The Evolution of Ecological Diversity in .

Acidobacteria occur in a large variety of ecosystems worldwide and are particularly abundant and highly diverse in soils. In spite of their diversity, only few species have been characterized to date which makes one of the most poorly understood phyla among the domain Bacteria. We used a culture-independent niche modeling approach to elucidate ecological adaptations and their evolution for 4,154 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of across 150 different, comprehensively characterized grassland soils in Germany.

Effect of pattern scanning laser on macular thickness in diabetic retinopathy.

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of pattern scanning laser (PASCAL) panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) on central macular thickness (CMT) and visual acuity (VA) in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Methods: This retrospective non-randomized comparative case series included 262 eyes (163 with macular edema) of 177 patients with PDR. Treatment was PRP alone (137), PRP + anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (69), PRP + focal laser (28), or all three (89).

Degradation of biological macromolecules supports uncultured microbial populations in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments.

Hydrothermal sediments contain large numbers of uncultured heterotrophic microbial lineages. Here, we amended Guaymas Basin sediments with proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids or lipids under different redox conditions and cultivated heterotrophic thermophiles with the genomic potential for macromolecule degradation. We reconstructed 20 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of uncultured lineages affiliating with known archaeal and bacterial phyla, including endospore-forming Bacilli and candidate phylum Marinisomatota.

Eicosanoid Profiles in the Vitreous Humor of Patients with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a potentially blinding sequela of uncontrolled diabetes that involves a complex interaction of pro-angiogenic and inflammatory pathways. In this study, we compared the levels of pro-angiogenic arachidonic acid-derived mediators in human vitreous humor obtained from eyes with high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy versus controls. The results indicated that lipoxygenase and cytochrome P450-derived eicosanoids were elevated (5-HETE, 12-HETE, 20-HETE, and 20-COOH-AA) and there appeared to be no differences in levels measured in eyes with tractional retinal detachments versus those without.

Alcohol Pads and Nonsterile Gloves in Preparation of Aflibercept.

Use of nonsterile gloves and an alcohol pad does not significantly impact the contamination of the rubber septum of the aflibercept vial. Other contamination points might instead be explored for endophthalmitis risk.

Stochastic Dispersal Rather Than Deterministic Selection Explains the Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Soil Bacteria in a Temperate Grassland.

Spatial and temporal processes shaping microbial communities are inseparably linked but rarely studied together. By Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing, we monitored soil bacteria in 360 stations on a 100 square meter plot distributed across six intra-annual samplings in a rarely managed, temperate grassland. Using a multi-tiered approach, we tested the extent to which stochastic or deterministic processes influenced the composition of local communities.

Endogenous Endophthalmitis: yield of the diagnostic evaluation.

Background: Endogenous endophthalmitis is an infection of the eye secondary to sepsis, occurring in 0.04-0.5% of bacteremia or fungemia.

Bilateral Macular Holes in Adult Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy.

Purpose: This report describes a case of bilateral macular holes (MHs) in adult vitelliform macular dystrophy (AVMD).

Methods: A retrospective case report of a patient with AVMD and sequential onset of bilateral MHs is presented.

Results: Bilateral MHs were observed after vitreomacular traction was identified on optical coherence tomography.

Utility of wound cultures in the management of open globe injuries: a 5-year retrospective review.

Background: Endophthalmitis after open globe injury can be devastating to vision recovery. As treatment of endophthalmitis is often empiric, some surgeons may obtain cultures at presentation of trauma in anticipation of later infection. This study examines the usefulness of wound cultures obtained during globe repair.

Exercise band-induced lens dislocations: A case series.

Purpose: We report three cases of lens dislocation due to ocular trauma from a recoiling exercise band.

Observations: Three patients had closed globe injury resulting in lens dislocation. All had previously undergone intraocular surgeries; two patients were within three weeks of pars plana vitrectomy for retinal detachment repair.

Functional Traits and Spatio-Temporal Structure of a Major Group of Soil Protists (Rhizaria: Cercozoa) in a Temperate Grassland.

Soil protists are increasingly appreciated as essential components of soil foodwebs; however, there is a dearth of information on the factors structuring their communities. Here we investigate the importance of different biotic and abiotic factors as key drivers of spatial and seasonal distribution of protistan communities. We conducted an intensive survey of a 10 m grassland plot in Germany, focusing on a major group of protists, the Cercozoa.

Unraveling spatiotemporal variability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a temperate grassland plot.

Soils provide a heterogeneous environment varying in space and time; consequently, the biodiversity of soil microorganisms also differs spatially and temporally. For soil microbes tightly associated with plant roots, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), the diversity of plant partners and seasonal variability in trophic exchanges between the symbionts introduce additional heterogeneity. To clarify the impact of such heterogeneity, we investigated spatiotemporal variation in AMF diversity on a plot scale (10 × 10 m) in a grassland managed at low intensity in southwest Germany.

Surgical management of diabetic tractional retinal detachments.

Tractional retinal detachment is an end-stage form of diabetic retinopathy that occurs when contractile forces in the vitreous and neovascular tissue lead to the detachment of the neurosensory retina. We review the literature related to the management of this disease. Preoperative planning includes appropriate patient selection, diagnostic and prognostic imaging, and medical optimization with reduction of systemic risk factors.

Paradigm shifts in inpatient psychiatric care of children: Approaching child- and family-centered care.

Topic: This article describes the components of child- and family-centered care, including a review of the literature about the delivery of family-centered care and the barriers that often prevent the provision of such care. The article describes an inpatient child psychiatric unit that has implemented an approach to care that embraces these principles. The changes in structures and policies that the unit adopted are described, with specific examples cited as illustrations of the components of this care.

Protective effect of vitreous against hemoglobin neurotoxicity.

Hemorrhage into the brain parenchyma or subarachnoid space is associated with edema and vascular injury that is likely mediated at least in part by the toxicity of hemoglobin. In contrast, extravascular blood appears to be less neurotoxic when localized to the retina or adjacent vitreous, the gel filling the posterior segment of the eye. In this study, the hypothesis that vitreous protects neurons from hemoglobin toxicity was investigated in a primary cortical cell culture model.

Intralenticular Ozurdex® - One Year Later.

Reported here is a case of intralenticular sustained-release dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex®, Allergan, Irvine, CA, USA) present for 1 year with effective treatment of refractory diabetic macular edema without rapid cataract formation. The crystalline lens remained stable for 12 months on exam despite the presence of the steroid-secreting foreign body. The diabetic macular edema resolved on exam and on optical coherence tomography.

Spatial Interaction of Archaeal Ammonia-Oxidizers and Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria in an Unfertilized Grassland Soil.

Interrelated successive transformation steps of nitrification are performed by distinct microbial groups - the ammonia-oxidizers, comprising ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), and nitrite-oxidizers such as Nitrobacter and Nitrospira, which are the dominant genera in the investigated soils. Hence, not only their presence and activity in the investigated habitat is required for nitrification, but also their temporal and spatial interactions. To demonstrate the interdependence of both groups and to address factors promoting putative niche differentiation within each group, temporal and spatial changes in nitrifying organisms were monitored in an unfertilized grassland site over an entire vegetation period at the plot scale of 10 m(2).

Sequential azacitidine plus lenalidomide in previously treated elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia and higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

The outcome of sequential azacitidine with lenalidomide has not been reported in previously treated patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). This study describes a phase 2 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of this combination in elderly patients with AML and MDS with prior hypomethylating agent (HMA) and/or immunomodulatory agent exposure. Patients were treated on a 42-day cycle with azacitidine at 75 mg/m2 SQ/IV daily on days 1-7, followed by lenalidomide 50 mg orally daily on days 8-28.

Transplantation of glial progenitors that overexpress glutamate transporter GLT1 preserves diaphragm function following cervical SCI.

Approximately half of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) cases affect cervical regions, resulting in chronic respiratory compromise. The majority of these injuries affect midcervical levels, the location of phrenic motor neurons (PMNs) that innervate the diaphragm. A valuable opportunity exists following SCI for preventing PMN loss that occurs during secondary degeneration.

Overexpression of the astrocyte glutamate transporter GLT1 exacerbates phrenic motor neuron degeneration, diaphragm compromise, and forelimb motor dysfunction following cervical contusion spinal cord injury.

A major portion of spinal cord injury (SCI) cases affect midcervical levels, the location of the phrenic motor neuron (PhMN) pool that innervates the diaphragm. While initial trauma is uncontrollable, a valuable opportunity exists in the hours to days following SCI for preventing PhMN loss and consequent respiratory dysfunction that occurs during secondary degeneration. One of the primary causes of secondary injury is excitotoxic cell death due to dysregulation of extracellular glutamate homeostasis.

A rapid fluorescent method to quantify neuronal loss after experimental intracerebral hemorrhage.

Neuronal loss in tissue surrounding an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is usually quantified by labor-intensive histological methods that are subject to bias. Fluorescent protein expression has been successfully used as a marker of cell viability in vitro and in retinal studies in vivo, but not in any ICH model to date. The potential of this approach was investigated using transgenic mice that constitutively express the red fluorescent protein variant dTomato in central neurons under the control of the Thy1 promoter.

Degeneration of phrenic motor neurons induces long-term diaphragm deficits following mid-cervical spinal contusion in mice.

A primary cause of morbidity and mortality following cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is respiratory compromise, regardless of the level of trauma. In particular, SCI at mid-cervical regions targets degeneration of both descending bulbospinal respiratory axons and cell bodies of phrenic motor neurons, resulting in deficits in the function of the diaphragm, the primary muscle of inspiration. Contusion-type trauma to the cervical spinal cord is one of the most common forms of human SCI; however, few studies have evaluated mid-cervical contusion in animal models or characterized consequent histopathological and functional effects of degeneration of phrenic motor neuron-diaphragm circuitry.