Search

Successful microbial colonization of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract hinges on an organism's ability to overcome the intense competition for nutrients in the gut between the host and the resident gut microbiome. Enteric pathogens can exploit ethanolamine (EA) in the gut to bypass nutrient competition. However, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is an asymptomatic gut colonizer and, unlike well-studied enteric pathogens, harbors two genetically distinct ethanolamine utilization (eut) loci. Our investigation uncovered unique roles for each eut locus depending on EA utilization as a carbon or nitrogen source. Murine gut colonization studies demonstrated the necessity of both eut loci in the presence of intact gut microbiota for robust GI colonization by K. pneumoniae. Additionally, while some Escherichia coli gut isolates could metabolize EA, other commensals were incapable, suggesting that EA metabolism likely provides K. pneumoniae a selective advantage in gut colonization. Molecular and bioinformatic analyses unveiled the conservation of two eut loci among K. pneumoniae and a subset of the related taxa in the K. pneumoniae species complex, with the NtrC-RpoN regulatory cascade playing a pivotal role in regulation. These findings identify EA metabolism as a critical driver of K. pneumoniae niche establishment in the gut and propose microbial metabolism as a potential therapeutic avenue to combat K. pneumoniae infections. Author summary: Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is a leading cause of nosocomial infections but is considered a silent gut colonizer. A molecular understanding of how K. pneumoniae colonizes the GI tract and overcomes host- and resident gut microbiota-mediated colonization resistance requires further investigation. A direct mechanism of colonization resistance is through competition for the same nutrient resources. K. pneumoniae can sidestep nutrient competition by metabolizing ethanolamine as an alternative nutrient source, thus overcoming microbiota-mediated colonization resistance. The unique ethanolamine utilization loci of K. pneumoniae are both required for robust gut colonization and are conserved among K. pneumoniae, suggesting that ethanolamine metabolism is an important mediator of gut colonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind turbines pose a serious threat to bat populations, with hundreds of thousands of fatal collisions per year in the USA and Canada alone. This is concerning because bats are long-lived and slow to reproduce, making recovery from population declines difficult. Studies have shown that bats are attracted to turbines, and the lack of research on bat and wind turbine interactions in Australia limits our understanding of the impacts on bat populations. Curtailment, which restricts blade rotation at low wind speeds when bats are active, has been shown to be the most successful method of reducing collisions globally. Economically, losses from curtailment range from 1% to 4% of annual revenue in the northern hemisphere, while in Australia, the reduction is less than 0.1%. By incorporating site-specific weather and bat activity data, both economic and ecological losses can be further minimized. It is important to incorporate impacts into the planning stages of wind farm development and implement curtailment in Australia to prevent irreversible population declines. [Extracted from the article]

Wind energy is a rapidly expanding renewable technology with massive global investments; however, operating turbines are associated with bat strikes globally, and evidence suggests that without intervention, wind farm collisions could drive some common species to extinction. One widely regarded method for reducing strike mortality is operational mitigation, or curtailment, where turbine operation is restricted at low wind speeds. Despite an increasing number of studies in the Northern Hemisphere demonstrating curtailment effectiveness, no empirical studies have yet been conducted in Australia. This paper reports the findings of a curtailment study implemented at the Cape Nelson North wind farm in southwest Victoria, Australia. Conservation detection dog teams conducted mortality surveys between January and April in 2018 (before; pre‐curtailment) and 2019 (after; during curtailment). Results were consistent with similar studies in the USA and Europe, as curtailment significantly reduced pooled species mortality by 54%. Bat calls did not decline during the study period, and thus were not an explanation for the reduction in fatalities. This study demonstrates that curtailment is a valid method for reducing bat turbine collision in south‐eastern Australia. Consideration should be given to curtailment as a means to reduce bat turbine impacts in Australia, particularly at sites with known endangered and threatened populations, as we act to reduce anthropogenic climate change and its time‐sensitive negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing field-scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK since 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have been established, each delivering high-temporal resolution data in near-real time. Each site utilizes a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts epithermal neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to derive field-scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique insight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap between localized point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil moisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements are made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind speed and direction, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation. These near-real-time observational data can be used to improve the performance of hydrological models, validate remote sensing products, improve hydro-meteorological forecasting, and underpin applications across a range of other scientific fields. The most recent version of the COSMOS-UK dataset is publically available at 10.5285/b5c190e4-e35d-40ea-8fbe-598da03a1185 (Stanley et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing field scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK since 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have been established, each delivering high temporal resolution data in near-real time. Each site utilises a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts fast neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to derive field scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique insight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap between localised point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil moisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements are made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind speed and direction, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation. These near-real time observational data can be used to improve the performance of hydrological models, validate remote sensing products, improve hydro-meteorological forecasting and underpin applications across a range of other scientific fields. The most recent version of the COSMOS-UK dataset is publically available at https://doi.org/10.5285/37702a54-b7a4-40ff-b62e-d14b161b69ca (Stanley et al., 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: cost-benefit analysis; cost-effectiveness; detection dog; eradication; invasive species; scent; threatened species; análisis de costo-beneficio; erradicación; especie amenazada; especie invasora; olfato; perro detector; rentabilidad Perhaps the most useful of the studies that reported costs were those that compared detection dog costs to alternative techniques and provided a full itemization of the expense categories. A number of studies purchased dogs either from shelters or from professional sources for the purpose of the study; dogs sometimes worked with multiple handlers. Eleven studies compared dogs with human surveyors, although 3 of these simply made limited comments without providing supporting evidence (e.g., that dogs can reduce time and cost compared with human-based surveys [Nielsen et al. [54]], dogs are 5 times faster than humans [Bennett [7]], and dogs are 19 times faster than humans [Cristescu et al. [16]]). [Extracted from the article]

Textures and compositions of minerals can be used to infer the physiochemical conditions present within magmatic systems. Given that plagioclase is an abundant phase in many magmatic systems, understanding the link between texture and process is vital. Here, we present a database of textural and compositional data for > 1800 plagioclase crystals in mid-ocean ridge basalt from the Gakkel Ridge (Arctic Ocean) to investigate the physiochemical conditions and processes that govern the formation of plagioclase textures and compositions. The Gakkel basalts have high modal crystal contents (up to 50%). The crystal cargo is complex, with both individual plagioclase and glomerocrysts showing large variations in crystal habit, zoning and resorption. The most common types of zoning are reverse and patchy; we attribute patchy zoning to infilling following either skeletal growth or resorption. Resorption is abundant, with multiple resorption events commonly present in a single crystal, and results from both magmatic recharge and decompression. Periods of strong undercooling, distinct to quench crystallisation, are indicated by matured skeletal crystals and thin normally zoned melt inclusion-rich bands following resorption. Individual samples often contain diverse textural and compositional plagioclase groups. Furthermore, most plagioclase is not in equilibrium with its host melt. Finally, the porous open structures of some glomerocrysts suggest that they represent pieces of entrained disaggregated mush. We interpret this to indicate that the crystal cargo is not generally phenocrystic in origin. Instead, plagioclase crystals that formed in different parts of a mush-dominated plumbing system were entrained into ascending melts. The textures of individual crystals are a function of their respective histories of (under)cooling, magma mixing and decompression. The morphologies of melt inclusion trapped in the plagioclase crystals are associated with specific host crystal textures, suggesting a link between plagioclase crystallisation processes and melt inclusion entrapment. The database of plagioclase presented herein may serve as a template for the interpretation of plagioclase textures in magmatic systems elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the growth rate of COVID-19 were subject to significant uncertainty, as expected with limited data and difficulties in case ascertainment, but as cases were recorded in multiple countries and robust inferences could bemade. Topics include the impact of physical distancing interventions was typically not seen after implementation, and the temporal patterns are more critical than precise estimates of the time-insensitive basic reproduction number for initiating interventions.

Recruitment of food science and technology graduates remains a priority for the UK food industry in the wake of skills shortages. As a result of the contemporary pressures faced by the food industry, it is essential that students applying for such roles are aware of and ready for management, leadership, and relevant professional competencies. This collaborative study uses the industry‐informed established framework, namely, Competencies for Food Graduate Careers (CFGC) and assesses the integration of this resource into careers education for food‐related programs of four higher education institutions: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Nottingham and University of Reading. Mixed method analysis was conducted with students prior to and on conclusion of the teaching sessions, including surveys and focus groups. Students confirmed that CFGC was informative and useful for preparing them for a graduate career in food science and technology. No single method of integration of CFGC was proposed; instead, intervention can be undertaken by a variety of approaches, suitable for the level of study and Institutional operation as outlined in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To describe the clinical presentation, course of disease and health-care seeking behaviour of the first few hundred cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Methods We implemented the World Health Organization's First Few X cases and contacts investigation protocol for COVID-19. Trained public health professionals collected information on 381 virologically confirmed COVID-19 cases from 31 January 2020 to 9 April 2020. We actively followed up cases to identify exposure to infection, symptoms and outcomes. We also collected limited data on 752 symptomatic people testing negative for COVID-19, as a control group for analyses of the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of symptoms. Findings Approximately half of the COVID-19 cases were imported (196 cases; 51.4%), of whom the majority had recent travel to Italy (140 cases; 71.4%). Of the 94 (24.7%) secondary cases, almost all reported close contact with a confirmed case (93 cases; 98.9%), many through household contact (37 cases; 39.8%). By age, a lower proportion of children had COVID-19. Most cases presented with cough, fever and fatigue. The sensitivity and specificity of symptoms varied by age, with nonlinear relationships with age. Although the proportion of COVID-19 cases with fever increased with age, for those with other respiratory infections the occurrence of fever decreased with age. The occurrence of shortness of breath also increased with age in a greater proportion of COVID-19 cases. Conclusion The study has provided useful evidence for generating case definitions and has informed modelling studies of the likely burden of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]