UV radiation and organic matter composition shape bacterial functional diversity in sediments.

UV radiation and organic matter (OM) composition are known to influence the species composition of bacterioplankton communities. Potential effects of UV radiation on bacterial communities residing in sediments remain completely unexplored to date. However, it has been demonstrated that UV radiation can reach the bottom of shallow waters and wetlands and alter the OM composition of the sediment, suggesting that UV radiation may be more important for sediment bacteria than previously anticipated. It is hypothesized here that exposure of shallow OM-containing sediments to UV radiation induces OM source-dependant shifts in the functional composition of sediment bacterial communities. This study therefore investigated the combined influence of both UV radiation and OM composition on bacterial functional diversity in laboratory sediments. Two different OM sources, labile and recalcitrant OM, were used and metabolic diversity was measured with Biolog GN. Radiation exerted strong negative effects on the metabolic diversity in the treatments containing recalcitrant OM, more than in treatments containing labile OM. The functional composition of the bacterial community also differed significantly between the treatments. Our findings demonstrate that a combined effect of UV radiation and OM composition shapes the functional composition of microbial communities developing in sediments, hinting that UV radiation may act as an important sorting mechanism for bacterial communities and driver for bacterial functioning in shallow waters and wetlands.

Increased benefit of alteplase in patients with ischemic stroke and a high body temperature.

BACKGROUND: In observational studies, a high body temperature has been associated with unfavorable outcome. In in vitro studies, the fibrinolytic activity of alteplase decreased 5% per degree Celsius reduction in temperature. The modifying effect of body temperature on treatment with alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke is unclear. We assessed the influence of baseline body temperature on the effect of alteplase on functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke, included in the Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) in Stroke (PAIS) trial. METHODS: PAIS was a randomized, double-blind clinical trial to assess the effect of high-dose paracetamol on functional outcome in patients with acute stroke. For this study, we selected all patients with ischemic stroke and randomization within 6 h of symptom onset. We estimated the effect of treatment with alteplase on the modified Rankin Scale score at 3 months with ordinal logistic regression, stratified by baseline body temperature. We made adjustments for confounding factors and expressed associations as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We also tested for interaction between treatment with alteplase and body temperature. RESULTS: We included 647 of the 1,400 patients in PAIS in our study. Treatment with alteplase was associated with improved functional outcome at 3 months (aOR 1.51, 95% CI 1.09-2.08). In the 286 patients (44%) with a baseline body temperature of 37.0°C or higher, alteplase was associated with a larger effect (aOR 2.13, 95% CI 1.28-3.45) than in patients with a temperature below 37.0°C (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 0.71-1.69). A test for interaction between body temperature and alteplase did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.18). CONCLUSION: Patients with ischemic stroke and a high body temperature may have a larger benefit of treatment with alteplase than patients with lower body temperatures. These findings are in line with those from in vitro studies, in which lowering temperature decreased the fibrinolytic activity of the enzyme alteplase. This interaction should be explored further in randomized clinical trials of thrombolytic therapy or modification of body temperature. Trials of therapeutic hypothermia should be controlled for treatment with thrombolytics, and trials of thrombolytic treatment should consider body temperature as a potential effect modifier.

Persistence of chironomids in metal polluted andean high altitude streams: does melanin play a role?

In high altitude Andean streams an intense solar radiation and coinciding metal pollution allow the persistence of only a few specialized taxa, including chironomids. The aim of the present study was therefore to determine the mechanisms underlying the persistence of chironomids under these multiple stress conditions, hypothesizing that melanin counteracts both the adverse effects of solar radiation and of metals. Melanin was determined in chironomids from reference and metal polluted streams at 3000 and 4000 m altitude, being 2-fold higher at 4000 m compared to 3000 m, and 2-fold higher in polluted streams than in reference streams at both altitudes. The field observations were experimentally verified by assessing the combined effects of Cu and UV-B on the survival and melanin concentration in larvae of the model species Chironomus riparius (Chironomidae, Diptera). In laboratory exposures, the highest melanin concentrations were found in larvae surviving toxic Cu concentrations, but not in those exposed to the highest UV-B radiation. Pre-exposure to UV-B decreased the sensitivity of the larvae to UV-B and to Cu+UV-B. It is concluded that in the field, melanin may protect chironomids partially against both elevated metal concentrations and solar radiation, allowing them to persist under the harshest conditions in high altitude streams.

Therapeutic hypothermia in acute ischemic stroke.

Increased body temperatures are common in the acute phase of stroke. Experimental and clinical studies have suggested that increased body temperatures are related to poor outcome. In animal studies of focal cerebral ischemia, early hypothermia consistently reduced infarct volume. Based on these findings, several Phase II clinical trials have been performed to study physical methods to reduce body temperature in patients with acute stroke. The feasibility and safety of these methods have not yet been established with sufficient certainty. Pharmacological lowering of body temperature may be an attractive alternative approach. In guidelines for the treatment of acute stroke, antipyretics are generally recommended to reduce fever, although their effect on functional outcome is unknown. There is currently no evidence from randomized trials to support routine use of physical or pharmacological cooling in acute stroke. Large randomized clinical trials are needed to study the effect of both physical and medical cooling on functional outcome after stroke.

PISA. The effect of paracetamol (acetaminophen) and ibuprofen on body temperature in acute stroke: protocol for a phase II double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial [ISRCTN98608690].

BACKGROUND: During the first days after stroke, one to two fifths of the patients develop fever or subfebrile temperatures. Body temperature is a strong prognostic factor after stroke. Pharmacological reduction of temperature in patients with acute ischaemic stroke may improve their functional outcome. Previously, we studied the effect of high dose (6 g daily) and low dose (3 g daily) paracetamol (acetaminophen) in a randomised placebo-controlled trial of 75 patients with acute ischemic stroke. In the high-dose paracetamol group, mean body temperature at 12 and 24 hours after start of treatment was 0.4 degrees C lower than in the placebo group. The effect of ibuprofen, another potent antipyretic drug, on body-core temperature in normothermic patients has not been studied. AIM: The aim of the present trial is to study the effects of high-dose paracetamol and ibuprofen on body temperature in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, and to study the safety of these treatments. DESIGN: Seventy-five (3 x 25) patients with acute ischaemic stroke confined to the anterior circulation will be randomised to treatment with either: 400 mg ibuprofen, 1000 mg acetaminophen, or with placebo 6 times daily during 5 days. Body-temperatures will be measured with a rectal electronic thermometer at the start of treatment and after 24 hours. An infrared tympanic thermometer will be used to monitor body temperature at 2-hour intervals during the first 24 hours and at 12-hour intervals thereafter. The primary outcome measure will be rectal temperature at 24 hours after the start of treatment. The study results will be analysed on an intent-to-treat basis, but an on-treatment analysis will also be performed. No formal interim analysis will be carried out.