Decline of a distinct coral reef holobiont community under ocean acidification.

Background: Microbes play vital roles across coral reefs both in the environment and inside and upon macrobes (holobionts), where they support critical functions such as nutrition and immune system modulation. These roles highlight the potential ecosystem-level importance of microbes, yet most knowledge of microbial functions on reefs is derived from a small set of holobionts such as corals and sponges. Declining seawater pH - an important global coral reef stressor - can cause ecosystem-level change on coral reefs, providing an opportunity to study the role of microbes at this scale.

A multi-purpose pilot-scale molten metal & molten salt pyrolysis reactor.

This paper describes the design features and operational details of a molten metal pyrolysis reactor. Such a reactor allows pyrolysis experimentation on biomass, aluminium-laminated plastics, mixed plastics, carbon fibre materials, etc. Experimental results on biodegradable plastic, carbon fibre composites, biomass and printed circuit boards (PCBs) are presented.

Recycling of aluminium laminated pouches and Tetra Pak cartons by molten metal pyrolysis - Pilot-scale experiments and economic analysis.

Aluminium laminated (AL) pouch packages and aluminium laminated Tetra-Pak cartons are considered unrecyclable, reducing their otherwise excellent lifecycle performance. This paper describes experimental results on pilot plant trials to recycle AL packages with a molten metal pyrolysis reactor. The experimental evidence shows that both package formats can be recycled and that clean aluminium can be recovered.

Does solar irradiation drive community assembly of vulture plumage microbiotas?

Background: Stereotyped sunning behaviour in birds has been hypothesized to inhibit keratin-degrading bacteria but there is little evidence that solar irradiation affects community assembly and abundance of plumage microbiota. The monophyletic New World vultures (Cathartiformes) are renowned for scavenging vertebrate carrion, spread-wing sunning at roosts, and thermal soaring. Few avian species experience greater exposure to solar irradiation.

Distinct microbiotas of anatomical gut regions display idiosyncratic seasonal variation in an avian folivore.

Background: Current knowledge about seasonal variation in the gut microbiota of vertebrates is limited to a few studies based on mammalian fecal samples. Seasonal changes in the microbiotas of functionally distinct gut regions remain unexplored. We investigated seasonal variation (summer versus winter) and regionalization of the microbiotas of the crop, ventriculus, duodenum, cecum, and colon of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), an avian folivore specialized on the toxic foliage of sagebrush (Artemesia spp.

Publisher Correction: Spatial Organization of the Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Urban Canada Geese.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

The time and cost investment required to obtain and initiate direct-acting antiviral therapy.

Background: Obtaining direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medications for treatment of HCV is labour-intensive for providers. The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of unbillable time and to estimate the financial burden of obtaining DAAs for HCV.

Methods: Patients prescribed DAA therapy from 30 September 2014 to 19 March 2015 at an academic hepatology practice were enrolled prospectively.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant use in first trimester pregnancy and risk of specific congenital anomalies: a European register-based study.

Evidence of an association between early pregnancy exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and congenital heart defects (CHD) has contributed to recommendations to weigh benefits and risks carefully. The objective of this study was to determine the specificity of association between first trimester exposure to SSRIs and specific CHD and other congenital anomalies (CA) associated with SSRI exposure in the literature (signals). A population-based case-malformed control study was conducted in 12 EUROCAT CA registries covering 2.

Identification of an inhibitor of caspase activation from heart extracts; ATP blocks apoptosome formation.

By revealing the biochemistry of apoptosis it is expected we will both improve our understanding of diseases where apoptosis plays an important role and aid the development of therapies for these disorders. Caspases are a family of proteases whose activity is required for apoptosis. In this study, a cell-free system was used to investigate the mechanism of caspase-9 activation in extracts from heart cells.

ER stress contributes to ischemia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Myocardial ischemia is a severe stress condition that leads to loss of cardiomyocytes. The cell loss is attributed to apoptosis, although the exact mechanisms involved are only partially defined, which limits therapeutic opportunities. Here, we show caspase activation and apoptosis in neonatal rat cardiomyocyte cultures subjected to simulated ischemia by serum, glucose, and oxygen deprivation (SGO).

The treatment of dangerous patients in managed care. Psychiatric hospital utilization and outcome.

The legal criteria for civil commitment dictates that individuals must be mentally ill, and either a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or substantially impaired in their ability to provide for their basic needs. These criteria, which have been adopted as medical necessity criteria by managed care programs, may result in a change in the clinical mix of the psychiatric inpatient population. The present study assesses the incidence of dangerousness among psychiatric inpatients and compares dangerous and nondangerous patients in terms of characteristics and treatment outcomes.

Predicting readmission to the psychiatric hospital in a managed care environment: implications for quality indicators.

Objective: This study examined predictors of hospital readmission to determine whether readmissions can serve as a quality indicator for an inpatient psychiatric service.

Method: A series of 255 patients consecutively admitted to any of seven psychiatric hospitals in a regional managed care program were followed to determine whether they were readmitted within 6 months of discharge. Case managers assessed patients with the use of a reliable outcome management/decision support system designed for acute psychiatric services.

Serotonin reuptake inhibitors and the adequacy of antidepressant treatment.

Objective: To determine whether the use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) improves antidepressant medication prescribing patterns for both psychiatric and non-psychiatric physicians.

Data Sources/setting: Drug utilization review of 4,103 prescriptions for antidepressant medications with patients diagnosed with depressive disorders over an eighteen-month period from the formulary records of a large insurance company.

Design: Using standards developed for clinical guidelines, variation in trial and treatment adequacy between drug types and physician specialty was studied.

Plasma aspirin esterase activity in elderly patients undergoing elective hip replacement and with fractured neck of femur.

Plasma aspirin esterase activity was measured in eight elderly patients undergoing elective hip replacement, and in 11 presenting with femoral-neck fracture. Elective hip surgery was associated with a marked and significant decline in esterase, from 330 +/- 35.9 (SE) (nmol salicylate/ml plasma/min) pre-operatively to 236 +/- 35.

Patterns of psychotherapy utilization.

Epidemiologic research indicates that a small minority of patients make the great majority of outpatient mental health visits. This small group of long-term patients constitutes the bulk of psychotherapeutic practice and creates a disproportionate impression on mental health professionals. The authors confirmed this finding by studying 405 patients in a clinical setting with an orientation toward long-term psychotherapy: 68% of the patients attended 26 or fewer psychotherapy sessions, representing 23.

Renal failure during intermittent rifampicin therapy.

Two patients who developed reversible renal failure during intermittent rifampicin therapy are described. Both had febrile reactions to rifampicin. The first was also found to have uraemia associated with swelling of the glomerular endothelial cells.