Bacteria use a catabolic patchwork pathway of apparently recent origin for degradation of the synthetic buffer compound TRIS.

The synthetic buffer compound TRIS (2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol) is used in countless applications, and no detailed information on its degradation has been published so far. Herein, we describe the discovery of a complete bacterial degradation pathway for TRIS. By serendipity, a Pseudomonas strain was isolated from sewage sludge that was able to grow with TRIS as only carbon and nitrogen source.

Anti-racist interventions to transform ecology, evolution and conservation biology departments.

Racial and ethnic discrimination persist in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, including ecology, evolution and conservation biology (EECB) and related disciplines. Marginalization and oppression as a result of institutional and structural racism continue to create barriers to inclusion for Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour (BIPOC), and remnants of historic racist policies and pseudoscientific theories continue to plague these fields. Many academic EECB departments seek concrete ways to improve the climate and implement anti-racist policies in their teaching, training and research activities.

How Field Courses Propel Inclusion and Collective Excellence.

Field courses have been identified as powerful tools for inclusion and student success in science. However, not all students are equally likely to take field courses. How do we remove barriers to equity in field courses, to make them engines for inclusion, diversity, and collective excellence in ecology and evolution?

Analysis of time varying response on uptake patterns of Cu and Zn ions under application of ethylene diamine disuccinic acid and gibberellic acid in Lolium perenne.

The present study explores the effect of ethylene diamine disuccinic acid (EDDS) and gibberellic acid (GA) application on the phytoextraction of copper and zinc ions by Lolium perenne. When Cu was individually applied, accumulation diminished over time with little translocation from roots to shoots. In contrast, Zn accumulation and damage to roots rapidly increased over 3 days with increase in Zn translocation to shoots.

Comparing imaging, acoustics, and radar to monitor Leach's storm-petrel colonies.

Seabirds are integral components of marine ecosystems and, with many populations globally threatened, there is a critical need for effective and scalable seabird monitoring strategies. Many seabird species nest in burrows, which can make traditional monitoring methods costly, infeasible, or damaging to nesting habitats. Traditional burrow occupancy surveys, where possible, can occur infrequently and therefore lead to an incomplete understanding of population trends.

Vocal activity as a low cost and scalable index of seabird colony size.

Although wildlife conservation actions have increased globally in number and complexity, the lack of scalable, cost-effective monitoring methods limits adaptive management and the evaluation of conservation efficacy. Automated sensors and computer-aided analyses provide a scalable and increasingly cost-effective tool for conservation monitoring. A key assumption of automated acoustic monitoring of birds is that measures of acoustic activity at colony sites are correlated with the relative abundance of nesting birds.

Pediatric Precursor B-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Presenting with Extensive Skeletal Lesions.

Lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL) of the B cell type is uncommon, and extranodal presentation is even rarer. It is difficult to suspect this diagnosis without clinically obvious lymph nodal mass or bone marrow involvement. A 3-year-old girl presented with progressive pain and swelling of the right knee joint of 3 months duration.

Candida albicans endocarditis in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A dreaded complication of intensive chemotherapy.

Candida endocarditis is a rare entity during febrile neutropenia due to early introduction of empirical antifungal therapy. Early surgical intervention has diagnostic and therapeutic importance in Candida endocarditis. We report a case of Candida albicans endocarditis in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on chemotherapy.

Infantile rhabdomyofibrosarcoma: A potentially underdiagnosed aggressive tumor.

Infantile Rhabdomyofibrosarcoma (IRMFS) is a rare clinicopathological entity that resembles infantile fibrosarcoma (IFS) but has ultrastructural and immunohistochemical evidence of rhabdomyoblastic differentiation. We report a 2 years and 6 months old boy who presented with a slowly progressive large soft-tissue mass in left axillary region. After complete excision, histopathology report revealed diagnosis of IFS.

Successful treatment of vincristine induced ptosis and polyneuropathy with pyridoxine and pyridostigmine in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Vincristine is used in the treatment of solid tumors, lymphoma and leukemia in children. The dose-limiting toxicity is its neurotoxicity. We describe a 2-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed vincristine-induced polyneuropathy with bilateral ptosis and recovered on treatment with pyridoxine and pyridostigmine.

Significance of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in children and young adults with febrile neutropenia during chemotherapy for cancer: a prospective study.

Objectives: We evaluated the usefulness of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) at the onset of febrile neutropenia and 72 hours later, in identifying risk groups and assessing response to antibiotic therapy.

Methods: All episodes of febrile neutropenia were divided in 3 study groups-microbiologically documented infection (MDI), clinically documented infection (CDI), and fever of unknown origin (FUO). Three outcome groups were defined as those responding to first-line antibiotics (R1), those responding to second-line antibiotics (R2), and those requiring antifungal therapy (RAF).

Metronomic therapy for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in neurofibromatosis type 1.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a highly aggressive tumor especially in the patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Without a complete surgical excision, prognosis is guarded. We describe a 10-year-old male with NF1 with MPNST, who had a local relapse within 5 weeks of surgical excision.

Isolated cerebellar involvement in posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Parieto-occipital region is the most commonly involved site in posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). Cerebellar involvement has been reported with the predominant involvement of posterior cerebral regions, but isolated cerebellar involvement in PRES has been reported only once in English literature. We report here a 7-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had PRES with isolated cerebellar involvement during induction chemotherapy.

Rituximab.

Rituximab is a chimeric mouse-human monoclonal antibody against the CD 20 antigen on the surface of B lymphocytes. It binds to CD20 and causes B cell death by antibody dependant cell-mediated cytotoxicity, complement mediated cytotoxicity and apoptosis. It leads to rapid and sustained depletion of B cells.

Effect of cigarette smoke on body weight, food intake and reproductive organs in adult albino rats.

One hour daily exposure to cigarette smoke for two months significantly decreased the body weight and food intake in male and female albino rats. The latency for conception increased significantly and the litter size decreased. Mortality rate per litter increased and grayish discoloration of the skin in the experimental group was the only congenital anomaly seen.

Safe and efficacious use of procedural sedation and analgesia by non-anesthesiologists in a pediatric hematology-oncology unit.

Background: Children often require relief of pain and anxiety while undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is the safe and effective control of pain, anxiety and motion so as to allow a necessary procedure to be performed and to provide an appropriate degree of memory loss or decreased awareness.

Objective: To prospectively describe procedural sedation and analgesia as performed in the pediatric oncology unit and to report the success of sedation and the incidence of complications.

Blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia: diagnosis prompted by T(8;9).

T(8;9) is a relatively new translocation that has been reported in a few patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) but never in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We report here a patient who presented with AML with t(8; 9). He lacked the Philadelphia chromosome but tested positive for the gene by the polymerase chain reaction method.

Unrelated allogeneic bone marrow transplant in adrenoleukodystrophy using CD34+ stem cell selection.

Adrenoleukodystrophy is an inherited disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration with rapid deterioration to a vegetative state. Of the treatment modalities tried to date, BMT is the only one with the potential for cure. However, the high rate of morbidity and mortality associated with allogeneic transplant makes it necessary to try out novel measures to improve the outcome in these patients.

Coexisting Gilbert's syndrome and sickle cell disease.

We report the coexistence of Gilbert's syndrome and homozygous sickle cell disease in a child with persistent unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia.

Multiple granulocytic sarcomas in acute myeloblastic leukemia with simultaneous occurrence of t(8:21) and trisomy 8.

This report describes a rare case of multiple intracranial, extradural chloromas. A five year old African American male presented with headache, fever, and vomiting. The peripheral blood smear showed myeloblasts with Auer rods.