Antibiotic resistance gene levels within a highly urbanised estuary.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are increasingly being found in aquatic environments, representing a potential threat to public health. To examine the dynamics and potential sources of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) in urbanised waterways, we performed a six-month temporal study at six locations within the Sydney Harbour estuary. These locations spanned a salinity gradient from seawater at the mouth of the harbour to freshwater at the more urbanised western sites.

Faecal contamination determines bacterial assemblages over natural environmental parameters within intermittently opened and closed lagoons (ICOLLs) during high rainfall.

Intermittently closed and opened lakes and lagoons (ICOLLs) provide important ecosystem services, including food provision and nutrient cycling. These ecosystems generally experience low watershed outflow, resulting in substantial fluctuations in physicochemical parameters that are often compounded by anthropogenic contamination, however, how this impacts the patterns in microbiology within these environments remains uncharacterised. Therefore, we aimed to determine how seasonal heterogeneity in the physicochemical parameters, in comparison to faecal contamination, alter the dynamics of bacterial communities inhabiting ICOLLs on the eastern Australian coast.

Lithiation Induced Phases in 1T'-MoTe Nanoflakes.

Multiple polytypes of MoTe with distinct structures and intriguing electronic properties can be accessed by various physical and chemical approaches. Here, we report electrochemical lithium (Li) intercalation into 1T'-MoTe nanoflakes, leading to the discovery of two previously unreported lithiated phases. Distinguished by their structural differences from the pristine 1T' phase, these distinct phases were characterized using polarization Raman spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Perceptual Thresholds for Radial Optic Flow Distortion in Near-Eye Stereoscopic Displays.

We provide the first perceptual quantification of user's sensitivity to radial optic flow artifacts and demonstrate a promising approach for masking this optic flow artifact via blink suppression. Near-eye HMOs allow users to feel immersed in virtual environments by providing visual cues, like motion parallax and stereoscopy, that mimic how we view the physical world. However, these systems exhibit a variety of perceptual artifacts that can limit their usability and the user's sense of presence in VR.

Synthetic Reader-Actuators Targeted to Polycomb-Silenced Genes Block Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Proliferation and Invasion.

Scientists have used pharmacological inhibitors of polycomb proteins to restore the expression of tumor suppressor genes and stop cancer proliferation and invasion. A major limitation of this approach is that key transcriptional activators, such as TP53 and BAF SWI/SNF, are often mutated in cancer. Poor clinical results for polycomb-targeting therapies in solid cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), could discourage the further development of epigenetic monotherapies.

Identification and quantification of Acanthamoeba spp. within seawater at four coastal lagoons on the east coast of Australia.

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic free-living heterotrophic protist that is the most predominant amoeba in diverse ecological habitats. Acanthamoeba causes amoebic keratitis (AK), a painful and potentially blinding corneal infection. Major risk factors for AK have been linked to non-optimal contact lens hygiene practices and Acanthamoeba contamination of domestic and recreational water.

Two-Dimensional Violet Phosphorus P: A Large Band Gap Phosphorus Allotrope.

The discovery of novel large band gap two-dimensional (2D) materials with good stability and high carrier mobility will innovate the next generation of electronics and optoelectronics. A new allotrope of 2D violet phosphorus P was synthesized via a salt flux method in the presence of bismuth. Millimeter-sized crystals of violet-P were collected after removing the salt flux with DI water.

PIC recruitment by synthetic reader-actuators to polycomb-silenced genes blocks triple-negative breast cancer invasion.

Scientists have used small molecule inhibitors and genetic knockdown of gene-silencing polycomb repressive complexes (PRC1/2) to determine if restoring the expression of tumor suppressor genes can block proliferation and invasion of cancer cells. A major limitation of this approach is that inhibitors can not restore key transcriptional activators that are mutated in many cancers, such as p53 and members of the BRAF SWI/SNF complex. Furthermore, small molecule inhibitors can alter the activity of, rather than inhibit, the polycomb enzyme EZH2.

Risk evaluation of cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure: A call for action.

Background: Cognitive impairment (CI) is common in patients with heart failure (HF) and impacts treatment adherence and other aspects of patient life in HF. Recognition of CI in patients with HF is therefore important. We aimed to develop a risk model with easily available patient characteristics, to identify patients with HF who are at high risk to be cognitively impaired and in need for further cognitive investigation.

Legacy metal contamination is reflected in the fish gut microbiome in an urbanised estuary.

Estuaries are critical habitats subject to a range of stressors requiring effective management. Microbes are gaining recognition as effective environmental indicators, however, the response of host associated communities to stressors remains poorly understood. We examined microbial communities from seawater, sediments and the estuarine fish Pelates sexlineatus, in Australia's largest urbanised estuary, and hypothesised that anthropogenic contamination would be reflected in the microbiology of these sample types.

Compact Super Electron-Donor to Monolayer MoS.

The surface functionalization of two-dimensional (2D) materials with organic electron donors (OEDs) is a powerful tool to modulate the electronic properties of the material. Here we report a novel molecular dopant, Me-OED, that demonstrates record-breaking molecular doping to MoS, achieving a carrier density of 1.10 ± 0.

Molecular microbiological approaches reduce ambiguity about the sources of faecal pollution and identify microbial hazards within an urbanised coastal environment.

Urbanised beaches are regularly impacted by faecal pollution, but management actions to resolve the causes of contamination are often obfuscated by the inability of standard Faecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) analyses to discriminate sources of faecal material or detect other microbial hazards, including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). We aimed to determine the causes, spatial extent, and point sources of faecal contamination within Rose Bay, a highly urbanised beach within Sydney, Australia's largest city, using molecular microbiological approaches. Sampling was performed across a network of transects originating at 9 stormwater drains located on Rose Bay beach over the course of a significant (67.

Outpatient Opioid Prescribing Habits in Pediatric Patients With Bone Sarcomas After Undergoing Primary Tumor Resection.

Background: The majority of children with bone sarcomas experience pain. Opioids remain the mainstay treatment of cancer-related pain in children. The patterns of outpatient opioid prescription after surgery for primary bone sarcomas remains unknown.

Comparison of forces generated using compression plating versus a magnetic lengthening nail in a sawbones femur model.

Background: The purpose of this study is to compare compression generated by a Precice magnetic lengthening intramedullary nail and a 5.0 mm limited contact dynamic compression plate.

Methods: Transverse osteotomy sites were created in the femoral shaft of ten Sawbones fourth generation composite femurs.

Meta-Analysis of Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Background: Trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have published patient-reported quality of life (QOL), but the size and heterogeneity of this literature can make patient education difficult. This meta-analysis aimed to describe change in QOL and symptomatology in patients receiving ICIs for cancer.

Methods: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, databases were searched through November 2019 for articles or abstracts of prospective, original studies reporting longitudinal QOL in adult cancer patients treated with ICIs.

Redirected Walking in Static and Dynamic Scenes Using Visibility Polygons.

We present a new approach for redirected walking in static and dynamic scenes that uses techniques from robot motion planning to compute the redirection gains that steer the user on collision-free paths in the physical space. Our first contribution is a mathematical framework for redirected walking using concepts from motion planning and configuration spaces. This framework highlights various geometric and perceptual constraints that tend to make collision-free redirected walking difficult.

The Ocean Carbon Response to COVID-Related Emissions Reductions.

The decline in global emissions of carbon dioxide due to the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to investigate the sensitivity of the global carbon cycle and climate system to emissions reductions. Recent efforts to study the response to these emissions declines has not addressed their impact on the ocean, yet ocean carbon absorption is particularly susceptible to changing atmospheric carbon concentrations. Here, we use ensembles of simulations conducted with an Earth system model to explore the potential detection of COVID-related emissions reductions in the partial pressure difference in carbon dioxide between the surface ocean and overlying atmosphere (ΔpCO), a quantity that is regularly measured.

Cardiac Structure and Function Is Associated With Hemispatial Neglect Severity.

Hemispatial neglect is a debilitating consequence of right hemispheric ischemic stroke (RIS), with evidence that patient-level factors influence neglect severity. Study objective: Determine if cardiac function is associated with presence and severity of neglect, independent of infarct size. Two hundred and eighteen non-demented, RIS with cerebral MRI and echocardiography who completed ≥1 of 4 tests evaluating neglect were included.

ARC: Alignment-based Redirection Controller for Redirected Walking in Complex Environments.

We present a novel redirected walking controller based on alignment that allows the user to explore large and complex virtual environments, while minimizing the number of collisions with obstacles in the physical environment. Our alignment-based redirection controller, ARC, steers the user such that their proximity to obstacles in the physical environment matches the proximity to obstacles in the virtual environment as closely as possible. To quantify a controller's performance in complex environments, we introduce a new metric, Complexity Ratio (CR), to measure the relative environment complexity and characterize the difference in navigational complexity between the physical and virtual environments.

Secondary Chondrosarcoma Arising from the Proximal Fibula Presenting as Sciatica.

Introduction: Secondary chondrosarcoma is a rare entity arising from a pre-existing cartilaginous lesion. Transformation of an osteochondroma to a chondrosarcoma occurs in <1% of cases. Sciatica is a common problem that can cause significant pain, weakness, and numbness.

Bupivacaine and Lidocaine Induce Apoptosis in Osteosarcoma Tumor Cells.

Background: Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in adolescents. There have been no significant improvements in outcomes since chemotherapy was first introduced. Bupivacaine and lidocaine have been shown to be toxic to certain malignancies.

Antiproliferative effect of bupivacaine on patient-derived sarcoma cells.

Sarcomas are rare tumors with limited treatment options. Although chemotherapy is standard for certain subtypes, overall survival has not improved in several decades. Bupivacaine has been shown to induce apoptosis and prevent cell growth in multiple different types of malignancies but has not been studied in sarcoma.