phylogatR: Phylogeographic data aggregation and repurposing.

Patterns of genetic diversity within species contain information the history of that species, including how they have responded to historical climate change and how easily the organism is able to disperse across its habitat. More than 40,000 phylogeographic and population genetic investigations have been published to date, each collecting genetic data from hundreds of samples. Despite these millions of data points, meta-analyses are challenging because the synthesis of results across hundreds of studies, each using different methods and forms of analysis, is a daunting and time-consuming task.

Delayed extubation in spine surgery is associated with increased postoperative complications and hospital episode-based resource utilization.

Study Objective: To elucidate the association between delayed extubation, postoperative complications, and episode-based resource utilization.

Design: Retrospective Propensity-Matched Cohort Study.

Setting: Single Large Academic Medical Center.

PseudoFuN: Deriving functional potentials of pseudogenes from integrative relationships with genes and microRNAs across 32 cancers.

Background: Long thought "relics" of evolution, not until recently have pseudogenes been of medical interest regarding regulation in cancer. Often, these regulatory roles are a direct by-product of their close sequence homology to protein-coding genes. Novel pseudogene-gene (PGG) functional associations can be identified through the integration of biomedical data, such as sequence homology, functional pathways, gene expression, pseudogene expression, and microRNA expression.

Patient-perceived surgical indication influences patient expectations of surgery for degenerative spinal disease.

Objective: Patients frequently have misconceptions regarding diagnosis, surgical indication, and expected outcome following spinal surgery for degenerative spinal disease. In this study, we sought to understand the relationship between patient-perceived surgical indications and patient expectations. We hypothesized that patients reporting appendicular symptoms as a primary surgical indication would report a higher rate of having expectations met by surgery compared to those patients reporting axial symptoms as a primary indication.

Mechanical tension applied to substrate films specifies location of neuritogenesis and promotes major neurite growth at the expense of minor neurite development.

One obstacle in neural repair is facilitating axon growth long enough to reach denervated targets. Recent studies show that axonal growth is accelerated by applying tension to bundles of neurites, and additional studies show that mechanical tension is critical to all neurite growth. However, no studies yet describe how individual neurons respond to tensile forces applied to cell bodies and neurites simultaneously; neither do any test motor neurons, a phenotype critical to neural repair.

Patient misconceptions concerning lumbar spondylosis diagnosis and treatment.

OBJECT Patient outcome measures are becoming increasingly important in the evaluation of health care quality and physician performance. Of the many novel measures currently being explored, patient satisfaction and other subjective measures of patient experience are among the most heavily weighted. However, these subjective measures are strongly influenced by a number of factors, including patient demographics, level of understanding of the disorder and its treatment, and patient expectations.

Treatment of molluscum contagiosum in adult, pediatric, and immunodeficient populations.

Background: Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection of the skin that is widely considered to be a self-resolving disease that can be treated with benign neglect. However, the clinical reality is that the disease can vary widely by anatomic site and by recalcitrance to treatment and remains a significant cause of morbidity worldwide.

Objective: The purpose of this review was to compile an updated resource for clinicians that addresses the management of the broad spectrum of molluscum cases that may be encountered.

Integrative assessment of selenium speciation, biogeochemistry, and distribution in a northern coldwater ecosystem.

For the past decade, considerable research has been conducted at a series of small lakes receiving treated liquid effluent containing elevated selenium (Se) from the Key Lake uranium (U) milling operation in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Several studies related to this site, including field collections of water, sediment, and biota (biofilm and/or periphyton, invertebrates, fish, and birds), semicontrolled mesocosm and in situ caging studies, and controlled laboratory experiments have recently been published. The aim of the present investigation was to compile the site-specific information obtained from this multidisciplinary research into an integrative perspective regarding the influence of Se speciation on biogeochemical cycling and food web transfer of Se in coldwater ecosystems.

An in situ assessment of selenium bioaccumulation from water-, sediment-, and dietary-exposure pathways using caged Chironomus dilutus larvae.

An in situ caging study was conducted downstream of a metal mine in northern Canada to determine the significance of surface water versus sediment exposure on selenium (Se) bioaccumulation in the benthic invertebrate Chironomus dilutus. Laboratory-reared C. dilutus larvae were exposed to either site-specific whole-sediment and surface water or surface water only for 10 d at sites with differing sediment and Se characteristics.

Selective biodegradation of naphthenic acids and a probable link between mixture profiles and aquatic toxicity.

The toxicity of oil sands process-affected waters (OSPW) from the Athabasca Oil Sands (AOS) in northern Alberta, Canada, is related to a relatively persistent group of dissolved organic acids known as naphthenic acids (NAs). Naphthenic acids are a complex mixture of carboxylic acids, with a general formula C(n)H(2n+Z)O2, where n indicates the carbon number and Z specifies the number of rings in the molecule. The present study is the first to evaluate the potential for the selective biodegradation of NAs and the associated reduction in aquatic toxicity of 2 OSPWs, maintained under 2 different hydraulic retention times and increased nutrient availability (nitrate and phosphate), using flow-through laboratory wetland microcosms over a 52-wk test period.

Degradation and aquatic toxicity of naphthenic acids in oil sands process-affected waters using simulated wetlands.

Oil sands process-affected waters (OSPWs) produced during the extraction of bitumen at the Athabasca Oil Sands (AOS) located in northeastern Alberta, Canada, are toxic to many aquatic organisms. Much of this toxicity is related to a group of dissolved organic acids known as naphthenic acids (NAs). Naphthenic acids are a natural component of bitumen and are released into process water during the separation of bitumen from the oil sand ore by a caustic hot water extraction process.

Selenium speciation and localization in chironomids from lakes receiving treated metal mine effluent.

A lake system in northern Saskatchewan receiving treated metal mine and mill effluent contains elevated levels of selenium (Se). An important step in the trophic transfer of Se is the bioaccumulation of Se by benthic invertebrates, especially primary consumers serving as a food source for higher trophic level organisms. Chironomids, ubiquitous components of many northern aquatic ecosystems, were sampled at lakes downstream of the milling operation and were found to contain Se concentrations ranging from 7 to 80 mgkg(-1)dry weight.

Selenium bioaccumulation and speciation in Chironomus dilutus exposed to water-borne selenate, selenite, or seleno-DL-methionine.

The objective of the present study was to describe the uptake and elimination kinetics of selenium (Se) administered in the forms of selenate, selenite, and selenomethionine (seleno-DL-methionine) in different life stages of the midge Chironomus dilutus, and to determine the relationship between Se bioavailability and Se speciation using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Midge larvae exposed to 4.3 µg/L as dissolved selenate for 10 d of had negligible accumulation of Se (indistinguishable from control organisms).

Evaluating the trophic transfer of selenium in aquatic ecosystems using caged fish, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and stable isotope analysis.

This research evaluated the dominant exposure pathways with regard to the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of selenium (Se) in caged small-bodied fish inhabiting the receiving waters of a uranium-processing mill in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. A 21-day cage study was conducted using wild naïve lake chub (Couesius plumbeus) collected from a reference lake and caged in a reference and an exposure lake downstream of the mill discharge. Caged fish were fed commercially produced Chironomus spp.