FIGO postpartum intrauterine device initiative: Complication rates across six countries.

OBJECTIVE: To record and analyze complication rates following postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUD) insertion in 48 hospitals in six countries: Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Kenya. METHODS: Healthcare providers were trained in counselling and insertion of PPIUD via a training-the-trainer model. Data were collected on methodology, timing, cadre of staff providing care, and number of insertions. Data on complications were collected at 6-week follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed to elucidate factors associated with increased expulsion and absence of threads. RESULTS: From May 2014 to September 2017, 36 766 PPIUDs were inserted: 53% vaginal and 47% at cesarean delivery; 74% were inserted by doctors. Follow-up was attended by 52%. Expulsion and removal rates were 2.5% and 3.6%, respectively. Threads were not visible in 29%. Expulsion was less likely after cesarean insertion (aOR 0.33; 95% CI, 0.26-0.41), following vaginal insertion at between 10 minutes and 48 hours (aOR 0.59; 95% CI, 0.42-0.83), and when insertion was performed by a nurse (aOR 0.33; 95% CI, 0.22-0.50). CONCLUSION: PPIUD has low complication rates and can be safely inserted by a variety of trained health staff. Given the immediate benefit of the one-stop approach, governments should urgently consider adopting this model

MscS-like mechanosensitive channels in plants and microbes

The challenge of osmotic stress is something all living organisms must face as a result of environmental dynamics. Over the past three decades, innovative research and cooperation across disciplines have irrefutably established that cells utilize mechanically gated ion channels to release osmolytes and prevent cell lysis during hypoosmotic stress. Early electrophysiological analysis of the inner membrane of Escherichia coli identified the presence of three distinct mechanosensitive activities. The subsequent discoveries of the genes responsible for two of these activities, the mechanosensitive channels of large (MscL) and small (MscS) conductance, led to the identification of two diverse families of mechanosensitive channels. The latter of these two families, the MscS family, consists of members from bacteria, archaea, fungi, and plants. Genetic and electrophysiological analysis of these family members has provided insight into how organisms use mechanosensitive channels for osmotic regulation in response to changing environmental and developmental circumstances. Furthermore, determining the crystal structure of E. coli MscS and several homologues in several conformational states has contributed to our understanding of the gating mechanisms of these channels. Here we summarize our current knowledge of MscS homologues from all three domains of life and address their structure, proposed physiological functions, electrophysiological behaviors, and topological diversity

Deep water macroids and associated ichnocoenoesis.

Recent macroids samples in the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands are studied in term of ichnocoenoeses. For the first time the ichnogenera Entobia, Gastrochaenolites, Trypanites and Maeandropolira are described from depp water (ca. 100 m water depth) reef-related settings

Origin and fate of deep-sea seeping methane bubbles at Kuroshima Knoll, Ryukyu forearc region, Japan

Seafloor seeping methane bubbles were successfully sampled on the summit area of the Kuroshima Knoll (depth of ca. 640 m) using the gas-tight sampler WHATS attached to the Shinkai 2000. To evaluate the origin of the bubbles and verify that the dissociation of methane hydrate was actually in progress, the chemical and isotopic composition of the samples were analyzed. The major component of the gas bubbles was methane (C1) with traces of CO2 (67 ± 16 ppmv) and helium (11 ± 1 ppmv; 4He/20Ne = 320) having a moderate 3He/4He ratio (0.44Ra). C1 was enriched relative to other hydrocarbons (C1/(C2+C3) > 3000). The δ13C values for C1 (-40.1‰VPDB), C2 (-28.3‰VPDB), and C5 (-28.0‰VPDB) were similar to those of hydrocarbons produced by thermal decomposition of organic matter. The contribution of the mantle-derived 3He-enriched component in coexisting helium also supports thermogenic generation. On the other hand, the other light hydrocarbons showed an unusual 13C-enrichment in C3 (-19.1‰VPDB), iso-C4 (-22.4‰VPDB), and n-C4 (-19.9‰VPDB). C3 and C4 had been fractionated both chemically and isotopically through subsequent microbial destruction during the long storage from Miocene in the gas reservoir. In addition, the anaerobic oxidation of CH4 within shallow sediments removed about 20% of CH4, until seepage into ocean water column. Regarding the contribution of gases originating from hydrate dissociation to the bubbles, observed helium amount in the bubbles suggests that methane hydrate is considered to be a minor contributor to the bubbles, at least at present. Direct leakage of gases from deep reservoirs is a more plausible for the source. Regarding the fate of the hydrocarbons in the bubbles in the water column, all rising bubbles at Kuroshima Knoll dissolved within 140 m of the seafloor. After the dissolution, the plume spreads horizontally along with the surface of equal density in the water column, while the concentrations decrease through dilution by eddy diffusion rather than by oxidation

Association between tensin 1 and p130Cas at focal adhesions links actin inward flux to cell migration

10.1242/bio.016428Biology Open54499-50

Deep-water macroid beds of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan: Encrusting acervulinids as ecosystem engineers

Encrusting acervulinid foraminifera can produce centimeter-sized, free-living coated grains named macroids. Macroid beds are an interesting feature of subtidal environments and have been recognized as important carbonate producers, habitat-forming structures, and paleoenvironmental indicators. Macroids provide a hard, three-dimensional substrate serving as microhabitat for a wide range of diverse organisms. As yet, the most extensive known occurrence of macroid beds in the western Pacific Ocean is found on the insular shelf of Kikai-jima, a coral reef-related island in the central Ryukyu Islands. The surveyed beds occur at water depth of 61-105 m arrayed on a ca. 6-km2 area. Despite their importance for the benthic communities of the Ryukyu Islands, only in the last decade have sampling efforts led to a more comprehensive understanding of the beds' distribution, their structure and associated communities, and the data concerning the influence of environmental factors on macroid beds and their ecological dynamics. In this study, the available information on the biodiversity associated with the recently described Ryukyu macroid beds are reviewed. This review is intended to inform and influence future research and policy planning on this largely unexplored, highly diverse marine ecosystem