Bacterial Communities on the Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Shelf are Influenced by Sediment Characteristics Affected by the Mississippi River

Benthic bacteria in the Gulf of Mexico serve the base of the sediment food chain as a food source for various marine organisms. In this paper, we analyzed the bacterial community and sediment characteristics from 14 sediment samples collected along the continental shelf of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Using the bacterial community to assess relationships among our sites, the data revealed groupings of sites that correlated to the sediment characteristics, generally grouped as western sites in Louisiana near the outflow of the Mississippi River and eastern Florida sites more distant from the outflow. Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling demonstrated significant groupings of Louisiana vs Florida bacterial communities, and distance-based redundancy analysis related these groupings to sediment characteristics. Given the directions of currents around the Mississippi River, our data suggested that the outflow of the river is a major factor affecting the benthic bacterial community in the northern Gulf of Mexico

CdSe quantum dot (QD) and molecular dye hybrid sensitizers for TiO2 mesoporous solar cells: working together with a common hole carrier of cobalt complexes

Redox couples based on cobalt complexes were found to be effective in regenerating both inorganic CdSe quantum dot-and organic dye-sensitizers. The hybrid sensitizer composed of CdSe QD and ruthenium sensitizer (Z907Na) dye showed a maximum power conversion efficiency of 4.76% on using cobalt(o-phen)(3)(2+/3+) as a common redox mediator.close202

Far-Ultraviolet Cooling Features of the Antlia Supernova Remnant

We present far-ultraviolet observations of the Antlia supernova remnant obtained with Far-ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph (FIMS, also called SPEAR). The strongest lines observed are C IV 1548,1551 and C III 977. The C IV emission of this mixed-morphology supernova remnant shows a clumpy distribution, and the line intensity is nearly constant with radius. The C III 977 line, though too weak to be mapped over the whole remnant, is shown to vary radially. The line intensity peaks at about half the radius, and drops at the edge of the remnant. Both the clumpy distribution of C IV and the rise in the C IV to C III ratio towards the edge suggest that central emission is from evaporating cloudlets rather than thermal conduction in a more uniform, dense medium.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, will be published in ApJ December 1, 2007, v670n2 issue. see http://astro.snu.ac.kr/~jhshinn/ms.pd

Fetal inflammatory response is positively correlated with the progress of inflammation in chorionic plate

Introduction: No information exists about the relationship among the progress of inflammation in chorionic-plate, fetal inflammatory response (FIR), funisitis, amnionitis and early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) in patients with either preterm labor or preterm premature rupture of membranes (preterm-PROM). The objective of current study is to examine this issue. Methods: Study population included 247 singleton preterm gestations (21.6 weeks <= gestational age at delivery <= 36 weeks) who had either preterm-labor or preterm-PROM with acute placental inflammation. We examined the intensity of FIR, and the frequency of fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS), funisitis, amnionitis and proven or suspected EONS according to the progress of inflammation in chorionic-plate. The intensity of FIR was measured with umbilical cord plasma (UCP)-CRP concentration (ng/ml) at birth, and FIRS was defined as an elevated UCP-CRP concentration (>= 200 ng/ml). The progress of inflammation in chorionic-plate was divided with a slight modification from previously reported-criteria as follows: stage-0, inflammation-free chorionicplate; stage-1, inflammation restricted to subchorionic fibrin (SCF); stage-2, inflammation in the connective tissue (CT) of chorionic-plate without chorionic vasculitis; stage-3, chorionic vasculitis. Results: 1) Stage-0, stage-1, stage-2 and stage-3 of inflammation in chorionic-plate were present in 36.8% (91/247), 29.6% (73/247), 25.5% (63/247), and 8.1% (20/247) of cases; 2) UCP-CRP concentration at birth was significantly and positively correlated with the progress of inflammation in chorionic-plate (Spearman's rank correlation test, P<.000001, gamma = 0.391 and Kruskal-Wallis test, P<.001); 3) Moreover, FIRS, funisitis, amnionitis, and EONS were significantly more frequent as a function of the progress of inflammation in chorionic-plate. Discussion: The intensity of FIR and the frequency of FIRS were positively correlated with the progress of inflammation in chorionic-plate in patients with either PTL or preterm-PROM. This suggests chorionic-plate may be an independent compartment for the analysis of inflammation.N

Genetic Screening of GJB2 and SLC26A4 in Korean Cochlear Implantees: Experience of Soree Ear Clinic

ObjectivesGenetic hearing loss is highly heterogeneous and more than 100 genes are predicted to cause this disorder in humans. In spite of this large genetic heterogeneity, mutations in SLC26A4 and GJB2 genes are primarily responsible for the major etiologies of genetic hearing loss among Koreans. The purpose of this study is to investigate the genetic cause of deafness in Korean cochlear implantees by performing a genetic screening of the SLC26A4 and GJB2 genes.MethodsThe study cohort included 421 unrelated Korean patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and who had received cochlear implants (CI) at Soree Ear Clinic from July 2002 to December 2010. Among 421 CI patients, we studied 230 cases who had received the genetic screening for SLC26A4 or GJB2 genes. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. All patients had severe to profound, bilateral hearing loss. For 56 patients who showed enlarged vestibular aqueduct on their computed tomography (CT) scan, we analyzed SLC26A4. For 174 CT negative patients, GJB2 gene was sequenced.ResultsFor the 56 SLC26A4 patients, 32 (57.1%) had two pathogenic recessive mutations in SLC26A4. A single recessive SLC26A4 mutation was identified in 14 patients (25%). H723R and IVS7-2A>G were the most commonly found mutations, accounting for 60.3% (47/78) and 30.8% (24/78) of the mutated alleles, respectively. For the 174 GJB2 patients, 20 patients (11.5%) had two pathogenic recessive mutations in GJB2. 235delC was the most common mutation, accounting for 43.0% (31/72) of mutant alleles.ConclusionThe two major genes, SLC26A4 and GJB2, contribute major causes of deafness in CI patients. Continuous studies are needed to identify new genes that can cause hearing loss to Korean CI patients