Conservation Values and Risk of Handling Bats: Implications for One Health Communication.

Flying-foxes provide critical ecosystem services, but their role as hosts to zoonotic pathogens may undermine conservation support. We surveyed 214 residents of Cairns, Australia, regarding their perceptions about health risks associated with flying-foxes and support for flying-fox conservation. Greater likelihood of handling a flying-fox was associated with lower knowledge about risks, greater conservation support, and environmental organization membership. Respondents less likely to seek medical attention after a minor scratch tended to be younger, unemployed and perceive lower risk. Individuals who support flying-fox conservation should be one group targeted in One Health communication integrating health and conservation messages.

Structure of semiconducting versus fast-ion conducting glasses in the Ag-Ge-Se system.

The transition from a semiconductor to a fast-ion conductor with increasing silver content along the Ag x (Ge0.25Se0.75)(100-x) tie line (0≤x≤25) was investigated on multiple length scales by employing a combination of electric force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and neutron diffraction. The microscopy results show separation into silver-rich and silver-poor phases, where the Ag-rich phase percolates at the onset of fast-ion conductivity. The method of neutron diffraction with Ag isotope substitution was applied to the x=5 and x=25 compositions, and the results indicate an evolution in structure of the Ag-rich phase with change of composition. The Ag-Se nearest-neighbours are distributed about a distance of 2.64(1) Å, and the Ag-Se coordination number increases from 2.6(3) at x=5 to 3.3(2) at x=25. For x=25, the measured Ag-Ag partial pair-distribution function gives 1.9(2) Ag-Ag nearest-neighbours at a distance of 3.02(2) Å. The results show breakage of Se-Se homopolar bonds as silver is added to the Ge0.25Se0.75 base glass, and the limit of glass-formation at x≃28 coincides with an elimination of these bonds. A model is proposed for tracking the breakage of Se-Se homopolar bonds as silver is added to the base glass.

High-pressure transformation of SiO2 glass from a tetrahedral to an octahedral network: a joint approach using neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics.

A combination of in situ high-pressure neutron diffraction at pressures up to 17.5(5) GPa and molecular dynamics simulations employing a many-body interatomic potential model is used to investigate the structure of cold-compressed silica glass. The simulations give a good account of the neutron diffraction results and of existing x-ray diffraction results at pressures up to ~60 GPa. On the basis of the molecular dynamics results, an atomistic model for densification is proposed in which rings are "zipped" by a pairing of five- and/or sixfold coordinated Si sites. The model gives an accurate description for the dependence of the mean primitive ring size ⟨n⟩ on the mean Si-O coordination number, thereby linking a parameter that is sensitive to ordering on multiple length scales to a readily measurable parameter that describes the local coordination environment.

Point-of-care utrasound use over six-month training period in Rwandan district hospitals

Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an effective diagnostic technology in resource-limited settings. There is increasing interest in introducing ultrasound training in such environments, but few reports describing long-term follow-up and impact of a POCUS program in a resource-limited setting. We introduced a POCUS program in Rwanda, and sought to determine the number and type of ultrasounds performed, the impact of a remote quality assurance (QA) program, and the effect of POCUS on patient management. Methods: Seventeen Rwandan physicians underwent a ten-day training course in POCUS in Kigali, Rwanda. Post-course, participants tracked the ultrasounds they performed using a cloud-based storage system, recorded clinical impressions,and received periodic QA with on-site proctoring over a six-month follow-up. Remote QA to evaluate image quality was performed by five emergency ultrasound fellowshiptrained clinicians. Images were graded on a scale of 0­4. (0=no meaningful image, 2= adequate, 4= outstanding). Trainees also documented how POCUS changed clinical management. Results: Over six months, 1158 ultrasounds were performed and logged by fifteen participants at eleven regional hospitals. 590(50.9%) had matched images and interpretations available for review. Abdominal ultrasound was the most frequently performed application (19.7%), followed by liver (14.6%), obstetrics (14.5%), renal (12.4%),and spleen (11%). Across all applications, the mean score was 2.5 (SD± 0.11, 95% confidence interval, 2.39­2.54). Ultrasound result in a management change in 84% of cases. Major changes in management related to medication choice (42.4%), admission (30%), transfer to a higher level of care (28.1%), and performance of procedures (23.3%). Conclusions: During this six-month training program in Rwanda, participants used POCUS for a range of applications. The remote QA process captured 51% of ultrasounds performed. Of scans with QA, the average score was adequate to good. POCUS routinely changed clinical management. This study demonstrates the impact of POCUS in a resource-limited setting

Mechanisms of network collapse in GeO2 glass: high-pressure neutron diffraction with isotope substitution as arbitrator of competing models.

The structure of the network forming glass GeO(2) is investigated by making the first application of the method of in situ neutron diffraction with isotope substitution at pressures increasing from ambient to 8 GPa. Of the various models, the experimental results are in quantitative agreement only with molecular dynamics simulations made using interaction potentials that include dipole-polarization effects. When the reduced density ρ/ρ(0) > or approximately equal to 1.16, where ρ(0) is the value at ambient pressure, network collapse proceeds via an interplay between the predominance of distorted square pyramidal GeO(5) units versus octahedral GeO(6) units as they replace tetrahedral GeO(4) units. This replacement necessitates the formation of threefold coordinated oxygen atoms and leads to an increase with density in the number of small rings, where a preference is shown for sixfold rings when ρ/ρ(0) = 1 and fourfold rings when ρ/ρ(0) = 1.64.

Density-driven structural transformations in network forming glasses: a high-pressure neutron diffraction study of GeO2 glass up to 17.5 GPa.

The structure of GeO(2) glass was investigated at pressures up to 17.5(5) GPa using in situ time-of-flight neutron diffraction with a Paris-Edinburgh press employing sintered diamond anvils. A new methodology and data correction procedure were developed, enabling a reliable measurement of structure factors that are largely free from diamond Bragg peaks. Calibration curves, which are important for neutron diffraction work on disordered materials, were constructed for pressure as a function of applied load for both single and double toroid anvil geometries. The diffraction data are compared to new molecular-dynamics simulations made using transferrable interaction potentials that include dipole-polarization effects. The results, when taken together with those from other experimental methods, are consistent with four densification mechanisms. The first, at pressures up to approximately equal 5 GPa, is associated with a reorganization of GeO(4) units. The second, extending over the range from approximately equal 5 to 10 GPa, corresponds to a regime where GeO(4) units are replaced predominantly by GeO(5) units. In the third, as the pressure increases beyond ~10 GPa, appreciable concentrations of GeO(6) units begin to form and there is a decrease in the rate of change of the intermediate-range order as measured by the pressure dependence of the position of the first sharp diffraction peak. In the fourth, at about 30 GPa, the transformation to a predominantly octahedral glass is achieved and further densification proceeds via compression of the Ge-O bonds. The observed changes in the measured diffraction patterns for GeO(2) occur at similar dimensionless number densities to those found for SiO(2), indicating similar densification mechanisms for both glasses. This implies a regime from about 15 to 24 GPa where SiO(4) units are replaced predominantly by SiO(5) units, and a regime beyond ~24 GPa where appreciable concentrations of SiO(6) units begin to form.

Polarized gamma-ray emission from the crab.

Pulsar systems accelerate particles to immense energies. The detailed functioning of these engines is still poorly understood, but polarization measurements of high-energy radiation may allow us to locate where the particles are accelerated. We have detected polarized gamma rays from the vicinity of the Crab pulsar using data from the spectrometer on the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory satellite. Our results show polarization with an electric vector aligned with the spin axis of the neutron star, demonstrating that a substantial fraction of the high-energy electrons responsible for the polarized photons are produced in a highly ordered structure close to the pulsar.

Diagnostic and prognostic importance of T-cell receptor gene analysis in patients with Sézary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Sézary syndrome (SS) is characterized by erythroderma, peripheral lymphadenopathy, and circulating Sézary cells and is clinically heterogeneous. METHODS: T-cell receptor (TCR) gene analysis was performed using DNA extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 74 patients, and the results were correlated with a variety of other diagnostic parameters and patient outcomes. RESULTS: Two groups were identified: 66 patients with clonal TCR gene rearrangement (clonal patients) detected with Southern blot analysis and/or polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis and 8 patients with no clonal rearrangement detected (nonclonal patients) using either technique. Clonal patients were compared with nonclonal patients. The following median blood parameters were significantly greater in the clonal group: total white cell count (13.7 10(9)/L vs. 9.6 10(9)/L), lymphocyte count (4.9 10(9)/L vs. 2.2 10(9)/L), absolute Sézary count (3.22 10(9)/L vs. 0.99 10(9)/L), CD4 count (3.17 10(9)/L vs. 1.36 10(9)/L), and CD4:CD8 ratio (15.86 vs. 3.21). An expanded population of T-cells of a specific TCR variable beta subset was detected in 7 of 36 clonal patients and in 1 of 4 nonclonal patients. Cytogenetic analysis of peripheral blood from 1 nonclonal patient and 6 clonal patients was normal. The median survival from the time of diagnosis was 45 months in the clonal group, and 40 of 49 deaths were cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)-related, whereas 3 deaths in the nonclonal group were unrelated to CTCL (P < 0.01; log-rank test). Multivariate proportional hazards analysis showed that the absolute Sézary count and lymph node status were independent prognostic variables (P = 0.016 and P = 0.036, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: TCR gene analysis defines a distinct clinicopathologic group of patients with SS. Clonal patients have a poor prognosis and are likely to die from leukemia/lymphoma, whereas nonclonal patients may have a reactive, inflammatory T-cell disorder. The authors suggest that the definitive diagnostic criteria for patients with SS should include the presence of a clonal TCR gene rearrangement.

A novel use of ultrasound in pulseless electrical activity: the diagnosis of an acute abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture.

We report a case of a patient who presented to the Emergency Department with pulseless electrical activity. A rapid diagnosis of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm was made by Emergency Medicine bedside ultrasonography. On arrival, the patient was without palpable pulses and bradycardic. Therapy with epinephrine, fluids, and atropine was initiated. A bedside ultrasound was immediately performed and revealed coordinated cardiac motion with empty ventricles. A rapid search for signs of blood loss in the abdomen revealed a large abdominal aortic aneurysm. Pulses were restored with fluid, blood, and epinephrine and surgical intervention was begun within 30 min of patient arrival.

N2-dependent growth and nitrogenase activity in the metal-metabolizing bacteria, Geobacter and Magnetospirillum species.

Cells of Geobacter metallireducens, Magnetospirillum strain AMB-1, Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum and Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense showed N2-dependent growth, the first anaerobically with Fe(III) as the electron acceptor, and the latter three species microaerobically in semi-solid oxygen gradient cultures. Cells of the Magnetospirillum species grown with N2 under microaerobic conditions were magnetotactic and therefore produced magnetosomes. Cells of Geobacter metallireducens reduced acetylene to ethylene (11.5+/-5.9 nmol C2H4 produced min(-1) mg(-1) cell protein) while growing with Fe(III) as the electron acceptor in anaerobic growth medium lacking a fixed nitrogen source. Cells of the Magnetospirillum species, grown in a semi-solid oxygen gradient medium, also reduced acetylene at comparable rates. Uncut chromosomal and fragments from endonuclease-digested chromosomal DNA from these species, as well as Geobacter sulphurreducens organisms, hybridized with a nifHDK probe from Rhodospirillum rubrum, indicating the presence of these nitrogenase structural genes in these organisms. The evidence presented here shows that members of the metal-metabolizing genera, Geobacter and Magnetospirillum, fix atmospheric dinitrogen.

Genome analysis of several marine, magnetotactic bacterial strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

The genomic DNA of three strains of marine magnetotactic bacteria, including two facultatively anaerobic vibrios, strains MV-1 and MV-2, and the microaerophilic coccus, strain MC-1, was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Digestion of the genomic DNA of strain MV-1 by the restriction endonucleases AvrII, BamHI, HindIII, NheI, SalI, SfiI, SgfI, SgrAI, and XbaI resulted in a large number of fragments below 400 kb that were difficult to resolve by PFGE. Digestion of MV-1 DNA with NotI and RsrII resulted in no fragments. Treatment of genomic DNA of strains MV-1 and MV-2 with PacI, PmeI, and SpeI yielded a manageable number of fragments (ca. 20) that were relatively easily resolved with PFGE, while PacI and SpeI were effective for strain MC-1. There was no evidence for the presence of plasmids and linear chromosomes in any of the strains, and strains MV-1 and MV-2 appear to contain a single, circular chromosome. Genome sizes of strains MV-1, MV-2, and MC-1 were estimated to be between 3.6 and 3.9 Mb (mean +/- SD; 3.7 +/- 0.2), 3. 3 and 3.7 Mb (3.6 +/- 0.2), and 4.3 and 4.7 Mb (4.5 +/- 0.3), respectively. The restriction fragment patterns of the vibrioid strains MV-1 and MV-2 were extremely similar, suggesting that the strains are closely related.

A study of the metabolism and kinetics of SK&F 94120 and two structural analogues in rat hepatocytes and in vivo.

The major route of metabolism of 5-(4-acetamidophenyl)pyrazin-2(1H)-one (SK&F 94120) was by glucuronidation at the oxygen of the pyrazinone ring. Other metabolites originated from metabolism by gut microflora with subsequent hepatic metabolism (Ross et al., 1988). SK&F 94120 was metabolized by cultures of rat hepatocytes to a glucuronide conjugate and was rapidly cleared in the hepatocyte system (Cl(int) = 0.320 ml/hr/mg protein). A structural analogue (SK&F 94467) was not glucuronidated by rat hepatocytes and therefore its clearance in vitro could not be detected. In vivo SK&F 94120 was rapidly cleared from the plasma. Plasma clearance was greater for SK&F 94120 than for SK&F 94467, which is consistent with data from the hepatocyte system. Thus the mean retention time of SK&F 94467 in vivo is longer than for SK&F 94120.

The disposition of SK&F L-94901, a selective thyromimetic in rat, dog and cynomolgus monkey.

SK&F L-94901 is a novel thyromimetic, structurally related to thyroxine. The absorption, distribution, excretion and metabolism of radiochemically labelled [14C]-SK&F L-94901 has been investigated in the rat, dog and cynomolgus monkey. Oral absorption from solution was low or moderate in all three species. The compound was widely distributed and rapidly excreted, although traces of radioactivity were still evident in some tissues at 7 days post-dose, particularly in the kidney where radioactivity was located in an area approximating to the corticomedullary junction. Elimination of [14C]-SK&F L-94901 was both metabolic, mediated by the liver, and renal. The major metabolic routes of elimination were via oxidative deamination to lactate and acetate derivatives.

Refining the hair-bearing flap.

The availability of hair-bearing flaps offers patients a more extensive choice of corrective procedures for baldness. The hair-bearing axial temporoparietal-occipital (TPO) flap which we prefer is based on the superficial temporal artery and extends well past the posterior midline. The procedure is performed in the office. The "instant" and exceptionally dense hair which grows in patients with sparse, limited, and finely textured hair is a distinct advantage over the hair transplanted by punch autograft technique. Since the surgery involved is formidable, the patient must be highly motivated, well-informed and advised realistically about the results available with this procedure. A well-planned and properly executed TPO flap procedure is the best method for obtaining the density of hair and the appearance desired within the shortest time.

Updating reduction and flap procedures for baldness.

Corrective surgery for baldness now includes scalp reduction, hair-bearing flaps, and punch autografts. When baldness is mild to extreme in the vertex or anterior vertex, scalp reduction is usually indicated. By reducing the bald area of patient with extreme alopecia, a dense back-ground of hair is provided for implants in both the anterior vertex and frontal regions. Hair-bearing flaps are recommended for those with a marginal outline pattern of excessive baldness and for those with very fine, sparse hair who wish to attain strong and dense frontal growth. Using these advancements results in immediate or "instant" hair. All available adjuncts should be considered for adequate coverage and a natural appearance in the extremely bald patient.

Thymosin-inducible lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with malignant melanoma.

E rosette-forming (T) lymphocytes and surface immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes were estimated in 85 patients with malignant melanoma. The melanoma patient group had lower mean levels of T lymphocytes and higher mean levels of immunoglobulin-bearing (? B) lymphocytes than did normal subjects. The absolute and percentage depressions of T-cell levels in the melanoma patients were stage-related, as was the depression of total lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte levels. The T lymphopenia in the melanoma patients could, in vitro, be partially abolished by fetal calf serum (as used in many E rosetting methods), and could be totally abolished by thymosin fraction 5 (Hoffmann-La Roche) at optimum concentration. In view of the ability of thymosin to restore T cells to normal levels in all of the T-lymphopenic patients, a clinical trial of this hormone in selected melanoma patients of all stages appears to be warranted.