Characteristics of paracetamol poisoning in a local health network and consistency of hospital management with national guidelines.

The management of paracetamol poisoning in our local health network and consistency with national guidelines is unclear. We conducted a 4-month retrospective study of all paracetamol poisonings identified in two South Australian hospitals. Most presentations were deliberate self-poisoning (90.

Halofilins as emerging bactofilin families of archaeal cell shape plasticity orchestrators.

Bactofilins are rigid, nonpolar bacterial cytoskeletal filaments that link cellular processes to specific curvatures of the cytoplasmic membrane. Although homologs of bactofilins have been identified in archaea and eukaryotes, functional studies have remained confined to bacterial systems. Here, we characterize representatives of two families of archaeal bactofilins from the pleomorphic archaeon , halofilin A (HalA) and halofilin B (HalB).

NLP-based ergonomics MSD risk root cause analysis and risk controls recommendation.

An ergonomics assessment of the physical risk factors in the workplace is instrumental in predicting and preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular for ergonomics assessments because of the time savings and improved accuracy. However, most of the effort in this area starts and ends with producing risk scores, without providing guidance to reduce the risk.

Estimation of maximum body size in fossil species: A case study using .

Among extant species, the ability to sample the extremes of body size-one of the most useful predictors of an individual's ecology-is highly unlikely. This improbability is further exaggerated when sampling the already incomplete fossil record. We quantify the likelihood of sampling the uppermost limits of body size in the fossil record using Osborn, 1905 as a model, selected for its comparatively well-understood life history parameters.

Development and evaluation of test methods for the detection and enumeration of opportunistic waterborne pathogens from the hospital environment.

Background: Many Gram-negative bacteria other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been implicated in waterborne outbreaks, but standardized laboratory detection methods for these organisms have not been established.

Aim: This study aimed to establish laboratory testing methodologies for six waterborne pathogens: Acinetobacter spp., Burkholderia spp.

Salactin, a dynamically unstable actin homolog in Haloarchaea.

Protein filaments play important roles in many biological processes. We discovered an actin homolog in halophilic archaea, which we call Salactin. Just like the filaments that segregate DNA in eukaryotes, Salactin grows out of the cell poles towards the middle, and then quickly depolymerizes, a behavior known as dynamic instability.

An extraordinary fossil captures the struggle for existence during the Mesozoic.

Dinosaurs and mammals have coexisted for the last ~ 230 million years. Both groups arose during the Late Triassic and diversified throughout the Mesozoic and into the Cenozoic (the latter in the form of birds). Although they undoubtedly interacted in many ways, direct fossil evidence for their interaction is rare.

The appendicular myology of Stegoceras validum (Ornithischia: Pachycephalosauridae) and implications for the head-butting hypothesis.

In this study, we use an exceptional skeleton of the pachycephalosaur Stegoceras validum (UALVP 2) to inform a comprehensive appendicular muscle reconstruction of the animal, with the goal of better understanding the functional morphology of the pachycephalosaur postcranial skeleton. We find that S. validum possessed a conservative forelimb musculature, particularly in comparison to early saurischian bipeds.

"Dragons" on the landscape: Modeling the abundance of large carnivorous dinosaurs of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation (USA) and the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation (Canada).

Counts of the number of skeletal specimens of "adult" megaherbivores and large theropods from the Morrison and Dinosaur Park formations-if not biased by taphonomic artifacts-suggest that the big meat-eaters were more abundant, relative to the number of big plant-eaters, than one would expect on the basis of the relative abundance of large carnivores and herbivores in modern mammalian faunas. Models of megaherbivore population density (number of individuals per square kilometer) that attempt to take into account ecosystem productivity, the size structure of megaherbivore populations, and individual megaherbivore energy requirements, when combined with values of the large theropod/megaherbivore abundance ratio, suggest that large theropods may have been more abundant on the landscape than estimates extrapolated from the population density versus body mass relationship of mammalian carnivores. Models of the meat production of megaherbivore populations and the meat requirements of "adult" large theropods suggest that herbivore productivity would have been insufficient to support the associated number of individuals of "adult" large theropods, unless the herbivore production/biomass ratio was substantially higher, and/or the large theropod meat requirement markedly lower, than expectations based on modern mammals.

Rare juvenile material constrains estimation of skeletal allometry in Gryposaurus notabilis (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae).

In studying the skeletal allometry of any vertebrate, it is important to sample the ontogenetic extremes to ensure the accuracy of parameter estimation; this is particularly true for fossil taxa, where sampling of ontogenetic series is incomplete and sporadic. Previous studies have examined allometry in the skull of the duck-billed dinosaur Gryposaurus notabilis, but these did not include individuals smaller than ~65% the maximum known size (based on linear dimensions). Here, we report on the two smallest known examples of this species (a mostly complete skeleton and a partial skull), which are ~37% the known maximal size of G.

Hadrosauroid eggs and embryos from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Jiangxi Province, China.

Background: Dinosaur eggs containing embryos are rare, limiting our understanding of dinosaur development. Recently, a clutch of subspherical dinosaur eggs was discovered while blasting for a construction project in the Upper Cretaceous red beds (Hekou Formation) of the Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province, China. At least two of the eggs contain identifiable hadrosauroid embryos, described here for the first time.

A low-cost benthic incubation chamber for community metabolism measurements.

Benthic incubation chambers facilitate metabolism studies in shallow water environments. They are used to isolate the water surrounding a study organism or community so that changes in water chemistry can be quantified to characterise physiological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification. Such field measurements capture the biological processes taking place within the benthic community while incorporating the influence of environmental variables that are often difficult to recreate in settings.

Cupriavidus spp. and other waterborne organisms in healthcare water systems across the UK.

Background: Cupriavidus pauculus is a rare clinical pathogen, cases of which have been linked to contaminated hospital water systems. An outbreak of three cases of C. pauculus and other waterborne organisms was reported in a Glasgow hospital in 2018.

A new model of forelimb ecomorphology for predicting the ancient habitats of fossil turtles.

Various morphological proxies have been used to infer habitat preferences among fossil turtles and their early ancestors, but most are tightly linked to phylogeny, thereby minimizing their predictive power. One particularly widely used model incorporates linear measurements of the forelimb (humerus + ulna + manus), but in addition to the issue of phylogenetic correlation, it does not estimate the likelihood of habitat assignment. Here, we introduce a new model that uses intramanual measurements (digit III metacarpal + non-ungual phalanges + ungual) to statistically estimate habitat likelihood and that has greater predictive strength than prior estimators.

Inclement weather forces stopovers and prevents migratory progress for obligate soaring migrants.

Background: Migrating birds experience weather conditions that change with time, which affect their decision to stop or resume migration. Soaring migrants are especially sensitive to changing weather conditions because they rely on the availability of environmental updrafts to subsidize flight. The timescale that local weather conditions change over is on the order of hours, while stopovers are studied at the daily scale, creating a temporal mismatch.

Polθ reverse transcribes RNA and promotes RNA-templated DNA repair.

Genome-embedded ribonucleotides arrest replicative DNA polymerases (Pols) and cause DNA breaks. Whether mammalian DNA repair Pols efficiently use template ribonucleotides and promote RNA-templated DNA repair synthesis remains unknown. We find that human Polθ reverse transcribes RNA, similar to retroviral reverse transcriptases (RTs).

Establishing the protocols for the South Australian Emergency Department Admission Blood Psychoactive Testing (EDABPT) programme for drug surveillance.

Objective: ED presentations because of illicit use of psychotropic drugs and pharmaceuticals result in significant medical harm and resource consumption. Patient assessment is complicated by the regular emergence of new psychoactive substances, difficulties associated with their identification and a lack of information about their effects. Here we report the protocol for the Emergency Department Admission Blood Psychoactive Testing (EDABPT) programme, an observational study utilising clinical data capture and definitive drug identification to assess the medical impact and patterns of illicit drug use in the community, and their geographic and temporal fluctuations.

Genome oligopaint via local denaturation fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Cas9 in complex with a programmable guide RNA targets specific double-stranded DNA for cleavage. By harnessing Cas9 as a programmable loader of superhelicase to genomic DNA, we report a physiological-temperature DNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method termed genome oligopaint via local denaturation (GOLD) FISH. Instead of global denaturation as in conventional DNA FISH, loading a superhelicase at a Cas9-generated nick allows for local DNA denaturation, reducing nonspecific binding of probes and avoiding harsh treatments such as heat denaturation.

Real-time observation of Cas9 postcatalytic domain motions.

CRISPR-Cas9 from is an RNA-guided DNA endonuclease, which has become the most popular genome editing tool. Coordinated domain motions of Cas9 prior to DNA cleavage have been extensively characterized but our understanding of Cas9 conformations postcatalysis is limited. Because Cas9 can remain stably bound to the cleaved DNA for hours, its postcatalytic conformation may influence genome editing mechanisms.

Ontogeny of a sexually selected structure in an extant archosaur (Pseudosuchia: Crocodylia) with implications for sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs.

Despite strong evidence for sexual selection in various display traits and other exaggerated structures in large extinct reptiles, such as dinosaurs, detecting sexual dimorphism in them remains difficult. Their relatively small sample sizes, long growth periods, and difficulties distinguishing the sexes of fossil specimens mean that there are little compelling data on dimorphism in these animals. The extant gharial () is a large and endangered crocodylian that is sexually dimorphic in size, but males also possesses a sexually selected structure, the ghara, which has an osteological correlate in the presence of a fossa associated with the nares.