In‐well sediment incubators to evaluate microbial community stability and dynamics following bioimmobilization of uranium

An in‐well sediment incubator (ISI) was developed to investigate the stability and dynamics of sediment‐associated microbial communities to prevailing subsurface oxidizing or reducing conditions. Herein we describe the use of these devices at the Old Rifle Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) site. During a seven‐month period in which oxidized Rifle Aquifer background sediment (RABS) were deployed in previously biostimulated wells under iron‐reducing conditions, cell densities of known iron‐reducing bacteria, including Geobacteraceae, increased significantly, showing the microbial community response to local subsurface conditions. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles of RABS following in situ deployment were strikingly similar to those of adjacent sediment cores, suggesting ISI results could be extrapolated to the native material of the test plots. Results for ISI deployment with laboratory‐reduced sediments showed only slight changes in community composition and pointed toward the ability of the ISI to monitor microbial community stability and response to subsurface conditions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Acute toxicity of chlorpyrifos and carbosulfan to glochidia of the freshwater mussel Hyriopsis bialata Simpson, 1900

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The acute toxicity of carbosulfan and chlorpyrifos in formulated pesticides to glochidia (larvae) of the freshwater mussel (Hyriopsis bialata Simpson,...     

The co-occurrence of Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder: is it because of additional genetic variations?

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at a significantly higher frequency than the typical population. The differentiation of ASD symptoms from those of severe intellectual disability presents diagnostic challenges, which have led to more refined methods in the clinical evaluation of ASD in DS. These improved phenotypic characterization methods not only provide better diagnosis of ASD in DS, but may also be useful in elucidating the etiology of the increased prevalence of ASD in DS. Because all individuals with the classic presentation of DS have trisomy 21, it is possible that those with co-occurring DS and ASD may have additional genetic variants which can act as modifiers of the phenotype, leading to the development of ASD. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Klinefelter Syndrome: What should we tell prospective parents?

Klinefelter syndrome (KS) or 47,XXY is the most common sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA), occurring at a prevalence of 1 in 600 male pregnancies. Historically, only 25% of individuals with KS came to medical attention, for a range of issues across the life course including under-virilisation at birth, developmental and social concerns in childhood, absence, delay or arrest of puberty in adolescence or infertility in adulthood. Our understanding of the phenotypic spectrum of KS has been largely influenced by this ascertainment bias. With increasing uptake of antenatal noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), a corresponding increase in identification of KS has been documented. Population-based longitudinal data from infancy to adulthood on these individuals is lacking, which impedes balanced antenatal genetic counselling and raises issues for prospective parents and clinicians alike.     

Strategy development in small and medium sized enterprises for sustainability and increased value creation

Sustainability strategies create many synergistic effects for SMEs working collaboratively, as well as systemic benefits for the commons. After setting forth the business case for sustainable SMEs, and considering SME sustainability advantages in contrast to MNEs, this paper discusses several different incentives for SMEs to optimize sustainability: (1) becoming valuable sustainable investment targets for larger firms; (2) creating highly competitive networks of sustainable SMEs in market spaces where large enterprises are less successful; (3) becoming highly efficient suppliers in global supply chains through sustainable practices.While several successful models of the sustainable SME are evolving, it may be that networks of SMEs will become essential for addressing the systemic problems that underlie industrial ecology, enterprise resilience, and global supply chain sustainability. SMEs represent the majority of all enterprises, and rapidly evolving communication technologies allow for various routes of network formation.     

Pregnancy patterns of pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the eastern tropical Pacific determined from hormonal analysis of blubber biopsies and correlations with the purse-seine tuna fishery

The northeastern offshore population of the pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) in the eastern tropical Pacific remains listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and recent estimates of abundance show that recovery has been slow. One hypothesis for the slow recovery is that continued chase and encirclement by the tuna fishery negatively affects reproduction. Insufficient life-history sampling in this region over the last two decades makes traditional estimates of reproductive rates impossible. Here, we examine the current reproductive patterns of these dolphins by measuring blubber progesterone (BP) concentrations in biopsy samples to assess pregnancy state. BP was quantified in 212 biopsies from female offshore spotted dolphins sampled between 1998 and 2003 in the northeastern tropical Pacific, and we found that 11.5 % of the biopsied females (mature and immature) were pregnant. The relationship between pregnancy and fishery exposure was analyzed, and we found that pregnant females were exposed to significantly less fishery activity than non-pregnant ones (p = 0.022), suggesting that the fishery may have an inhibitive effect on pregnancy. Spatial analysis indicated that pregnancy was more aggregated than random (p < 0.05) at a scale up to 180-nmi, with the highest proportion pregnant in the mouth of the Gulf of California, an area with relatively low reported fishery activity.