Interaction of esker groundwater with headwater lakes and streams

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Groundwater-surface water interaction between an esker aquifer and a drained fen

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Who trusts Twitter? Openness to ideas as a predictor of trust and interest in news of an international disaster presented in Twitter and traditional on-line journalism formats

Twitter is an increasingly utilized tool for communication during major events including natural disasters; however, there is little research investigating this topic and how individual differences might predict reactions to information in this medium. The current study seeks to understand how the personality trait of openness to ideas predicts perceptions of a Twitter source\u27s trustworthiness and interest relative to a journalistic source. Participants were randomly assigned to read a simulated account of a flood presented either as a Twitter account or a journalistic account and then rated perceptions of the sources. Results indicate that Twitter is trusted less than a journalistic account; however, moderator effects revealed that openness to ideas was positively correlated with trust in the Twitter condition but negatively correlated with trust in the journalistic format. The present study helps to clarify the role of personality in the process of consuming information on-line

The Host-Specific Intestinal Microbiota Composition Impacts Campylobacter coli Infection in a Clinical Mouse Model of Campylobacteriosis

Human Campylobacter-infections are progressively rising globally. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying C. coli-host interactions are incompletely understood. In this study, we surveyed the impact of the host-specific intestinal microbiota composition during peroral C. coli infection applying an established murine campylobacteriosis model. Therefore, microbiota-depleted IL-10-/- mice were subjected to peroral fecal microbiota transplantation from murine versus human donors and infected with C. coli one week later by gavage. Irrespective of the microbiota, C. coli stably colonized the murine gastrointestinal tract until day 21 post-infection. Throughout the survey, C. coli-infected mice with a human intestinal microbiota displayed more frequently fecal blood as their murine counterparts. Intestinal inflammatory sequelae of C. coli-infection could exclusively be observed in mice with a human intestinal microbiota, as indicated by increased colonic numbers of apoptotic epithelial cells and innate as well as adaptive immune cell subsets, which were accompanied by more pronounced pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in the colon and mesenteric lymph nodes versus mock controls. However, in extra-intestinal, including systemic compartments, pro-inflammatory responses upon pathogen challenge could be assessed in mice with either microbiota. In conclusion, the host-specific intestinal microbiota composition has a profound effect on intestinal and systemic pro-inflammatory immune responses during C. coli infection

Inflammatory Immune Responses and Gut Microbiota Changes Following Campylobacter coli Infection of IL-10 -/- Mice with Chronic Colitis

Human infections with the food-borne enteropathogens Campylobacter are progressively rising. Recent evidence revealed that pre-existing intestinal inflammation facilitates enteropathogenic infection subsequently exacerbating the underlying disease. Given that only little is known about C. coli-host interactions and particularly during intestinal inflammation, the aim of the present study was to survey gastrointestinal colonization properties, gut microbiota changes and pro-inflammatory sequelae upon peroral C. coli-infection of IL-10-/- mice with chronic colitis. C. coli colonized the gastrointestinal tract of mice with varying efficiencies until day 28 post-infection and induced macroscopic and microscopic inflammatory changes as indicated by shorter colonic lengths, more distinct histopathological changes in the colonic mucosa and higher numbers of apoptotic colonic epithelial cells when compared to mock-infected controls. Furthermore, not only colonic innate and adaptive immune cell responses, but also enhanced systemic TNF-α secretion could be observed following C. coli as opposed to mock challenge. Notably, C. coli induced intestinal inflammatory sequelae were accompanied with gut microbiota shifts towards higher commensal enterobacterial loads in the infected gut lumen. Moreover, the pathogen translocated from the intestinal tract to extra-intestinal tissue sites in some cases, but never to systemic compartments. Hence, C. coli accelerates inflammatory immune responses in IL-10-/- mice with chronic colitis

GENESIS project: Synthesis and Policy Recommendations:Deliverable D6.5: GENESIS, Work Package 6

The GENESIS project set out, principally, to review and develop scientific knowledge regarding groundwater systems, and to develop tools for better integrated management of these systems with related aquatic and terrestrial groundwater dependent ecosystems. The objectives of the project over its five year duration also included development of indicator methods, and of integrated model simulations applied to a series of representative European groundwater systems that incorporate new components on climate, land-use and pollution input changes. Special efforts have been made to link the project research to the ongoing process of implementing the Water Framework and Groundwater Directives (WFD and GWD respectively) – for example, examining the role of biogeochemical processes in pollutant degradation and the vulnerability of groundwater systems in the context of the GWD art.4(c) “appropriate investigation”. In addition, new methods were to be developed for assessing cost-effectiveness and the economic impacts resulting from changes in groundwater management practices across a range of the project case areas.This report aims to set out the main conclusions from each of the constituent work packages under which work has been done for the project. It will then go on to detail those conclusions that have relevance to policy making at the EU level, and those that are most relevant to decision makers at the Member State level as they seek to implement the WFD and GWD. Work Packages 1 and 7 have been excluded from this report as they were not concerned with substantive research work.<br/