Growing Resistance: Canadian Farmers and the Politics of Genetically Modified Wheat by Emily Eaton

Review of Growing Resistance: Canadian Farmers and the Politics of Genetically Modified Wheat by Emily Eaton

Directional cell movements downstream of Gbx2 and Otx2 control the assembly of sensory placodes

Cranial placodes contribute to sensory structures including the inner ear, the lens and olfactory epithelium and the neurons of the cranial sensory ganglia. At neurula stages, placode precursors are interspersed in the ectoderm surrounding the anterior neural plate before segregating into distinct placodes by as yet unknown mechanisms. Here, we perform live imaging to follow placode progenitors as they aggregate to form the lens and otic placodes. We find that while placode progenitors move with the same speed as their non-placodal neighbours, they exhibit increased persistence and directionality and these properties are required to assemble morphological placodes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these factors are components of the transcriptional networks that coordinate placode cell behaviour including their directional movements. Together with previous work, our results support a dual role for Otx and Gbx transcription factors in both the early patterning of the neural plate border and the later segregation of its derivatives into distinct placodes

Patient satisfaction is biased by renovations to the interior of a primary care office: a pretest-posttest assessment

Abstract Background Measuring quality of care is essential to improve primary care. Quality of primary care for patients is usually assessed by patient satisfaction questionnaires. However, patients may not be able to judge quality of care without also reflecting their perception of the environment. We determined the effect that redesigning a primary care office had on patient satisfaction. We hypothesized that renovating the interior would make patients more satisfied with the quality of medical care. Methods We performed a Pretest-Posttest analysis in a recently renovated single-practice primary care office in Grenchen, Switzerland. Before and after renovation, we distributed a questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction in four domains. We chose a Likert scale (1 = very poor to 6 = very good), and 12 quality indicators, and included two consecutive samples of patients presenting at the primary care office before (n = 153) and after (n = 153) interior design renovation. Results Response rate was high (overall 85 %). The sample was similar to the enlisted patient collective, but the sample population was older (60 years) than the collective (52 years). Patient satisfaction was higher for all domains after the office was renovated (p < 0.01–0.001). Results did not change when we included potential confounders in the multivariable model (p < 0.01). Conclusions Renovating the interior of a primary care office was associated with improved patient satisfaction, including satisfaction in domains otherwise unchanged. Physician skills and patient satisfaction sometimes depend on surrounding factors that may bias the ability of patients to assess the quality of medical care. These biases should be taken into account when quality assessment instruments are designed for patients

A hydrogen‐oxidizing bacterium enriched from the open ocean resembling a symbiont

A new autotrophic hydrogen‐oxidizing Chromatiaceae bacterium, namely bacterium CTD079, was enriched from a water column sample at 1500 m water depth in the southern Pacific Ocean. Based on the phylogeny of 16S rRNA genes it was closely related to a scaly snail endosymbiont (99.2% DNA sequence identity) whose host so far is only known to colonize hydrothermal vents along the Indian ridge. The average nucleotide identity between the genomes of CTD079 and the snail endosymbiont was 91%. The observed differences likely reflect adaptations to their specific habitats. For example, CTD079 encodes additional enzymes like the formate dehydrogenase increasing the organism's spectrum of energy generation pathways. Other additional physiological features of CTD079 included the increase of viral defense strategies, secretion systems and specific transporters for essential elements. These important genome characteristics suggest an adaptation to life in the open ocean

Expansion of a colonial ascidian following consecutive mass coral bleaching at Lizard Island, Australia

Mass coral bleaching is challenging today's coral reefs. However, our understanding of dynamics in benthic space holders, following such disturbances, is limited. To address this, we quantified successional dynamics of the ascidian, Didemnum cf. molle using a series of temporally and spatially matched photoquadrats across both the 2016 and 2017 mass coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef. Unlike corals, D. cf. molle appeared to flourish in the warm temperatures and rapidly expanded. Indeed, colony density increased nearly 6-fold over two years with one quadrat experiencing an increase of over 1000 ind. m⁻². However, this increase did not simply track the increase in space due to coral mortality, but may have benefitted from reduced predation or increased nutrient availability following mass coral mortality. This study highlights the potential for D. cf molle to expand under bleaching conditions and to become a more prominent component of future reef configurations

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Gram-positive bacteria isolated from European medical centres: results of the Daptomycin Surveillance Programme (2002-2004)

The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 9322 contemporary (2002-2004) Gram-positive bacterial isolates collected from 31 medical centres in 14 countries in Europe were evaluated by broth microdilution methods according to CLSI guidelines. the isolates collected comprised Staphylococcus aureus (4842 isolates), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS; 1942 isolates), Enterococcus faecalis (1147 isolates), Enterococcus faecium (391 isolates), beta-haemolytic streptococci (660 isolates) and viridans group streptococci (340 isolates). the organisms were tested against daptomycin and more than 20 comparator agents in Mueller-Hinton broth, supplemented with calcium to 50 mg/L when testing daptomycin. Overall, methicillin (oxacillin) resistance rates were 26.7% and 77.0% for S. aureus (MRSA) and CoNS, respectively, and the vancomycin resistance rate among enterococci was 6.1%. MRSA rates varied from 0.6% in Sweden to 40.2-43.0% in Belgium, Greece, Ireland, the UK and Israel, and VRE rates varied from 0% in Switzerland to 21.2% in Ireland. More than 99.9% of isolates tested were considered susceptible to daptomycin according to breakpoints established by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the CLSI. Daptomycin was active against all Gram-positive species, with the highest MIC being 2, 8, 0.5 and 2 mg/L for staphylococci, enterococci, beta-haemolytic streptococci and viridans group streptococci, respectively. Daptomycin activity was not influenced adversely by resistance to other agents among staphylococci or enterococci. This novel lipopeptide (daptomycin) appears to be an excellent alternative therapeutic option for serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive organisms isolated in Europe.JMI Labs Inc, N Liberty, IA 52317 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilTufts Univ, Sch Med, Boston, MA 02111 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

A 3D perspective on sediment accumulation in algal turfs: implications of coral reef flattening

Globally, coral reefs are being transformed by a suite of stressors, the foremost being climate change. Increasingly, it is expected that these reconfigured reef systems will emerge with lower-complexity and will be dominated by algal turfs. Understanding this new operating space is vital if we are to maintain the services, such as fishable biomass production, that reefs provide. However, the functionality of these systems appears to depend on the nature of the algal turfs themselves, which is in-turn, intimately linked to the sediments they contain. As reefs are losing complexity, we need to understand if, and to what extent, algal turf condition and complex reef structure are connected. To address this issue we took advantage of recent developments in 3D structure-from-motion technology to examine how complexity metrics (elevation and surface angle) related to the nature of algal turfs on a heavily climate-impacted coral reef. This represents a novel application of this technology in the context of coral reef ecosystems. We found that as both elevation and surface angle decreased, the nutritional value of the epilithic algal matrix also decreased while sediment accumulation increased. Furthermore, we showed that elevated surfaces were characterized by far shorter algal turfs, and are potentially herbivory hotspots, offering fertile grounds for further exploration of herbivory dynamics at sub-metre spatial scales. Synthesis. This study yields new insights into the operating-space of future reefs, and suggests that as reefs flatten, sediment accumulation is likely to increase even if sediment inputs remain unchanged, altering algal turfs fundamentally. Maintaining key services provided by climate-transformed, low-complexity algal turf-dominated reefs of the future, will depend on managing the complex interactions between herbivory, sediments, algal turfs and reef structural complexity

Atmospheric effects of the emerging mainland Chinese transportation system at and beyond the regional scale

Local surface travel needs in the People's Republic of China (mainland China) have traditionally been met largely by nonpolluting bicycles. A major automobile manufacturing/importing effort has begun in the country over the last decade, and planning documents indicate that the Chinese may strive to acquire more than 100 million vehicles early in the next century. By analogy with large automotive fleets already existing in the western world, both regional and global scale pollution effects are to be expected from the increase. The present work adopts the latest projections of Chinese automobile manufacture and performs some quantitative assessments of the extent of pollution generation. Focus for the investigation is placed upon the oxidant ozone. Emissions of the precursor species nitrogen oxides and volatile organics are constructed based on data for the current automotive sector in the eastern portion of the United States. Ozone production is first estimated from measured values for continental/oceanic scale yields relative to precursor oxidation. The estimates are then corroborated through idealized two dimensional modeling of the photochemistry taking place in springtime air flow off the Asian land mass and toward the Pacific Ocean. The projected fleet sizes could increase coastal and remote oceanic ozone concentrations by tens of parts per billion (ppb) in the lower troposphere. Influences on the tropospheric aerosol system and on the major greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are treated peripherally. Nitrogen oxides created during the vehicular internal combustion process will contribute to nitrate pollution levels measured in the open Pacific. The potential for soot and fugitive dust increases should be considered as the automotive infrastructure develops. Since the emerging Chinese automotive transportation system will represent a substantial addition to the global fleet and all the carbon in gasoline is eventually oxidized completely, a significant rise in global carbon dioxide inputs will ensue as well. Some policy issues are treated preliminary. The assumption is made that alterations to regional oxidant/aerosol systems and to terrestrial climate are conceivable. The likelihood that the Chinese can achieve the latest vehicle fleet goals is discussed, from the points of view of new production, positive pollution feedbacks from a growing automobile industry, and known petroleum reserves. Vehicular fuel and maintenance options lying before the Chinese are outlines and compared. To provide some perspective on the magnitude of the environmental changes associated with an Asian automotive buildup, recent estimates of the effects of future air traffic over the Pacific Rim are described