Pediatric blast lung injury from a fireworks-related explosion.

Blast injuries related to explosions have been described in the literature but are uncommon in children. We describe a multisystem blast injury in a child resulting from a commercial firework-related explosion in her home. She presented with respiratory failure, shock, altered level of consciousness, and multiple orthopedic injuries. The patient required immediate stabilization and resuscitation in the emergency department and a prolonged hospitalization. This report reviews the spectrum of injuries that are seen in blast-related trauma and the emergency measures needed for rapid stabilization of these critical patients.

Enhanced phosphorus nutrition in monocots and dicots over-expressing a phosphorus-responsive type I H+-pyrophosphatase.

Plants challenged by limited phosphorus undergo dramatic morphological and architectural changes in their root systems in order to increase their absorptive surface area. In this paper, it is shown that phosphorus deficiency results in increased expression of the type I H+-pyrophosphatase AVP1 (AVP, Arabidopsis vacuolar pyrophosphatase), subsequent increased P-type adenosine triphosphatase (P-ATPase)-mediated rhizosphere acidification and root proliferation. Molecular genetic manipulation of AVP1 expression in Arabidopsis, tomato and rice results in plants that outperform controls when challenged with limited phosphorus. However, AVP1 over-expression and the resulting rhizosphere acidification do not result in increased sensitivity to AlPO4, apparently because of the enhancement of potassium uptake and the release of organic acids. Thus, the over-expression of type I H+-pyrophosphatases appears to be a generally applicable technology to help alleviate agricultural losses in low-phosphorus tropical/subtropical soils and to reduce phosphorus runoff pollution of aquatic and marine environments resulting from fertilizer application.