Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses reveal that biobed systems can enrich for antibiotic resistance and genetic mobility genes.

Antibiotic resistance gene pollution in the environment has been identified as a potential contributor to the global issue of antibiotic resistance prevalence, creating a need to identify and characterize environmental reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes. Because many polluted environments have been shown to contain elevated levels of antibiotic resistance genes, agriculturally based pesticide bioremediation systems called 'biobeds' could serve as environmental reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes, although this has never been extensively explored. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of an on-farm biobed system sampled before and after a season of pesticide use demonstrated that in situ pesticide applications applied to biobeds can enrich for multidrug, sulphonamide, aminoglycoside and beta-lactam resistance genes. Additionally, this study demonstrated an enrichment for genes associated with gene mobilization, such as genes involved in horizontal gene transfer and plasmid mobility, as well as transposons and integrases.

Is accommodation a confounder in pupillometry research?

Much psychological research uses pupil diameter measurements to investigate the cognitive and emotional effects of visual stimuli. A potential problem is that accommodating at a nearby point causes the pupil to constrict. This study examined to what extent accommodation is a confounder in pupillometry research. Participants solved multiplication problems at different distances (Experiment 1) and looked at line drawings with different monocular depth cues (Experiment 2) while their pupil diameter, refraction, and vergence angle were recorded using a photorefractor. Experiment 1 showed that the pupils dilated while performing the multiplications, for all presentation distances. Pupillary constriction due to accommodation was not strong enough to override pupil dilation due to cognitive load. Experiment 2 showed that monocular depth cues caused a small shift in refraction in the expected direction. We conclude that, for the young student sample we used, pupil diameter measurements are not substantially affected by accommodation.

Chemical structure and orientation of ethylene on Si(114)-(2 x 1)/c(2 x 2).

The basic chemical structure and orientation of ethylene chemisorbed on Si(114)-(2 x 1) at submonolayer coverage is characterized in ultrahigh vacuum using transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The spectra are consistent with di-sigma bonding of ethylene to the surface with a preferential molecular orientation over macroscopic lengths. These results are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations of vibrational frequencies for optimized ethylene-Si(114) structures occupying the dimer and rebonded atom surface sites. A detailed analysis of the strong angular and polarization dependence of the C-H stretching mode intensities is also consistent with the adsorption structures identified by DFT, indicating that ethylene chemisorbs with the C-C bond axis parallel to the structural rows oriented along the [10] direction on the Si(114)-(2 x 1) surface. The results indicate that the unique structure of this surface makes it an excellent template for elucidating relationships between surface structure and organic reaction mechanisms on silicon.

Trends and differential use of assistive technology devices: United States, 1994.

OBJECTIVE: This report presents data on annual estimates of the prevalence of use of selected assistive technology devices for vision, hearing, mobility, and orthopedic impairments, including missing limbs. Also presented are statistics on trends in the prevalence of use of selected mobility assistive technology devices for the years 1980, 1990, and 1994. METHODS: The data used for this report are from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey on Disability (NHIS-D), Phase I, which was co-sponsored by a consortium of U.S. Federal agencies and private foundations. All estimates are based on data from the NHIS-D, Phase I, which represent the civilian, noninstitutional population of the United States. RESULTS: An estimated 7.4 million persons in the U.S. household population used assistive technology devices for mobility impairments, 4.6 million for orthopedic impairments (including missing limbs), 4.5 million for hearing impairments (not including impairments fully compensated by hearing aids), and 0.5 million for vision impairments. Use of any mobility device for all ages had the highest prevalence rate at 28.5 per 1,000 persons. There was a positive correlation between an increase in age and the increase in the prevalence rate of device usage; for example, of persons in the age group 65 years and over, the rate of mobility, hearing, and vision device usage was more than 4 times the rate for the total population. CONCLUSION: Assistive technology use has increased because of population size, age composition changes, and a change in the rate of use. Medical and technological advances along with public policy initiatives have also contributed to increased usage.

Antibiotic prophylaxis considering patient outcome from percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

OBJECTIVES: The main indications for PEG insertions are the following: stroke/CVA/diffuse cerebral vascular disease, neurological conditions, e.g. head injury, motor neurone disease, Multiple Sclerosis etc. Peristomal infection can sometimes complicate PEG placement. Antibiotics, either prophylaxis or concurrent, can reduce the incidence of peristomal wound infection after PEG placement. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Seventy five patients outcome from Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) were analysed in the period: September 1999 and October 2007 to the West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven (WCH) United Kingdom. This paper was done to evaluate the practice in WCH and the outcome has helped us to implement the changes successfully to conform to the guidelines set out by the British Association of Gastroenterologists. Our main objectives were to evaluate the antibiotic prophylaxis, the procedure and post procedure complications and the deaths after PEG tube insertion. CONCLUSIONS: No immediate procedure complications; Infection was the most common postoperative complication; Antibiotics, either prophylaxis or concurrent, reduce the incidence of peristomal wound infection after PEG placement; Early PEG placement facilitates their transfer to a non-acute care environment.

Cycloaddition chemistry of organic molecules with semiconductor surfaces.

Recent investigations have shown that cycloaddition reactions, widely used in organic chemistry to form ring compounds, can also be applied to link organic molecules to the (001) surfaces of crystalline silicon, germanium, and diamond. While these surfaces are comprised of Si=Si, Ge=Ge, and C=C structural units that resemble the C=C bonds of organic alkenes, the rates and mechanisms of the surface reactions show some distinct differences from those of their organic counterparts This article reviews recent studies of [2 + 2], [4 + 2] Diels-Alder, and other cycloaddition reactions of organic molecules with semiconductor surfaces and summarizes the current understanding of the reaction pathways.