Introduction into natural environments shifts the gut microbiome of captivity-raised filter-feeding bivalves.

The gut microbiome is influenced by host species and the environment, but how the environment influences the microbiome of animals introduced into a new ecosystem has rarely been investigated. Freshwater mussels are aquatic fauna, with some threatened or endangered species propagated in hatcheries and introduced into natural systems as part of conservation efforts. The effects of the environment on the freshwater mussel gut microbiome were assessed for two hatchery-propagated species (, ) introduced into rivers within their natural range.

Polymorphism in the aggressive mimicry lure of the parasitic freshwater mussel .

Unionoid freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) are free-living apart from a brief, obligately parasitic, larval stage that infects fish hosts, and gravid female mussels have evolved a spectrum of strategies to infect fish hosts with their larvae. In many North American species, this involves displaying a mantle lure: a pigmented fleshy extension that acts as an aggressive mimic of a host fish prey, thereby eliciting a feeding response that results in host infection. The mantle lure of is of particular interest because it is apparently polymorphic, with two distinct primary lure phenotypes.

Description, life cycle, and phylogenetics of Proterometra wigglewomble n. sp. (Digenea: Azygiidae) from the Cahaba River, Alabama, U.S.A.

We herein describe Proterometra wigglewomble n. sp. (Digenea: Azygiidae: Azygiinae) from the Cahaba River, Alabama, USA, which asexually reproduces in the compact elimia, Elimia showalteri (Lea, 1860) (Cerithioidea: Pleuroceridae) and matures in the oesophagus of the blackbanded darter, Percina nigrofasciata (Agassiz, 1854) (Perciformes: Percidae).

Characterizing the Gut Microbial Communities of Native and Invasive Freshwater Bivalves after Long-Term Sample Preservation.

Freshwater mussels are important indicators of the overall health of their environment but have suffered declines that have been attributed to factors such as habitat degradation, a loss of fish hosts, climate change, and excessive nutrient inputs. The loss of mussel biodiversity can negatively impact freshwater ecosystems such that understanding the mussel's gut microbiome has been identified as a priority topic for developing conservation strategies. In this study, we determine whether ethanol-stored specimens of freshwater mussels can yield representative information about their gut microbiomes such that changes in the microbiome through time could potentially be determined from museum mussel collections.

Attachment, Competitiveness, and Workplace Aggression: A Model of Aggressive Intent and Examination of the Competitive Orientation Scale.

Workplace aggression consists of harmful actions between co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates. In this series of studies, we draw from attachment theory and competitive personality to develop and test a mediated model of workplace aggression that incorporates relational working models (i.e.

In Pursuit of an Allosteric Human Tropomyosin Kinase A (TrkA) Inhibitor for Chronic Pain.

Human β-nerve growth factor (β-NGF) and its associated receptor, human tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA), have been demonstrated to be key factors in the perception of pain. However, efficacious small molecule therapies targeting the intracellularly located TrkA kinase have not been explored thoroughly for pain management. Herein, we report the pharmacological properties of a selective TrkA allosteric inhibitor, .

Range reduction of Oblong Rocksnail, , shapes riverscape genetic patterns.

Many freshwater gastropod species face extinction, including 79% of species in the family Pleuroceridae. The Oblong Rocksnail, , is a narrow range endemic pleurocerid from the Cahaba River basin in central Alabama that has seen rapid range contraction in the last 100 years. Such a decline is expected to negatively affect genetic diversity in the species.

Australian consensus statements for the regulation, production and use of faecal microbiota transplantation in clinical practice.

Objective: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has proved to be an extremely effective treatment for recurrent infection, and there is interest in its potential application in other gastrointestinal and systemic diseases. However, the recent death and episode of septicaemia following FMT highlights the need for further appraisal and guidelines on donor evaluation, production standards, treatment facilities and acceptable clinical indications.

Design: For these consensus statements, a 24-member multidisciplinary working group voted online and then convened in-person, using a modified Delphi approach to formulate and refine a series of recommendations based on best evidence and expert opinion.

Deciphering the Allosteric Binding Mechanism of the Human Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase A ( hTrkA) Inhibitors.

Access to cryptic binding pockets or allosteric sites on a kinase that present themselves when the enzyme is in a specific conformational state offers a paradigm shift in designing the next generation small molecule kinase inhibitors. The current work showcases an extensive and exhaustive array of in vitro biochemical and biophysical tools and techniques deployed along with structural biology efforts of inhibitor-bound kinase complexes to characterize and confirm the cryptic allosteric binding pocket and docking mode of the small molecule actives identified for hTrkA. Specifically, assays were designed and implemented to lock the kinase in a predominantly active or inactive conformation and the effect of the kinase inhibitor probed to understand the hTrkA binding and hTrkB selectivity.

Planning After Stroke Survival: Advance Care Planning in the Stroke Clinic.

Background Stroke survivors have high rates of mortality and recurrent stroke. Stroke patients are often unable to participate in decision making, highlighting the need for advance care planning ( ACP ) in poststroke care. We sought to better understand experiences and perceptions around stroke risk and ACP in our stroke clinic.

Riverscape genetic variation, migration patterns, and morphological variation of the threatened Round Rocksnail, Leptoxis ampla.

Within riverine systems, headwater populations are hypothesized to harbour higher amounts of genetic distinctiveness than populations in the main stem of a river and display increased genetic diversity in large, downstream habitats. However, these hypotheses were mostly developed with insects and fish, and they have not been tested on many invertebrate lineages. Pleuroceridae gastropods are of particular ecological importance to rivers of eastern North America, sometimes comprising over 90% of macroinvertebrate biomass.

Education Research: Neuroradiology curriculum in neurology residency training programs: How we teach neuroimaging.

Objective: To better understand how the essential skill of interpreting various neuroimaging studies is taught to neurology residents in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited training programs.

Methods: A 22-question survey was sent electronically to 150 ACGME adult neurology program directors. We collected data regarding the presence of a neuroimaging curriculum, frequency of review sessions and testing, resource availability, and program director confidence in neuroimaging skills of graduating residents.

Impact of unit-wide chlorhexidine bathing in intensive care on bloodstream infection and drug-resistant organism acquisition.

Background: Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing has been reported to decrease bloodstream infections and colonisation of multidrug-resistant organisms (MROs) in intensive care units (ICUs). However, its effectiveness in an Australian setting has not been assessed.

Objective: To test whether the introduction of ICU-wide CHG bathing in place of triclosan would affect rates of the primary outcome of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), or the secondary outcomes of ICU-acquired positive blood cultures or other clinical specimens, and MRO colonisation including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).

Exposure to Diisocyanates and Their Corresponding Diamines in Seven Different Workplaces.

Biological monitoring to assess exposure to diisocyanates in the workplace is becoming increasingly widespread due to its relative ease of use and ability to look at all exposure routes. Currently, biological monitoring measures the corresponding isocyanate-derived diamine in urine, after hydrolysis. Because of this, any exposure to the diamines themselves released during the industrial process could confound the assessment of diisocyanate exposure.

Mycobacterium chimaera and cardiac surgery.

There is an ongoing investigation into infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria associated with contaminated heater-cooler units used in cardiac surgery. The overall risk is low, but surgical site and disseminated infections have been reported, including one possible case in Australia, mainly with surgery involving implantation of prosthetic material. Mycobacterium chimaera infection should be considered in patients who have previously undergone surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass and who present with cardiac or disseminated infection or sternal wound infection unresponsive to standard antibiotic therapy.

Evolutionary origins of the emergent ST796 clone of vancomycin resistant .

From early 2012, a novel clone of vancomycin resistant (assigned the multi locus sequence type ST796) was simultaneously isolated from geographically separate hospitals in south eastern Australia and New Zealand. Here we describe the complete genome sequence of Ef_aus0233, a representative ST796 isolate. We used PacBio single molecule real-time sequencing to establish a high quality, fully assembled genome comprising a circular chromosome of 2,888,087 bp and five plasmids.

Comparative physiological, biochemical and molecular thermal stress response profiles for two unionid freshwater mussel species.

Freshwater mussels, aquatic keystone species, are in global decline. Long life spans, sedentary lifestyles, and unique reproductive strategies involving obligate parasitic stages make unionid freshwater mussels particularly sensitive to environmental perturbations resulting from global climate change. A greater understanding of the mechanisms by which closely related species differ in their response to thermal challenge is critical for successful conservation and management practices.

Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance Australian Enterococcal Sepsis Outcome Programme annual report, 2014.

From 1 January to 31 December 2014, 27 institutions around Australia participated in the Australian Enterococcal Sepsis Outcome Programme (AESOP). The aim of AESOP 2014 was to determine the proportion of enterococcal bacteraemia isolates in Australia that were antimicrobial resistant, and to characterise the molecular epidemiology of the Enterococcus faecium isolates. Of the 952 unique episodes of bacteraemia investigated, 94.

A Prescription for Resistance: Management of Staphylococcal Skin Abscesses by General Practitioners in Australia.

Objectives: We investigated the management of staphylococcal abscesses (boils) by general practitioners (GPs) in the context of rising antibiotic resistance in community strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

Design, Setting, Participants: We analyzed patient-reported management of 66 cases of uncomplicated skin abscesses from the frequency matched methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S.

Outbreak of vanB vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium colonization in a neonatal service.

Objective: To describe successful termination of an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) colonization within a neonatal service.

Setting: Multisite neonatal intensive care unit and special care nurseries within a single health care service.

Participants: Forty-four cases of VREfm-colonized neonatal inpatients-including 2 clinical isolates (eye swab and catheter-urine specimen) and 42 screening isolates.