Trampling impacts on thermotolerant vegetation of geothermal areas in New Zealand.

Geothermal features such as geysers, mud pools, sinter terraces, fumaroles, hot springs, and steaming ground are natural attractions often visited by tourists. Visitation rates for such areas in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand are in the order of hundreds of thousands annually. These areas are also habitat for rare and specialized plant and microbial communities that live in the steam-heated soils of unusual chemical composition.

Anti-A and anti-B titers in pooled group O platelets are comparable to apheresis platelets.

Background: Although uncommon, acute hemolytic transfusion reactions (AHTRs) have been reported after transfusion of group O single-donor apheresis platelets (SDPs) to group A, B, and AB recipients. Current methods for identifying "high-titer" SDPs include tube and gel methods. The risk of a high-titer unit is considered low with group O, poststorage, pooled platelet concentrates (PPLTs); however, data regarding anti-A and anti-B titers in PPLTs are lacking.