The role of anthropogenic influences on a tropical lake ecosystem and its surrounding catchment: a case study of Lake Sentani.

Lake Sentani is a tropical lake in Indonesia, consisting of four interconnected sub-basins of different water depths. While previous work has highlighted the impact of catchment composition on biogeochemical processes in Lake Sentani, little is currently known about the microbiological characteristics across this unique ecosystem. With recent population growth in this historically rural area, the anthropogenic impact on Lake Sentani and hence its microbial life is also increasing.

Metabolic features that select for Bathyarchaeia in modern ferruginous lacustrine subsurface sediments.

Ferruginous conditions prevailed through Earth's early oceans history, yet our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in anoxic iron-rich, sulfate-poor sediments remains elusive in terms of redox processes and organic matter remineralization. Using comprehensive geochemistry, cell counts, and metagenomic data, we investigated the taxonomic and functional distribution of the microbial subsurface biosphere in Lake Towuti, a stratified ferruginous analogue. Below the zone in which pore water becomes depleted in electron acceptors, cell densities exponentially decreased while microbial assemblages shifted from iron- and sulfate-reducing bacterial populations to fermentative anaerobes and methanogens, mostly selecting Bathyarchaeia below the sulfate reduction zone.

Taxonomic and functional partitioning of Chloroflexota populations under ferruginous conditions at and below the sediment-water interface.

The adaptation of the phylum Chloroflexota to various geochemical conditions is thought to have originated in primitive microbial ecosystems, involving hydrogenotrophic energy conservation under ferruginous anoxia. Oligotrophic deep waters displaying anoxic ferruginous conditions, such as those of Lake Towuti, and their sediments may thus constitute a preferential ecological niche for investigating metabolic versatility in modern Chloroflexota. Combining pore water geochemistry, cell counts, sulfate reduction rates, and 16S rRNA genes with in-depth analysis of metagenome-assembled genomes, we show that Chloroflexota benefit from cross-feeding on metabolites derived from canonical respiration chains and fermentation.

Fetal Screening in RH1 Negative Pregnant Women: Experience in Switzerland.

RH1 incompatibility between mother and fetus can cause hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. In Switzerland, fetal genotyping from maternal blood has been recommended from gestational age 18 onwards since the year 2020. This facilitates tailored administration of RH immunoglobulin (RHIG) only to RH1 negative women carrying a RH1 positive fetus.

"Don't Add Fuel to the Fire"- Hyperhemolysis Syndrome in a Pregnant Woman with Compound Sickle Cell Disease/β0-Thalassemia: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Hyperhemolysis syndrome (HHS) is a rare and severe posttransfusion complication characterized by the destruction of both recipient and donor red blood cells. The underlying mechanism of HHS is not fully understood and proper management can be difficult. Furthermore, there are few reports regarding HHS in pregnancy.

Cr Isotopes and the Engineered Attenuation of Cr(VI)-Rich Runoff.

The leaching of lateritic soils can result in drainage waters with high concentrations of Cr(VI). Such Cr(VI)-rich waters have developed in streams that drain lateritic soils in Central Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Chromium in this lateritic drainage system is removed by reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) through two faucets delivering an FeSO solution to the drainage waters.

Recommendation for validation and quality assurance of non-invasive prenatal testing for foetal blood groups and implications for IVD risk classification according to EU regulations.

Background And Objectives: Non-invasive assays for predicting foetal blood group status in pregnancy serve as valuable clinical tools in the management of pregnancies at risk of detrimental consequences due to blood group antigen incompatibility. To secure clinical applicability, assays for non-invasive prenatal testing of foetal blood groups need to follow strict rules for validation and quality assurance. Here, we present a multi-national position paper with specific recommendations for validation and quality assurance for such assays and discuss their risk classification according to EU regulations.

Organic matter mineralization in modern and ancient ferruginous sediments.

Deposition of ferruginous sediment was widespread during the Archaean and Proterozoic Eons, playing an important role in global biogeochemical cycling. Knowledge of organic matter mineralization in such sediment, however, remains mostly conceptual, as modern ferruginous analogs are largely unstudied. Here we show that in sediment of ferruginous Lake Towuti, Indonesia, methanogenesis dominates organic matter mineralization despite highly abundant reactive ferric iron phases like goethite that persist throughout the sediment.

Testing the Efficacy of the Red-Light Purple-Light Games in Preprimary Classrooms in Kenya.

This study adapted and tested the efficacy of the Red-Light Purple-Light (RLPL) games for improving executive function (EF) skills in preprimary classrooms in Nairobi, Kenya. A cluster randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate the efficacy of the adapted RLPL intervention. Specifically, 24 centers (including 48 classrooms) were randomized to the RLPL or a wait-list control condition.

SwissTecLive: effectiveness and safety of dimethyl fumarate in the treatment of RRMS in the Swiss clinical practice setting.

Background: Delayed-released dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) approved for treating patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This post-marketing study aimed at collecting real-world data on the safety, effectiveness, and tolerability of DMF in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Methods: 1-year post-marketing survey of patients prescribed DMF followed-up quarterly in hospital setting and private neurological practices in Switzerland from January 2015 to January 2018.

Phylogenetic and structural diversity of aromatically dense pili from environmental metagenomes.

Electroactive type IV pili, or e-pili, are used by some microbial species for extracellular electron transfer. Recent studies suggest that e-pili may be more phylogenetically and structurally diverse than previously assumed. Here, we used updated aromatic density thresholds (≥9.

Mesophilic microorganisms build terrestrial mats analogous to Precambrian microbial jungles.

Development of Archean paleosols and patterns of Precambrian rock weathering suggest colonization of continents by subaerial microbial mats long before evolution of land plants in the Phanerozoic Eon. Modern analogues for such mats, however, have not been reported, and possible biogeochemical roles of these mats in the past remain largely conceptual. We show that photosynthetic, subaerial microbial mats from Indonesia grow on mafic bedrocks at ambient temperatures and form distinct layers with features similar to Precambrian mats and paleosols.

Rates and pathways of CH oxidation in ferruginous Lake Matano, Indonesia.

This study evaluates rates and pathways of methane (CH ) oxidation and uptake using C-based tracer experiments throughout the oxic and anoxic waters of ferruginous Lake Matano. Methane oxidation rates in Lake Matano are moderate (0.36 nmol L  day to 117 μmol L  day ) compared to other lakes, but are sufficiently high to preclude strong CH fluxes to the atmosphere.

Metabolic potential of microbial communities from ferruginous sediments.

Ferruginous (Fe-rich, SO -poor) conditions are generally restricted to freshwater sediments on Earth today, but were likely widespread during the Archean and Proterozoic Eons. Lake Towuti, Indonesia, is a large ferruginous lake that likely hosts geochemical processes analogous to those that operated in the ferruginous Archean ocean. The metabolic potential of microbial communities and related biogeochemical cycling under such conditions remain largely unknown.

Assessing the Impact of Early Learning Programs in Africa.

We present results from early learning programs in six African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. In partnership with ministries of education, RTI International has worked within government systems to support the design and deployment of locally contextualized materials, training, and assessment tools, with the goal of improving outcomes for early learners in primary schools, and in Kenya and Tanzania preprimary as well. Here we report on the experience and evidence of impact from specific programs in each country, including summary assessment results when available.

Preservation and Significance of Extracellular DNA in Ferruginous Sediments from Lake Towuti, Indonesia.

Extracellular DNA is ubiquitous in soil and sediment and constitutes a dominant fraction of environmental DNA in aquatic systems. In theory, extracellular DNA is composed of genomic elements persisting at different degrees of preservation produced by processes occurring on land, in the water column and sediment. Extracellular DNA can be taken up as a nutrient source, excreted or degraded by microorganisms, or adsorbed onto mineral matrices, thus potentially preserving information from past environments.

Shifting microbial communities sustain multiyear iron reduction and methanogenesis in ferruginous sediment incubations.

Reactive Fe(III) minerals can influence methane (CH ) emissions by inhibiting microbial methanogenesis or by stimulating anaerobic CH oxidation. The balance between Fe(III) reduction, methanogenesis, and CH oxidation in ferruginous Archean and Paleoproterozoic oceans would have controlled CH fluxes to the atmosphere, thereby regulating the capacity for CH to warm the early Earth under the Faint Young Sun. We studied CH and Fe cycling in anoxic incubations of ferruginous sediment from the ancient ocean analogue Lake Matano, Indonesia, over three successive transfers (500 days in total).

Mercury and drought along the lower Carson River, Nevada: IV. Snowy egret post-fledging dispersal, timing of migration and survival, 2002-2004.

This telemetry study is an extension of our 1997-2006 research on historical mercury contamination on snowy egrets (Egretta thula) up to ~ 20 days of age. Findings from initial studies at the mercury-contaminated Carson River colony at Lahontan Reservoir (LR) and a similar-sized reference (REF) colony on the Humboldt River included mercury-related physiological, biochemical, histopathological and reproductive effects up to ~20 days of age; with poor water years (2000-04), i.e.

Freshwater bacteria release methane as a byproduct of phosphorus acquisition.

Unlabelled: Freshwater lakes emit large amounts of methane, some of which is produced in oxic surface waters. Two potential pathways for aerobic methane production exist: methanogenesis in oxygenated water, which has been observed in some lakes, or demethylation of small organic molecules. Although methane is produced via demethylation in oxic marine environments, this mechanism of methane release has not yet been demonstrated in freshwater systems.

Geomicrobiological Features of Ferruginous Sediments from Lake Towuti, Indonesia.

Lake Towuti is a tectonic basin, surrounded by ultramafic rocks. Lateritic soils form through weathering and deliver abundant iron (oxy)hydroxides but very little sulfate to the lake and its sediment. To characterize the sediment biogeochemistry, we collected cores at three sites with increasing water depth and decreasing bottom water oxygen concentrations.

Resistance to Thyroid Hormone Alpha in an 18-Month-Old Girl: Clinical, Therapeutic, and Molecular Characteristics.

Background: Recently, the first patients with resistance to thyroid hormone alpha (RTHα) due to inactivating mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor alpha (TRα) were identified. These patients are characterized by growth retardation, variable motor and cognitive defects, macrocephaly, and abnormal thyroid function tests. The objective was to characterize a young girl (18 months old) with a mutation in both TRα1 and TRα2, and to study the effects of early levothyroxine (LT4) treatment.

Deep-water anoxygenic photosythesis in a ferruginous chemocline.

Ferruginous Lake Matano, Indonesia hosts one of the deepest anoxygenic photosynthetic communities on Earth. This community is dominated by low-light adapted, BChl e-synthesizing green sulfur bacteria (GSB), which comprise ~25% of the microbial community immediately below the oxic-anoxic boundary (OAB; 115-120 m in 2010). The size of this community is dependent on the mixing regime within the lake and the depth of the OAB-at ~117 m, the GSB live near their low-light limit.

Implementation of a mandatory donor RHD screening in Switzerland.

Starting in 2013, blood donors must be tested at least using: (1) one monoclonal anti-D and one anti-CDE (alternatively full RhCcEe phenotyping), and (2) all RhD negative donors must be tested for RHD exons 5 and 10 plus one further exonic, or intronic RHD specificity, according to the guidelines of the Blood Transfusion Service of the Swiss Red Cross (BTS SRC). In 2012 an adequate stock of RHD screened donors was built. Of all 25,370 RhD negative Swiss donors tested in 2012, 20,015 tested at BTS Berne and 5355 at BTS Zürich, showed 120 (0.