky N.; Lecomte N.; Filippova N.; Hlzel N.; Ferlian O.; Romero O.; Pinto-Jr O.; Peri P.; Dan Turtureanu P.; Haase P.; Macreadie P.; Reich P.B.; Petk P.; Choler P.; Marmonier P.; Ponette Q.; Dettogni Guariento R.; Canessa R.; Kiese R.; Hewitt R.; Weigel R.; Kanka R.; Cazzolla Gatti R.; Martins R.L.; Ogaya R.; Georges R.; Gaviln R.G.; Wittlinger S.; Puijalon S.; Suzuki S.; Martin S.; Anja S.; Gogo S.; Schueler S.; Drollinger S.; Mereu S.; Wipf S.; Trevathan-Tackett S.; Stoll S.; Lfgren S.; Trogisch S.; Seitz S.; Glatzel S.; Venn S.; Dousset S.; Mori T.; Sato T.; Hishi T.; Nakaji T.; Jean-Paul T.; Camboulive T.; Spiegelberger T.; Scholten T.; Mozdzer T.J.; Kleinebecker T.; Runk T.; Ramaswiela T.; Hiura T.; Enoki T.; Ursu T.-M.; Di Cella U.M.; Hamer U.; Klaus V.; Di Cecco V.; Rego V.; Fontana V.; Piscov V.; Bretagnolle V.; Maire V.; Farjalla V.; Pascal V.; Zhou W.; Luo W.; Parker W.; Parker P.; Kominam Y.; Kotrocz Z.; Utsumi Y

Hydroiid snails conditioning green algae mats (Enteromorpha spp.) in the Northern Hemisphere

For the last decades dense mats of filamentous green algae Enteromorpha spp. have regularly occurred worldwide on tidal Àats. The development of green algal rnats on intertidal Àats is commonly achieved by overwintering and regrowth of adult plants or by the formation and detachment of propagules. Up to now the study of germlings as initiators of algal mats have received relatively little attention. It was known from one of our study sites (Konigshafen Bay, Germany) that shells of living mudsnails (Hydrobia ulvae) serve as the main substrate of overwintering Enteromorpha spores and initiate in this way extensive growth of Enteromorplza mats in spring. We investigated the presence of Enteromorpha germlings attached on hydrobiid snails in different places of Canada, England, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and the United States between November 1995 and November 1996. At all investigation sites huge amounts of hydrobiid snails were present during the last years and and intensive growth of Enteromorplm occurred during the course of the season. - During winter 1995 /96 hardly any Enteromorpha germlings were found on the snail houses, but depending on the site, germlings developed on up to 60 % of hydrobiid snails during spring. It is obvious, that at least in some areas the germling development was related to overwintering of spores on snails, due to poor biomass of adult Enteromorpha plants during winter. In our study we could demonstrate that hydrobiid snails can play an important role in soft sediments for the successfull development of green algal mats in soft sediments

Real-time schistosoma PCR in vaginal lavage and urine of high school girls in South Africa as an indicator of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS)

Host-parasite interactio

Seasonal variations in Schistosoma haematobium egg excretion in school-age girls in rural KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Background. A predominant feature of Schistosoma haematobium infection is urinary egg excretion, and microscopic egg detection remains the accepted standard field diagnostic tool. Praziquantel is the drug of choice for schistosomiasis, and the World Health Organization recommends that it should be administered to all children >4 years of age living in schistosomiasis-endemic areas. The frequency of mass drug administration depends on the prevalence rate in the community. Urinary schistosome egg output has a day-to-day and hour-to-hour intrasubject variation. Therefore, it is important to assess possible seasonal variations in egg excretion to improve the planning of drug treatment.Objectives. To assess the influence of seasonality on urinary schistosome egg excretion in South Africa (SA).Methods. We performed a prospective cohort study, exploring seasonal variations of S. haematobium egg excretion in 184 girls aged 10 - 12 years from randomly selected schools in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal Province, SA. The area has a subtropical climate characterised by a cool dry season and a hot humid season. For children, water contact is higher in the latter season. At baseline, 108 girls were examined in the hot season, and 76 in the cold season. In the next year’s cold season the untreated patients were re-investigated before treatment.Results. There was a decrease in infection in the group initially tested in the hot season compared with the group tested in the cold season at both time points when adjusted for age and water contact (adjusted odds ratio 3.61 (95% confidence interval 1.14 - 11.44); p=0.03).Conclusions. This unique study shows that schistosomiasis prevalence determined by microscopy exhibits seasonal variation, with a higher prevalence in the hot rainy season. Precise community prevalence estimations are key in decisions to treat communities. There was significantly lower egg output in the cold season, and sampling in that season may therefore underestimate the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis. The study indicates that sampling in SA should be done in the hot season

Estimation of ecological exergy using weighing parameters determined from DNA contents of organisms – a case study

We studied the changes of exergy and specific exergy with data of benthic macrofauna communities, periodically sampled along an estuarine gradient of eutrophication in the Mondego estuary (Western Portugal). Exergy estimates were calculated from organism biomass, based on weighing factors for the relative content of exergy per unit of biomass determined from DNA contents of organisms. Results were discussed in terms of both the macrofauna biomass production and the structural organisation of the system. Estimates for the exergy indices provided useful indications for the evaluation of environmental impact due to the eutrophication process. Different average values for the indices of exergy and specific exergy were estimated relatively to areas with different levels of eutrophication, in the ‘spatial’ gradient of eutrophication. Higher exergy levels and lower exergy content per unit of biomass (specific exergy) were associated to populations more stabilized or areas less perturbed. Additionally, the index of specific exergy seemed capable of providing indications for the qualitative alterations in the communities (in temporal and spatial terms) that go in the direction of the observations made in this ecosystem

Designing privacy-friendly digital whiteboards for mediation of clinical progress.

BACKGROUND: In hospitals, digital versions of dry-erase whiteboards are increasingly becoming more common. One of the purposes with such whiteboards is to support coordination of care by augmenting visibility and availability of clinical information. However, clinical information usually concerns patients and is regarded as sensitive personal health information, meaning that it should be access controlled. The purpose of this study is to explore how digital whiteboards can be designed for supporting coordination of care, by providing clinicians with useful information in a usable way, and at the same time protect patient privacy. METHODS: A demo application was designed, demonstrated and evaluated iteratively. In total, 15 professional ward nurses role-played a scenario in which the application played a central part. Afterwards, the participants were interviewed. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed qualitatively. RESULTS: The participants valued having updated clinical information presented on a digital whiteboard, even if the information was de-identified and abstracted. According to the participants, such information could possibly improve inter-departmental communication, reduce the number of electronic health record-logins, and make nurses more rapidly aware of new information. The participants expected that they would be able to re-identify much of the de-identified information in real situations based on their insight into their patients' recent and expected care activities. Moreover, they also valued being able to easily access more detailed information and verify patient identities. While abstraction and de-identification was regarded to sufficiently protect the patients' privacy, the nurses also pointed out the importance of having control over what can be seen by other patients and passers-by if detailed medical information was accessed on a digital whiteboard. CONCLUSIONS: Presenting updated information from patient care activities on a digital whiteboard in a de-identified and abstracted format may support coordination of care at a hospital ward without compromising patient privacy.<p>© 2014 Gjære and Lillebo; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.</p><p>This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.</p