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Antarctic expeditions have a high risk of participant depression owing to long stays and isolated environments. By quantifying the stress state and changes in biomolecules over time before the onset of depressive symptoms, predictive markers of depression can be explored. Here, we evaluated the psychological changes in 30 participants in the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Urinary samples were collected every three months for a year, and comprehensive urinary metabolomic profiles were quantified using liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Five participants showed major depressive episodes (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) at 12 months. The urinary metabolites between these participants and the 25 unaffected participants were compared at individual metabolite and pathway levels. The individual comparisons showed the most significant differences at 12 months in 14 metabolites, including ornithine and beta-alanine. Data from shorter stays showed less significant differences. In contrast, pathway and enrichment analyses showed the most significant difference at three months and a less significant difference at longer stays. These time transitions of urinary metabolites could help in the development of urinary biomarkers to detect subjects with depressive episodes at an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We detected Histoplasma capsulatum in soil and penguin excreta in the Antarctic Peninsula by sequencing after performing species-specific PCR, confirming previous observations that this pathogen occurs more broadly than suspected. This finding highlights the need for surveillance of emerging agents of systemic mycoses and their transmission among regions, animals, and humans in Antarctica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica is endemic to the Southern Ocean, where iron supply is sporadic and its availability limits primary production. In iron fertilization experiments, P. antarctica showed a prompt and steady increase in cell abundance compared to heavily silicified diatoms along with enhanced colony formation. Here we utilized a transcriptomic approach to investigate molecular responses to alleviation of iron limitation in P. antarctica. We analyzed the transcriptomic response before and after (14 h, 24 h and 72 h) iron addition to a low‐iron acclimated culture. After iron addition, we observed indicators of a quick reorganization of cellular energetics, from carbohydrate catabolism and mitochondrial energy production to anabolism. In addition to typical substitution responses from an iron‐economic toward an iron‐sufficient state for flavodoxin (ferredoxin) and plastocyanin (cytochrome c6), we found other genes utilizing the same strategy involved in nitrogen assimilation and fatty acid desaturation. Our results shed light on a number of adaptive mechanisms that P. antarctica uses under low iron, including the utilization of a Cu‐dependent ferric reductase system and indication of mixotrophic growth. The gene expression patterns underpin P. antarctica as a quick responder to iron addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The three U.S. Antarctic research stations' medical facilities exist in an isolated, harsh environment, typical of many such facilities throughout the world. Emergency physicians frequently staff these medical facilities; however, most who are considering this have many misconceptions about the stations and about the scope of medical practice that exists there.Objective: This article illuminates how Antarctic medical practice is comparable with and dissimilar to other emergency medicine experiences and highlights information that any emergency physician-applicant to an isolated medical position should learn prior to accepting the position.Discussion: Antarctic medical care both parallels and differs from typical emergency medical practice in many ways, including the patient population, facilities, supplies, equipment, clinical duties (e.g., providing out- and inpatient medical and dental care, performing laboratory tests and imaging), and nonclinical duties (e.g., disaster planning, teaching, food service inspection, and public health officer). Climate-related limitations on medical evacuation epitomize the stations' isolation. Medical practice may be complicated by ethical issues common in other small isolated settings, such as a lack of privacy and confidentiality. Clinicians considering an isolated practice opportunity should ask basic questions to learn as much detailed information as possible prior to taking the positions.Conclusion: Medical practice at U.S. Antarctic stations, as at many remote health care facilities throughout the world, has similarities to standard emergency medical practice. Even so, significant differences result in a steep learning curve. Any clinicians considering practicing in these locations should carefully evaluate the practice and the environment in advance of any deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Antarctica is the coldest, farthest, and highest continent on Earth. Due to its extreme conditions and isolation, researchers undergo health assessments, which are prepared differently in each country. Health standards for National Arctic and Antarctic Polar Research Projects were prepared by our Faculty, and the scientists participating in the first national scientific expedition were assessed in the Department of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine. Materials and Methods: After one year of investigation, National Turkish Polar Research Health Standards (TUKAS) were prepared. Medical assessment of the candidate researchers was done according to these standards in our hospital. All the physical examinations, laboratory and radiologic results were recorded. Researchers were monitored all through the expedition and any medical condition was recorded. Results: Thirteen researchers attended the 1st Turkish Antarctic Scientific Expedition in 2016. Twelve researchers were assessed according to TUKAS. Cardiologic conditions were detected in four applicants. There was a history of tuberculosis in one applicant and hepatitis A and B in another. Also, there were minor gastrointestinal problems in three applicants. None of the detected conditions impeded participation. No serious health problems were reported during the expedition. Conclusion: Team members who are to work in Antarctica should be selected carefully by taking into account a physical examination and medical conditions. Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine has been selected for the examination of the Turkish team. Thus, the data, which will be kept in one center, will be an important resource for future scientific studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1983/1984, in the course of the 28th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, waterbody, ice cover, and surrounding glaciers of the lakes Untersee and Obersee were sampled along some depth profiles. The geochemical data of those samples, now available, show the homogeneity of both large lakes in vertical (down to the maximum depth) as well as in lateral directions. The comparison of isotope and chemical composition of lake water and adjoining glacier ice suggests strong differences in the long-term evolution between the lakes Untersee and Obersee. First data from a lakelet, embedded in the large morainic area to the west of Lake Untersee, are of special interest: the δ2H values of the lakelet water are lower than those of recent regional glacier ice by 50‰ SMOW. This fact indicates that the lakelet is fed episodically by Pleistocene dead ice, covered by the morainic material. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

COCHISE (Cosmological Observations at Concordia with High-sensitivity Instrument for Source Extraction) is a 2.6 m telescope located on the high Antarctic Plateau near the Italian-French Concordia Base. The telescope is mainly devoted to Cosmological observations, able to operate between 200 μm and 3 mm of wavelength. In this paper we describe the main characteristics of the instrument. We also report on the first light, obtained during summer 2010-2011: this result marks the beginning of millimetre astrophysical observations at Concordia. Responsivity, noise equivalent temperature and field of view of the instrument are reported. At present COCHISE is the largest telescope located at Concordia. Beside the scientific expectations, the use of this kind of instrument in the Antarctic environment poses technological aspects of relevant interest: thus COCHISE can be considered as a pathfinder for future Antarctic telescopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring long-term, large-scale changes in the Antarctic sea ice thickness is not currently possible due to the sampling constraints of the ship-based and airborne observations which comprise most of the available thickness data. Satellite radar altimetry has been used to measure sea ice thickness variability in the Arctic where it is assumed that the highest amplitude radar return originates from the snow/ice interface as the Arctic snow is cold and dry; however, this may not be the case in the Antarctic due to more complex snow stratigraphy caused by warmer winter temperatures and frequent snow flooding. We present the first measurements of radar penetration into snow cover on Antarctic sea ice in the Ku-band at which satellite radar altimeters operate. Data were taken using a sled-borne radar on sea ice off East Antarctica during September and October 2007. Radar data and field measurements of snow density, thickness, wetness, and layers were taken over a range of locations including snow packs with flooding, hard crusts, and icy layers. Detailed snow pit studies showed that the snow/ice interface was the dominant scattering surface only for snow without morphological features or flooding. Analysis of transect data showed that the mean depth of the dominant scattering surface of the radar was only around 50% of the mean measured snow depth, indicating that the dominant scattering surface was not always the snow/ice interface for the Antarctic sea ice surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]