Sulfur cycling at natural hydrocarbon and sulfur seeps in Santa Paula Creek, CA.

Biogeochemical cycling of sulfur is relatively understudied in terrestrial environments compared to marine environments. However, the comparative ease of access, observation, and sampling of terrestrial settings can expand our understanding of organisms and processes important in the modern sulfur cycle. Furthermore, these sites may allow for the discovery of useful process analogs for ancient sulfur-metabolizing microbial communities at times in Earth's past when atmospheric O2 concentrations were lower and sulfide was more prevalent in Earth surface environments. We identified a new site at Santa Paula Creek (SPC) in Ventura County, CA-a remarkable freshwater, gravel-bedded mountain stream charged with a range of oxidized and reduced sulfur species and heavy hydrocarbons from the emergence of subsurface fluids within the underlying sulfur- and organic-rich Miocene-age Monterey Formation. SPC hosts a suite of morphologically distinct microbial biofacies that form in association with the naturally occurring hydrocarbon seeps and sulfur springs. We characterized the geology, stream geochemistry, and microbial facies and diversity of the Santa Paula Creek ecosystem. Using geochemical analyses and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we found that SPC supports a dynamic sulfur cycle that is largely driven by sulfide-oxidizing microbial taxa, with contributions from smaller populations of sulfate-reducing and sulfur-disproportionating taxa. This preliminary characterization of SPC revealed an intriguing site in which to study geological and geochemical controls on microbial community composition and to expand our understanding of sulfur cycling in terrestrial environments.

Beyond Research Ethics: Novel Approaches of 3 Major Public Health Institutions to Provide Ethics Input on Public Health Practice Activities.

Public health institutions increasingly realize the importance of creating a culture in their organizations that values ethics. When developing strategies to strengthen ethics, institutions will have to take into account that while public health research projects typically undergo thorough ethics review, activities considered public health practice may not be subjected to similar oversight. This approach, based on a research-practice dichotomy, is increasingly being criticized as it does not adequately identify and manage ethically relevant risks to those affected by nonresearch activities. As a reaction, 3 major public health institutions (the World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Public Health Ontario) have implemented mechanisms for ethics review of public health practice activities. In this article, we describe and critically discuss the different modalities of the 3 approaches. We argue that although further evaluation is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the different approaches, public health institutions should strive to implement procedures to ensure that public health practice adheres to the highest ethical standards.

AdoMet analog synthesis and utilization: current state of the art.

S-Adenosyl-l-methionine (AdoMet) is an essential enzyme cosubstrate in fundamental biology with an expanding range of biocatalytic and therapeutic applications. In recent years, technologies enabling the synthesis and utilization of novel functional AdoMet surrogates have rapidly advanced. Developments highlighted within this brief review include improved syntheses of AdoMet analogs, unique S-adenosyl-l-methionine isosteres with enhanced stability, and corresponding applications in epigenetics, proteomics and natural product/small molecule diversification ('alkylrandomization').

Functional AdoMet Isosteres Resistant to Classical AdoMet Degradation Pathways.

S-adenosyl-l-methionine (AdoMet) is an essential enzyme cosubstrate in fundamental biology with an expanding range of biocatalytic and therapeutic applications. We report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of stable, functional AdoMet isosteres that are resistant to the primary contributors to AdoMet degradation (depurination, intramolecular cyclization, and sulfonium epimerization). Corresponding biochemical and structural studies demonstrate the AdoMet surrogates to serve as competent enzyme cosubstrates and to bind a prototypical class I model methyltransferase (DnrK) in a manner nearly identical to AdoMet. Given this conservation in function and molecular recognition, the isosteres presented are anticipated to serve as useful surrogates in other AdoMet-dependent processes and may also be resistant to, and/or potentially even inhibit, other therapeutically relevant AdoMet-dependent metabolic transformations (such as the validated drug target AdoMet decarboxylase). This work also highlights the ability of the prototypical class I model methyltransferase DnrK to accept non-native surrogate acceptors as an enabling feature of a new high-throughput methyltransferase assay.

Inhibition of aminoglycoside acetyltransferase resistance enzymes by metal salts.

Aminoglycosides (AGs) are clinically relevant antibiotics used to treat infections caused by both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as Mycobacteria. As with all current antibacterial agents, resistance to AGs is an increasing problem. The most common mechanism of resistance to AGs is the presence of AG-modifying enzymes (AMEs) in bacterial cells, with AG acetyltransferases (AACs) being the most prevalent. Recently, it was discovered that Zn(2+) metal ions displayed an inhibitory effect on the resistance enzyme AAC(6')-Ib in Acinetobacter baumannii and Escherichia coli. In this study, we explore a wide array of metal salts (Mg(2+), Cr(3+), Cr(6+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), and Au(3+) with different counter ions) and their inhibitory effect on a large repertoire of AACs [AAC(2')-Ic, AAC(3)-Ia, AAC(3)-Ib, AAC(3)-IV, AAC(6')-Ib', AAC(6')-Ie, AAC(6')-IId, and Eis]. In addition, we determine the MIC values for amikacin and tobramycin in combination with a zinc pyrithione complex in clinical isolates of various bacterial strains (two strains of A. baumannii, three of Enterobacter cloacae, and four of Klebsiella pneumoniae) and one representative of each species purchased from the American Type Culture Collection.

Conscientious objection to provision of legal abortion care.

Despite advances in scientific evidence, technologies, and human rights rationale for providing safe abortion, a broad range of cultural, regulatory, and health system barriers that deter access to abortion continues to exist in many countries. When conscientious objection to provision of abortion becomes one of these barriers, it can create risks to women's health and the enjoyment of their human rights. To eliminate this barrier, states should implement regulations for healthcare providers on how to invoke conscientious objection without jeopardizing women's access to safe, legal abortion services, especially with regard to timely referral for care and in emergency cases when referral is not possible. In addition, states should take all necessary measures to ensure that all women and adolescents have the means to prevent unintended pregnancies and to obtain safe abortion.

Tracking maternal mortality declines in Mongolia between 1992 and 2007: the importance of collaboration.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the declining trend in maternal mortality observed in Mongolia from 1992 to 2007 and its acceleration after 2001 following implementation of the Maternal Mortality Reduction Strategy by the Ministry of Health and other partners. METHODS: We performed a descriptive analysis of maternal mortality data collected through Mongolia's vital registration system and provided by the Mongolian Ministry of Health. The observed declining mortality trend was analysed for statistical significance using simple linear regression. We present the maternal mortality ratios from 1992 to 2007 by year and review the basic components of Mongolia's Maternal Mortality Reduction Strategy for 2001-2004 and 2005-2010. FINDINGS: Mongolia achieved a statistically significant annual decrease in its maternal mortality ratio of almost 10 deaths per 100 000 live births over the period 1992-2007. From 2001 to 2007, the maternal mortality ratio in Mongolia decreased approximately 47%, from 169 to 89.6 deaths per 100 000 live births. CONCLUSION: Disparities in maternal mortality represent one of the major persisting health inequities between low- and high-resource countries. Nonetheless, important reductions in low-resource settings are possible through collaborative strategies based on a horizontal approach and the coordinated involvement of key partners, including health ministries, national and international agencies and donors, health-care professionals, the media, nongovernmental organizations and the general public.

Applying the WHO strategic approach to strengthening first and second trimester abortion services in Mongolia.

Abortion was made legal on request in Mongolia in 1989, following the collapse of the socialist regime, and later bound by a range of regulations. Concerned about the high number of abortions and inadequate quality of care in abortion services, the Ministry of Health applied the World Health Organization's Strategic Approach to issues related to abortion and contraception in 2003. The aim was to develop policies and programmes to reduce unintended pregnancies, mitigate complications from unsafe abortion, and improve the quality of abortion and contraception services for all socio-economic groups, including adolescents. This paper describes the changes that arose from a strategic assessment, highlighting the introduction of mifepristone-misoprostol for second trimester abortion. The aim was to replace mini-caesarean section and intra-uterine injection of Rivanol (ethacridine lactate), so that second trimester abortions could take place earlier than at 20 weeks gestation. National standards and guidelines for comprehensive abortion care were developed, the national pre-service training curriculum was harmonized with the new guidelines, at least one-third of the country's obstetrician-gynaecologists were trained in manual vacuum aspiration and medical abortion, and three model comprehensive abortion care units were established to provide high quality services to women, high quality training for providers and serve as nodes for further scaling up.

The magnitude of abortion complications in Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate and describe the magnitude of abortion complications presenting at public hospitals in Kenya. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING: Hospital-based. Population Records of all women presenting prior to 22 weeks of gestation with abortion-related complications at selected hospitals during a three-week study period. All public tertiary and provincial hospitals were included; stratified random sampling was employed to select a subset of 54 district hospitals nationwide. METHODS: Data collectors identified 809 patients with abortion complications on all hospital wards and completed a standardised questionnaire for each by extracting information from the patient's hospital record. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence, aetiology, morbidity and mortality of abortion complications. RESULTS: Most women (80%) presented with incomplete abortion. Approximately 34% of the women had reached the second trimester of pregnancy. Adolescents (14-19 years old) accounted for approximately 16% of the study sample. Manual vacuum aspiration was used to manage 80% of first trimester cases. The projected annual number of women with abortion complications admitted to public hospitals in Kenya is 20,893. The case fatality rate was estimated to be 0.87% (95% CI 0.71-1.02%), so an estimated 182 (95% CI 148-213) of these women die annually. The annual incidence of incomplete abortion and other abortion-related complications per 1000 women aged 15 to 49 years is projected to be 3.03. CONCLUSIONS: The high rate of abortion-related morbidity and mortality documented in the study highlights the critical need to address the issue of unsafe abortion in Kenya.

A strategic assessment of abortion and contraception in Romania.

The history of fertility regulation in Romania illustrates the complex interactions between politics, women's reproductive health and rights and access to high quality care. This paper describes the current situation of abortion and contraception in Romania, based on national statistics, recent reproductive health surveys and the findings of a strategic assessment led by the Ministry of Health in late 2001. This rapid assessment employed a participatory, qualitative methodology. Over 500 people were interviewed from 145 institutions in 25 cities, towns and villages in Romania, about the range of actions needed to prevent unwanted pregnancies, reduce abortion-related morbidity and mortality and improve the quality, accessibility and availability of abortion and contraceptive services. Although much progress has been made in contraceptive services over the past ten years, improvements in abortion care have lagged considerably The assessment played an important role in raising team members' awareness and motivation to take action. Some of the issues identified are already being addressed by the institutions that took part. National standards and guidelines for comprehensive abortion care have been developed, contraceptive services have been expanded at primary health care level, sexual and reproductive health education provided by classroom teachers has been introduced in schools, and a study to test a model of comprehensive abortion care services for Romania is planned.

Reducing unplanned pregnancy and abortion in Zimbabwe through postabortion contraception.

In many countries, women treated for complications from spontaneous or unsafely induced abortion lack access to contraceptive services. As a result, many of them soon have a subsequent unplanned pregnancy or a repeat abortion, placing their health at increased risk. This report presents the results of a prospective intervention study on postabortion family planning conducted in the two largest public hospitals in Zimbabwe. Women at Harare Central Hospital, in the capital, received a postabortion family planning intervention, and Mpilo Central Hospital, in Bulawayo, served as the control site. The study cohort was 982 women, 527 of whom were followed for a 12-month period. During the follow-up period, significantly more women used highly effective methods of contraception, significantly fewer unplanned pregnancies occurred, and fewer repeat abortions were performed at the intervention site than at the control site. These results offer compelling evidence that ward-based contraceptive services provided to women treated for incomplete abortion can significantly reduce subsequent unplanned pregnancies. The results also suggest that postabortion family planning services can reduce the incidence of repeat abortion.