Alterations in gut microbiota caused by major depressive disorder or a low FODMAP diet and where they overlap

Beneficial changes in microbiota observed in individuals with a major depressive disorder (MDD) may be initiated with a low fermentable oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide, and polyol (FODMAP) elimination diet. Academic Search Ultimate, APA PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for original research documenting differences in microbiota in MDD or changes with a low FODMAP diet in adults (age 18 years +). Studies with fecal microbiota, 16 s RNA sequencing and QIIME pipelines were included. Studies using antibiotics, probiotics, and medications such as antidepressants were excluded. Additionally, studies based on a single gender were excluded as gender impacts microbiota changes in MDD. Four studies addressed differences in microbiota with MDD and another four assessed shifts occurring with a low FODMAP diet. The abundance of Bacteroidetes, Bacteroidaceae and Bacteroides were lower in individuals with MDD but increased with a low FODMAP diet. Abundance of Ruminoccaceae was lower and Bilophila was higher with both a low FODMAP diet and MDD. These results provide preliminary evidence that a low FODMAP diet might drive changes in microbiota that also benefit people with MDD. Further research to assess whether a low FODMAP diet can treat MDD through modification of targeted microbiota is warranted.</p

River otters of the Green-Duwamish: biomonitors of ecological health

River otters (Lontra canadensis) are apex predators that play an important role in aquatic ecosystems. They accumulate contaminants via their diet of fish and invertebrates, potentially serving as biomonitors of watershed health. In summer and fall 2016, we collected 33 otter scats from sites along the Green-Duwamish River, ranging from river miles 0-54. River miles 0-5 represent the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW), a U.S. Superfund site slated for a 17-year remediation. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at sites in the LDW were 9.1 and 19.3 mg/kg (geometric means, lipid weight) - above the reported threshold value of 9 mg/kg associated with adverse effects for river otters. By river mile 10, mean concentrations of PCBs decreased to 2.6 mg/kg, with remaining upriver sites ranging from 0.4-1.9 mg/kg. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations showed a similar pattern. The highest PAH levels (140 and 91 mg/kg, geometric means, wet weight) were measured in the LDW whereas levels upriver were 9.7-25 mg/kg. Based on preliminary genetics data from several sampling locations, we infer that otters remain in local river reaches, so scat contaminant levels reflect local environmental concentrations. These are the only empirical contaminant data available for a mammal or apex predator in the Green-Duwamish, and they reveal: 1) otters may be impacted by contaminant loads in the LDW; 2) the contamination gradient along the Green-Duwamish is reflected in otters, indicating they may be useful biomonitors; and 3) a baseline level of contamination in otters that may be of great value for assessing ecological impacts of long-term cleanup efforts. Scat collected in 2017 and analyses for brominated flame retardants, organochlorine pesticides, stable isotopes, and genetics will provide additional depth and breadth to these results. Significant questions remain as to the potential individual health and population impacts of environmental contaminants in this top-level aquatic predator

Postsynthetic treatment of nickel–iron layered double hydroxides for the optimum catalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction

D.T., S.J., J.C., and V.N. wish to thank the support of the ERC CoG, 3D2DPring (GA 681544) and PoC Powering_eTextiles (GA 861673) and SFI AMBER (12/RC/2278_P2). The authors would like to thank the Advanced Microscopy Lab and CRANN Trinity College Dublin for providing STEM-EDX measurements. This publication has emanated from research supported in part by a grant from Science Foundation Ireland under Grant number 12/RC/2278_P2. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Nickel–iron-layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH) platelets with high morphological regularity and submicrometre lateral dimensions were synthesized using a homogeneous precipitation technique for highly efficient catalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Considering edge sites are the point of activity, efforts were made to control platelet size within the synthesized dispersions. The goal is to controllably isolate and characterize size-reduced NiFe LDH particles. Synthetic approaches for size control of NiFe LDH platelets have not been transferable based on published work with other LDH materials and for that reason, we instead use postsynthetic treatment techniques to improve edge-site density. In the end, size-reduced NiFe LDH/single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composites allowed to further reduce the OER overpotential to 237 ± 7 mV ( = 0.16 ± 0.01 μm, 20 wt% SWCNT), which is one of the best values reported to date. This approach as well improved the long-term activity of the catalyst in operating conditions.publishersversionpublishe

Molecular Epidemiology of Glanders, Pakistan

We collected epidemiologic and molecular data from Burkholderia mallei isolates from equines in Punjab, Pakistan from 1999 through 2007. We show that recent outbreaks are genetically distinct from available whole genome sequences and that these genotypes are persistent and ubiquitous in Punjab, probably due to human-mediated movement of equines

Agreement between primary care and hospital diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder : a cross-sectional, observational study using record linkage

Funding: Support for this project was provided by North York General Hospital.People with serious mental illness die 10–25 years sooner than people without these conditions. Multiple challenges to accessing and benefitting from healthcare have been identified amongst this population, including a lack of coordination between mental health services and general health services. It has been identified in other conditions such as diabetes that accurate documentation of diagnosis in the primary care chart is associated with better quality of care. It is suspected that if a patient admitted to the hospital with serious mental illness is then discharged without adequate identification of their diagnosis in the primary care setting, follow up (such as medication management and care coordination) may be more difficult. We identified cohorts of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who accessed care through the North York Family Health Team (a group of 77 family physicians in Toronto, Canada) and North York General Hospital (a large community hospital) between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014. We identified whether labeling for these conditions was concordant between the two settings and explored predictors of concordant labeling. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study using de-identified data from the Health Databank Collaborative, a linked primary care-hospital database. We identified 168 patients with schizophrenia and 370 patients with bipolar disorder. Overall diagnostic concordance between primary care and hospital records was 23.2% for schizophrenia and 15.7% for bipolar disorder. Concordance was higher for those with multiple (2+) inpatient visits (for schizophrenia: OR 2.42; 95% CI 0.64–9.20 and for bipolar disorder: OR 8.38; 95% CI 3.16–22.22). Capture-recapture modeling estimated that 37.4% of patients with schizophrenia (95% CI 20.7–54.1) and 39.6% with bipolar disorder (95% CI 25.7–53.6) had missing labels in both settings when adjusting for patients’ age, sex, income quintiles and co-morbidities. In this sample of patients accessing care at a large family health team and community hospital, concordance of diagnostic information about serious mental illness was low. Interventions should be developed to improve diagnosis and continuity of care across multiple settings.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Data Assimilation Enhancements to Air Force Weathers Land Information System

The United States Air Force (USAF) has a proud and storied tradition of enabling significant advancements in the area of characterizing and modeling land state information. 557th Weather Wing (557 WW; DoDs Executive Agent for Land Information) provides routine geospatial intelligence information to warfighters, planners, and decision makers at all echelons and services of the U.S. military, government and intelligence community. 557 WW and its predecessors have been home to the DoDs only operational regional and global land data analysis systems since January 1958. As a trusted partner since 2005, Air Force Weather (AFW) has relied on the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA/GSFC to lead the interagency scientific collaboration known as the Land Information System (LIS). LIS is an advanced software framework for high performance land surface modeling and data assimilation of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) information

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

The many possible climates from the Paris Agreement’s aim of 1.5 °C warming

The United Nations’ Paris Agreement includes the aim of pursuing efforts to limit global warming to only 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. However, it is not clear what the resulting climate would look like across the globe and over time. Here we show that trajectories towards a ‘1.5 °C warmer world’ may result in vastly different outcomes at regional scales, owing to variations in the pace and location of climate change and their interactions with society’s mitigation, adaptation and vulnerabilities to climate change. Pursuing policies that are considered to be consistent with the 1.5 °C aim will not completely remove the risk of global temperatures being much higher or of some regional extremes reaching dangerous levels for ecosystems and societies over the coming decades

A randomized controlled trial of a decision aid for women considering genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer risk

PURPOSE: To measure the effectiveness of a tailored decision aid (DA) designed to help women make informed decisions about genetic testing for breast/ovarian cancer risk. METHODS: A total of 145 women were randomized to receive the DA or a control pamphlet at the end of their first genetic counseling consultation. Of these, 120 (82.8%) completed two questionnaires, 1 week and 6 months post-consultation. RESULTS: While the DA had no effect on informed choice, post-decisional regret or actual genetic testing decision, the trial showed that women who received the DA had higher knowledge levels and felt more informed about genetic testing than women who received the control pamphlet (chi(2)(2) = 6.82; P = 0.033; chi(2)(1) = 4.86; P = 0.028 respectively). The DA also helped women who did not have blood drawn at their first consultation to clarify their values with regards to genetic testing (chi(2)(1) = 5.27; P = 0.022). Women who received the DA were less likely to share the information with other family members than women in the control condition (chi(2)(1) = 8.78; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Decision aids are an effective decision-support strategy for women considering genetic testing for breast/ovarian cancer risk, and are most effective before the patient has made a decision, which is generally at the point of having blood drawn