Plos One
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Restoration is increasingly implemented to reestablish habitat structure and function following physical anthropogenic disturbance, but scientific knowledge of effectiveness of methods lags behind demand for guidelines. On coral reefs, recovery is largely dependent on coral reestablishment, and substratum stability is critical to the survival of coral fragments and recruits. Concrete is often used to immobilize rubble, but its ecological performance has not been rigorously evaluated, and restoration has generally fallen short of returning degraded habitat to pre-disturbance conditions. Fragments of erect branching sponges mediate reef recovery by facilitating rubble consolidation, yet such natural processes have been largely overlooked in restoring reefs. ⋯ On two reefs in Curacao, four treatments - coral rubble alone, rubble seeded with sponge fragments, rubble bound by concrete, and concrete "rubble" bound by concrete - were monitored over four years to investigate rubble consolidation with and without sponges and the ecological performance of treatments in terms of the number and diversity of coral recruits. Species specific rates of sponge fragment attachment to rubble, donor sponge growth and tissue replacement, and fragment survival inside rubble piles were also investigated to evaluate sponge species performance and determine rates for sustainably harvesting tissue. FINDINGS/SIGNIFICANCE: Rubble piles seeded with sponges retained height and shape to a significantly greater degree, lost fewer replicates to water motion, and were significantly more likely to be consolidated over time than rubble alone. Significantly more corals recruited to sponge-seeded rubble than to all other treatments. Coral diversity was also greatest for rubble with sponges and it was the only treatment to which framework building corals recruited. Differences in overall sponge species performance suggest species selection is important to consider. Employing organisms that jump start successional pathways and facilitate recovery can significantly improve restoration outcomes; however, best practices require techniques be tailored to each system.
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C-reactive Protein (CRP) is used next to clinical scoring systems to recognize critically ill patients prone to develop complications on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The purpose of this study is to assess the predictive value of CRP as parameter for clinical deterioration and/or clinical decision making as ordering diagnostic procedures or performing (re)interventions. Also, we wanted to determine the value of CRP in early detection of surgical complications in the critically ill general surgical patient in the ICU and its interpretation in adjunct to a clinical scoring system, the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score. ⋯ An increase in C-reactive protein is a poor parameter for early detection of complications in the critically ill surgical patient in the ICU by means of diagnostic procedures or therapeutic (re)-interventions.
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Primary human epidermal stem cells isolated from skin tissues and subsequently expanded in tissue culture are used for human therapeutic use to reconstitute skin on patients and to generate artificial skin in culture for academic and commercial research. Classically, epidermal cells, known as keratinocytes, required fibroblast feeder support and serum-containing media for serial propagation. In alignment with global efforts to remove potential animal contaminants, many serum-free, feeder-free culture methods have been developed that support derivation and growth of these cells in 2-dimensional culture. ⋯ Extracellular calcium supplementation failed to improve epidermis development. In contrast, the addition of serum to commercial, growth media developed for serum-free expansion of keratinocytes facilitated 3-dimensional stratification in our skin equivalent model. Moreover, the addition of heat-inactivated serum improved the epidermis structure and thickness, suggesting that serum contains factors that both aid and inhibit stratification.
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Patients admitted to the intensive care unit with alcohol use disorders have increased morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine how chronic alcohol ingestion alters the host response to sepsis in mice. ⋯ When subjected to the same septic insult, mice with chronic alcohol ingestion have increased mortality. Alterations in intestinal integrity, the host immune response, and pancreatic metabolomics may help explain this differential response.
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The accepted protocol to ventilate patients with acute lung injury is to use low tidal volume (V(T)) in combination with recruitment maneuvers or positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). However, an important aspect of mechanical ventilation has not been considered: the combined effects of PEEP and ventilation modes on the integrity of the epithelium. Additionally, it is implicitly assumed that the best PEEP-V(T) combination also protects the epithelium. ⋯ The higher PEEP reduced lung collapse and improved mechanics and gas exchange but it also down regulated surfactant release and production and increased epithelial cell injury. While CV(LB) was better than CV, VV(N) outperformed CV(LB) in recruitment, reduced epithelial injury and, via a dynamic mechanotransduction, it also triggered increased release and production of surfactant. For long-term outcome, selection of optimal PEEP and ventilation mode may be based on balancing lung physiology with epithelial injury.