Social media as a novel source of data on the impact of marine litter on megafauna: The Philippines as a case study.

Marine litter is a global threat to marine biodiversity. However, there is a key knowledge gap on the impacts of marine litter in the Philippines - a country of high marine biodiversity and large exclusive economic zone. This gap is addressed here by using information shared on the internet by citizen scientists and conservation groups to assess the impacts of marine litter on megafauna. Facebook, presently the largest social media platform, was scanned for posts concerning the interaction between litter and marine species in the Philippines. Results showed thirty-two individuals from 17 species were affected by marine litter in the country. Furthermore, ingestion (61%) was the most frequent interaction reported. Mindanao was also identified as a hotspot for marine litter interactions. The study highlights the utility of social media in providing data to create an inventory of marine species adversely affected by litter and the spatial distribution of these interactions.

Engineered stem cell-derived microglia as therapeutic vehicle for experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Inflammation can be prevented in most inflammatory brain diseases, while tissue repair of the lesioned central nervous system (CNS) is still a major challenge. The CNS is difficult to access for protein therapeutics due to the blood-brain barrier. Here, we show that genetically engineered embryonic stem cell-derived microglia (ESdM) are a suitable therapeutic vehicle for neurotrophin-3 (NT3) in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The intravenously transplanted ESdM migrated into the inflammatory CNS lesions and engrafted there as microglial cells. EAE afflicted mice treated with ESdM that were genetically modified to express NT3 showed stable recovery from disease symptoms. The NT3-transduced ESdM created an anti-inflammatory cytokine milieu in the spinal cord and promoted neuronal sprouting. Furthermore, mice treated with NT3-transduced ESdM showed less axonal injury and reduced demyelination. Thus, genetically modified ESdM represent a suitable tool to introduce therapeutic neuroprotective and repair-promoting proteins into the CNS in neuroinflammatory diseases.

Biogeographic and quantitative analyses of abundant uncultivated gamma-proteobacterial clades from marine sediment.

16S rRNA gene-based molecular analyses revealed the presence of several large and so far uncultivated clades within class gamma-Proteobacteria, designated gamma-proteobacterial marine sediment (GMS) clades 1 to 4, in marine sediment. The GMS clades appear only indigenous to marine sediment and so far have an unknown functionality. SYBR Green-based real-time PCR analyses using GMS clade-specific primers indicated GMS clades were a significant part of the bacterial community (0.3-8.7% of total 16S rRNA genes) in both polar and temperate marine sediment samples. Univariate statistical analyses indicated that GMS clade communities were indistinguishable in two temperate coastal sediment samples even though these possessed very different mean grain sizes, organic contents, and organic loading rates. GMS clade communities were slightly different (p < 0.05) between polar and temperate sites, suggesting that psychrophilic adaptation among GMS clade taxa corresponds only to subtle phylogenetic differences. Similar levels of difference were also observed through a sediment core reflecting that through the sediment core history, which spanned approximately 3000 years, GMS clonal diversity shifted only marginally.

Central line sepsis in children with gastrointestinal disorders.

Central venous catheter sepsis is the most common complication encountered when children are maintained on total parenteral nutritional therapy. In this article, the author describes children with gastrointestinal diseases who require total parenteral nutritional therapy. The organisms involved in causing central line sepsis and clinical presentation of the infection are covered. Pharmacological interventions aimed at treating the infection as well as infection control measures are described. Implications for infection control for nurses and others caring for these children are offered.