Gila River Flow Needs Assessment

The Nature Conservancy and a team of 14 academic partners (the project team) received funding from the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program and the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative in 2012 to conduct this Gila River Flow Needs Assessment. The assessment describes the existing condition of the Gila River in the Cliff-Gila Valley and examines the potential impacts of CUFA diversion and climate change on the riparian and aquatic ecosystem. The project team was assisted by 35 academic, agency and consulting scientists who have expertise in some aspect of the Gila River’s hydrology and ecology. This larger team of scientists provided input on a review draft of this assessment at a workshop in January 2014. This assessment report includes 12 chapters written by project team scientists. Two chapters summarize workshop findings, including input of the larger team of scientists on how flows shape the ecosystem and how these interactions may be affected by flow alterations due to CUFA diversion and climate change

Formation and transfer of GaAsN nanostructure layers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98729/1/JVA060601.pd

The Complete Genome and Physiological Analysis of the Microbialite-Dwelling Agrococcus pavilionensis sp. nov; Reveals Genetic Promiscuity and Predicted Adaptations to Environmental Stress

Members of the bacterial genus Agrococcus are globally distributed and found across environments so highly diverse that they include forests, deserts, and coal mines, as well as in potatoes and cheese. Despite how widely Agrococcus occurs, the extent of its physiology, genomes, and potential roles in the environment are poorly understood. Here we use whole-genome analysis, chemotaxonomic markers, morphology, and 16S rRNA gene phylogeny to describe a new isolate of the genus Agrococcus from freshwater microbialites in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada. We characterize this isolate as a new species Agrococcus pavilionensis strain RW1 and provide the first complete genome from a member of the genus Agrococcus. The A. pavilionensis genome consists of one chromosome (2,627,177 bp) as well as two plasmids (HC-CG1 1,427 bp, and LC-RRW783 31,795 bp). The genome reveals considerable genetic promiscuity via mobile elements, including a prophage and plasmids involved in integration, transposition, and heavy-metal stress. A. pavilionensis strain RW1 differs from other members of the Agrococcus genus by having a novel phospholipid fatty acid iso-C15:1Δ4, β-galactosidase activity and amygdalin utilization. Carotenoid biosynthesis is predicted by genomic metabolic reconstruction, which explains the characteristic yellow pigmentation of A. pavilionensis. Metabolic reconstructions of strain RW1 genome predicts a pathway for releasing ammonia via ammonification amino acids, which could increase the saturation index leading to carbonate precipitation. Our genomic analyses suggest signatures of environmental adaption to the relatively cold and oligotrophic conditions of Pavilion Lake microbialites. A. pavilionensis strain RW1 in modern microbialites has an ecological significance in Pavilion Lake microbialites, which include potential roles in heavy-metal cycling and carbonate precipitation (e.g., ammonification of amino acids and filamentation which many trap carbonate minerals)

The Complete Genome and Physiological Analysis of the Eurythermal Firmicute Exiguobacterium chiriqhucha Strain RW2 Isolated From a Freshwater Microbialite, Widely Adaptable to Broad Thermal, pH, and Salinity Ranges

Members of the genus Exiguobacterium are found in diverse environments from marine, freshwaters, permafrost to hot springs. Exiguobacterium can grow in a wide range of temperature, pH, salinity, and heavy-metal concentrations. We characterized Exiguobacterium chiriqhucha strain RW2 isolated from a permanently cold freshwater microbialite in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia using metabolic assays, genomics, comparative genomics, phylogenetics, and fatty acid composition. Strain RW2 has the most extensive growth range for temperature (4–50°C) and pH (5–11) of known Exiguobacterium isolates. Strain RW2 genome predicts pathways for wide differential thermal, cold and osmotic stress using cold and heat shock cascades (e.g., csp and dnaK), choline and betaine uptake/biosynthesis (e.g., opu and proU), antiporters (e.g., arcD and nhaC Na+/K+), membrane fatty acid unsaturation and saturation. Here, we provide the first complete genome from Exiguobacterium chiriqhucha strain RW2, which was isolated from a freshwater microbialite. Its genome consists of a single 3,019,018 bp circular chromosome encoding over 3,000 predicted proteins, with a GC% content of 52.1%, and no plasmids. In addition to growing at a wide range of temperatures and salinities, our findings indicate that RW2 is resistant to sulfisoxazole and has the genomic potential for detoxification of heavy metals (via mercuric reductases, arsenic resistance pumps, chromate transporters, and cadmium-cobalt-zinc resistance genes), which may contribute to the metabolic potential of Pavilion Lake microbialites. Strain RW2 could also contribute to microbialite formation, as it is a robust biofilm former and encodes genes involved in the deamination of amino acids to ammonia (i.e., L-asparaginase/urease), which could potentially boost carbonate precipitation by lowering the local pH and increasing alkalinity. We also used comparative genomic analysis to predict the pathway for orange pigmentation that is conserved across the entire Exiguobacterium genus, specifically, a C30 carotenoid biosynthesis pathway is predicted to yield diaponeurosporene-4-oic acid as its final product. Carotenoids have been found to protect against ultraviolet radiation by quenching reactive oxygen, releasing excessive light energy, radical scavenging, and sunscreening. Together these results provide further insight into the potential of Exiguobacterium to exploit a wide range of environmental conditions, its potential roles in ecosystems (e.g., microbialites/microbial mats), and a blueprint model for diverse metabolic processes

Unveiling thermal transitions of polymers in subnanometre pores

The thermal transitions of confined polymers are important for the application of polymers in molecular scale devices and advanced nanotechnology. However, thermal transitions of ultrathin polymer assemblies confined in subnanometre spaces are poorly understood. In this study, we show that incorporation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) into nanochannels of porous coordination polymers (PCPs) enabled observation of thermal transitions of the chain assemblies by differential scanning calorimetry. The pore size and surface functionality of PCPs can be tailored to study the transition behaviour of confined polymers. The transition temperature of PEG in PCPs was determined by manipulating the pore size and the pore–polymer interactions. It is also striking that the transition temperature of the confined PEG decreased as the molecular weight of PEG increased

Implementation of a standardized protocol to manage elderly patients with low energy pelvic fractures: can service improvement be expected?

Purpose: The incidence of low energy pelvic fractures (FPFs) in the elderly is increasing. Comorbidities, decreased bone-quality, problematic fracture fixation and poor compliance represent some of their specific difficulties. In the absence of uniform management, a standard operating procedure (SOP) was introduced to our unit, aiming to improve the quality of services provided to these patients. Methods: A cohort study was contacted to test the impact of (1) using a specific clinical algorithm and (2) using different antiosteoporotic drugs. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine prognostic factors. Study endpoints were the time-to-healing, length-of-stay, return to pre-injury mobility, union status, mortality and complications. Results: A total of 132 elderly patients (≥65 years) admitted during the period 2012–2014 with FPFs were enrolled. High-energy fractures, acetabular fractures, associated trauma affecting mobility, pathological pelvic lesions and operated FPFs were used as exclusion criteria. The majority of included patients were females (108/132; 81.8%), and the mean age was 85.8 years (range 67–108). Use of antiosteoporotics was associated with a shorter time of healing (p = 0.036). Patients treated according to the algorithm showed a significant protection against malunion (p < 0.001). Also, adherence to the algorithm allowed more patients to return to their pre-injury mobility status (p = 0.039). Conclusions: The use of antiosteoporotic medication in elderly patients with fragility pelvic fractures was associated with faster healing, whilst the adherence to a structured clinical pathway led to less malunions and non-unions and return to pre-injury mobility state

Pelvic trauma : WSES classification and guidelines

Complex pelvic injuries are among the most dangerous and deadly trauma related lesions. Different classification systems exist, some are based on the mechanism of injury, some on anatomic patterns and some are focusing on the resulting instability requiring operative fixation. The optimal treatment strategy, however, should keep into consideration the hemodynamic status, the anatomic impairment of pelvic ring function and the associated injuries. The management of pelvic trauma patients aims definitively to restore the homeostasis and the normal physiopathology associated to the mechanical stability of the pelvic ring. Thus the management of pelvic trauma must be multidisciplinary and should be ultimately based on the physiology of the patient and the anatomy of the injury. This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) classification of pelvic trauma and the management Guidelines.Peer reviewe