Yoga as a non-pharmacologic therapy to reduce dinutuximab-induced pain in patients with neuroblastoma.

Background: Anti-GD2 antibodies are key components of treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma; however, they cause neuropathic pain. Yoga therapy may help reduce pain and distress associated with anti-GD2 therapy.

Procedure: Children 3 years of age or older with neuroblastoma participated in individualized yoga therapy while receiving the anti-GD2 antibody dinutuximab (DIN).

Extreme Arsenic and Antimony Uptake and Tolerance in Toad Tadpoles during Development in Highly Contaminated Wetlands.

The effects of extreme concentrations of toxic metalloids, such as arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb), on larval amphibians are not well-understood. We sampled Western Toad tadpoles () living in As- and Sb-contaminated wetlands throughout their development. Although the tadpoles completed metamorphosis, they accumulated among the highest concentrations of As and Sb ever reported for a living vertebrate (3866.

Microbial Antimony Biogeochemistry: Enzymes, Regulation, and Related Metabolic Pathways.

Antimony (Sb) is a toxic metalloid that occurs widely at trace concentrations in soil, aquatic systems, and the atmosphere. Nowadays, with the development of its new industrial applications and the corresponding expansion of antimony mining activities, the phenomenon of antimony pollution has become an increasingly serious concern. In recent years, research interest in Sb has been growing and reflects a fundamental scientific concern regarding Sb in the environment.

Microbiological oxidation of antimony(III) with oxygen or nitrate by bacteria isolated from contaminated mine sediments.

Bacterial oxidation of arsenite [As(III)] is a well-studied and important biogeochemical pathway that directly influences the mobility and toxicity of arsenic in the environment. In contrast, little is known about microbiological oxidation of the chemically similar anion antimonite [Sb(III)]. In this study, two bacterial strains, designated IDSBO-1 and IDSBO-4, which grow on tartrate compounds and oxidize Sb(III) using either oxygen or nitrate, respectively, as a terminal electron acceptor, were isolated from contaminated mine sediments.

Microbiological reduction of Sb(V) in anoxic freshwater sediments.

Microbiological reduction of millimolar concentrations of Sb(V) to Sb(III) was observed in anoxic sediments from two freshwater settings: (1) a Sb- and As-contaminated mine site (Stibnite Mine) in central Idaho and 2) an uncontaminated suburban lake (Searsville Lake) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rates of Sb(V) reduction in anoxic sediment microcosms and enrichment cultures were enhanced by amendment with lactate or acetate as electron donors but not by H2, and no reduction occurred in sterilized controls. Addition of 2-(14)C-acetate to Stibnite Mine microcosms resulted in the production of (14)CO2 coupled to Sb(V) reduction, suggesting that this process proceeds by a dissimilatory respiratory pathway in those sediments.

Identification and discrimination of bacteria using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Bacterial spectra were obtained in the wavenumber range of 4000-600 cm(-1) using FTIR spectroscopy. FTIR spectral patterns were analyzed and matched with 16S-rRNA signatures of bacterial strains OS1 and OS2, isolated from oil sludge. Specific spectral bands obtained from OS1 (FJ226761), reference strain Bacillus flexus (ATCC 49095), OS2 (FJ215874) and reference strain Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (ATCC 19861) respectively, suggested that OS1 and ATCC 49095 were closely related whereas OS2 was different.

Naturally occurring arsenic in terrestrial geothermal systems of western Anatolia, Turkey: potential role in contamination of freshwater resources.

Arsenic (As) contamination in terrestrial geothermal systems has been identified in many countries worldwide. Concentrations higher than 0.01 mg/L are detrimental to human health.

Characterisation of organic matter associated with groundwater arsenic in reducing aquifers of southwestern Taiwan.

Arsenic (As) in groundwaters extensively used by people across the world constitutes a serious public health threat. The importance of organic matter (OM) as an electron donor in microbially-mediated reduction of As(V) or Fe(III)-bearing As-host minerals leading to mobilisation of solid-phase arsenic is widely recognised. Notwithstanding this, there are few studies characterising OM in such aquifers and, in particular, there is a dearth of data from the classic arsenic bearing aquifers in southwestern Taiwan.

Desulfohalophilus alkaliarsenatis gen. nov., sp. nov., an extremely halophilic sulfate- and arsenate-respiring bacterium from Searles Lake, California.

A haloalkaliphilic sulfate-respiring bacterium, strain SLSR-1, was isolated from a lactate-fed stable enrichment culture originally obtained from the extreme environment of Searles Lake, California. The isolate proved capable of growth via sulfate-reduction over a broad range of salinities (125-330 g/L), although growth was slowest at salt-saturation. Strain SLSR-1 was also capable of growth via dissimilatory arsenate-reduction and displayed an even broader range of salinity tolerance (50-330 g/L) when grown under these conditions.

A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus.

Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, that is able to substitute arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth.

Coupled arsenotrophy in a hot spring photosynthetic biofilm at Mono Lake, California.

Red-pigmented biofilms grow on rock and cobble surfaces present in anoxic hot springs located on Paoha Island in Mono Lake. The bacterial community was dominated ( approximately 85% of 16S rRNA gene clones) by sequences from the photosynthetic Ectothiorhodospira genus. Scraped biofilm materials incubated under anoxic conditions rapidly oxidized As(III) to As(V) in the light via anoxygenic photosynthesis but could also readily reduce As(V) to As(III) in the dark at comparable rates.

Enrichment and isolation of Bacillus beveridgei sp. nov., a facultative anaerobic haloalkaliphile from Mono Lake, California, that respires oxyanions of tellurium, selenium, and arsenic.

Mono Lake sediment slurries incubated with lactate and tellurite [Te(IV)] turned progressively black with time because of the precipitation of elemental tellurium [Te(0)]. An enrichment culture was established from these slurries that demonstrated Te(IV)-dependent growth. The enrichment was purified by picking isolated black colonies from lactate/Te(IV) agar plates, followed by repeated streaking and picking.

Arsenic(III) fuels anoxygenic photosynthesis in hot spring biofilms from Mono Lake, California.

Phylogenetic analysis indicates that microbial arsenic metabolism is ancient and probably extends back to the primordial Earth. In microbial biofilms growing on the rock surfaces of anoxic brine pools fed by hot springs containing arsenite and sulfide at high concentrations, we discovered light-dependent oxidation of arsenite [As(III)] to arsenate [As(V)] occurring under anoxic conditions. The communities were composed primarily of Ectothiorhodospira-like purple bacteria or Oscillatoria-like cyanobacteria.

Broadly Tunable, Mode-Hop-Tuned cw Optical Parametric Oscillator Based on Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate.

We describe a broadly tunable, cw optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodically poled lithium niobate. The OPO can be tuned over a broad region in the mid IR (2900-3100 cm(-1)) covering the important C-H stretch region while a high spectral resolution (<0.1 cm(-1)) is maintained.

Demonstration of differential backscatter absorption gas imaging.

Backscatter absorption gas imaging (BAGI) is a technique that uses infrared active imaging to generate real-time video imagery of gas plumes. We describe a method that employs imaging at two wavelengths (absorbed and not absorbed by the gas to be detected) to allow wavelength-differential BAGI. From the frames collected at each wavelength, an absorbance image is created that displays the differential absorbance of the atmosphere between the imager and the backscatter surface.

Development of a pulsed backscatter-absorption gas-imaging system and its application to the visualization of natural gas leaks.

The design and evaluation of a backscatter-absorption gas-imaging sensor that operates in a pulsed mode is described. It is capable of video visualization of natural gas leaks. Its development was motivated by the need for a methane imaging system to operate at ranges and sensitivities useful to the natural gas industry.

Periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric amplifier seeded with the narrow-band filtered output of an optical parametric generator.

The results of a simple scheme to generate continuously tunable pulsed narrow-bandwidth (less than 0.1 cm (-1)) light in the infrared are presented. A periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) optical parametric amplifier is seeded with the filtered output of a PPLN optical parametric generator.

Continuous tuning of a continuous-wave periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator by use of a fan-out grating design.

We report on a new periodically poled lithium niobate grating design with a continuous grating-period change (fan-out). We observed 350cm(-1) (80 nm at 1.5microm) of complete spectral coverage at a constant temperature in a cw optical parametric oscillator.

Microlaser-pumped periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric generator-optical parametric amplifier.

For what is believed to be the first time, a single-longitudinal-mode passively Q-switched Nd:YAG microlaser is used to pump a narrow-bandwidth periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) optical parametric generator-optical parametric amplifier (OPG-OPA). Before amplification in the OPA, the output of the OPG stage was spectrally filtered with an air-spaced etalon, resulting in spectroscopically useful radiation (bandwidth, ~0.05 cm(-1) FWHM) that was tunable in 15-cm(-1) segments anywhere in the signal range 6820-6220 cm(-1) and the idler range 2580-3180 cm(-1).

Difference frequency generation of 8-microm radiation in orientation- patterned GaAs.

First-order quasi-phase-matched difference frequency generation of narrowband tunable mid-infrared light is demonstrated in orientation-patterned GaAs. The all-epitaxial orientation-patterned crystal is fabricated by a combination of molecular beam epitaxy and hydride vapor phase epitaxy. Lasers at 1.

Refinery evaluation of optical imaging to locate fugitive emissions.

Fugitive emissions account for approximately 50% of total hydrocarbon emissions from process plants. Federal and state regulations aiming at controlling these emissions require refineries and petrochemical plants in the United States to implement a Leak Detection and Repair Program (LDAR). The current regulatory work practice, U.

Effects of imposed salinity gradients on dissimilatory arsenate reduction, sulfate reduction, and other microbial processes in sediments from two California soda lakes.

Salinity effects on microbial community structure and on potential rates of arsenate reduction, arsenite oxidation, sulfate reduction, denitrification, and methanogenesis were examined in sediment slurries from two California soda lakes. We conducted experiments with Mono Lake and Searles Lake sediments over a wide range of salt concentrations (25 to 346 g liter(-1)). With the exception of sulfate reduction, rates of all processes demonstrated an inverse relationship to total salinity.

Dissimilatory arsenate and sulfate reduction in sediments of two hypersaline, arsenic-rich soda lakes: Mono and Searles Lakes, California.

A radioisotope method was devised to study bacterial respiratory reduction of arsenate in sediments. The following two arsenic-rich soda lakes in California were chosen for comparison on the basis of their different salinities: Mono Lake (approximately 90 g/liter) and Searles Lake (approximately 340 g/liter). Profiles of arsenate reduction and sulfate reduction were constructed for both lakes.

A microbial arsenic cycle in a salt-saturated, extreme environment.

Searles Lake is a salt-saturated, alkaline brine unusually rich in the toxic element arsenic. Arsenic speciation changed from arsenate [As(V)] to arsenite [As(III)] with sediment depth. Incubated anoxic sediment slurries displayed dissimilatory As(V)-reductase activity that was markedly stimulated by H2 or sulfide, whereas aerobic slurries had rapid As(III)-oxidase activity.

Redox transformations of arsenic oxyanions in periphyton communities.

Periphyton (Cladophora sp.) samples from a suburban stream lacking detectable dissolved As were able to reduce added As(V) to As(III) when incubated under anoxic conditions and, conversely, oxidized added As(III) to As(V) with aerobic incubation. Both types of activity were abolished in autoclaved controls, thereby demonstrating its biological nature.