Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mats E. Eriksson, Randolph De La Garza, Esben Horn, Johan Lindgren
Summary: This article provides a review of research on ichthyosaurs, focusing on their soft-tissue structures and inferences made from them, such as coloration and thermoregulation. The authors present a detailed, 1:1 scale, three-dimensional reconstruction of an ichthyosaur based on empirical evidence obtained directly from the fossil record. This reconstruction is currently the most scientifically up-to-date representation of an ichthyosaur available.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Farid Saleh, Orla G. Bath-Enright, Allison C. Daley, Bertrand Lefebvre, Bernard Pittet, Antoine Vite, Xiaoya Ma, M. Gabriela Mangano, Luis A. Buatois, Jonathan B. Antcliffe
Summary: Understanding the functioning of extinct ecosystems is a complex task that involves ecological, evolutionary, and preservational factors. By developing a novel method of data partitioning based on probabilistic modelling for the Walcott Quarry in Canada and the Fezouata Shale in Morocco, researchers were able to reveal differences in soft-tissue preservation mechanisms and ecological selectivity. This study highlights the importance of calibrating exceptional fossil sites to comprehend evolutionary events and the ecological structuring of ancient animal communities during the Cambrian Explosion and Ordovician Radiation.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Victoria L. Abdo, Lina J. Suarez, Lucca Gomes de Paula, Raphael C. Costa, Jamil Shibli, Magda Feres, Valentim A. R. Bara, Martinna Bertolini, Joao Gabriel Silva Souza
Summary: This study investigates the issue of microbial contamination of resorbable membranes, finding that different types of bacteria colonize the exposed membrane surface, thereby affecting the effectiveness of bone regeneration therapy.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Landon A. Anderson
Summary: Reports of preserved cells and soft tissues in ancient vertebrates have caused controversy in vertebrate palaeontology. Two hypotheses, iron-mediated radical crosslinking and advanced glycation/lipoxidation end products, have been proposed to explain this preservation, but the underlying chemistry remains poorly described. This review presents a chemical framework that describes the persistence of soft tissues in fossil vertebrates and demonstrates that the previously proposed hypotheses are part of a single reaction mechanism. Understanding the chemical mechanisms of soft tissue preservation has implications for molecular archaeology and palaeontology.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stephanie N. Merbt, Alexandra Kroll, Manu Tamminen, Patrick A. Ruhs, Bettina Wagner, Linn Sgier, Olga Sembalova, Bernd Abel, Ahmed Tlili, Kristin Schirmer, Renata Behra
Summary: Periphyton, the freshwater biofilm, can act as a sink for microplastics and can be affected by their presence, leading to changes in community composition and mechanical properties. However, functional parameters remain unaffected. Further investigation on the ecological consequences of microplastics in aquatic environments is needed.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Paolo Spinnato, Anna Maria Chiesa, Pauline Ledoux, Michele Kind, Giuseppe Bianchi, Gianmarco Tuzzato, Alberto Righi, Amandine Crombe
Summary: In this study, the researchers investigated whether conventional MRI could differentiate extra-nodal soft-tissue lymphomas from other soft-tissue tumors. The results showed that MRI features such as signal intensity, enhancement pattern, presence of blood or fibrotic signal, and abnormal vasculature were independent predictors of lymphomas. The findings suggest that MRI can be a useful tool in suggesting the diagnosis of lymphomas and expediting histopathological analysis.
ACADEMIC RADIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Dag Harald Skutlaberg, Harald G. Wiker, Haima Mylvaganam, Anna INFECT Study Grp, Anna Norrby-Teglund, Steinar Skrede
Summary: Biofilm formation has been observed in muscle and soft tissue samples from patients with necrotizing soft tissue infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. However, the clinical importance of this observation is unclear. This study characterized the biofilm forming capacity in a collection of S. pyogenes isolates causing Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection (NSTI) and investigated its association with emm type and clinical characteristics of the patients. The results showed that the biofilm forming capacity of emm1 isolates was different from other emm types, but there was no significant association between biofilm forming capacity and clinical characteristics of the patients. The impact of biofilm formation in NSTI caused by S. pyogenes on clinical outcomes remains uncertain.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Angel Mojarro, Xingqian Cui, Xiaowen Zhang, Adam B. Jost, Kristin D. Bergmann, Jakob Vinther, Roger E. Summons
Summary: Preservation of soft tissues within carbonate concretions is determined by a competition between microbially induced authigenic precipitation and decay, with factors such as organic matter input, rate of decay, carbonate saturation, porewater velocity, and rate of authigenic precipitation playing key roles.
Article
Paleontology
Adiel A. Klompmaker, Peter A. Kloess, Clement Jauvion, Jamie Brezina, Neil H. Landman
Summary: Cretaceous-aged methane seep carbonates in the Western Interior Seaway, USA, have yielded a high diversity and concentration of fossils, including decapod crustaceans. Non-destructive imaging techniques have allowed for detailed study of the internal anatomy of decapods. A brachyuran crab specimen from South Dakota, USA, reveals remarkable details of the internal morphology, including preserved soft tissues and parts of the digestive tract. This discovery provides valuable insights into the internal anatomy of ancient decapods.
PALAEONTOLOGIA ELECTRONICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sean A. Crowe, Rachel L. Simister, Jenifer S. Spence, Paul A. Kenward, Aaron C. Van Slyke, Peter Lennox, Nick Carr
Summary: Cultivation independent analyses of capsule biofilm microbial communities show higher diversity than single-species infections but lower diversity compared to host-associated microbial communities. Key taxa identified through culture-independent analyses reveal a more complex and diverse nature of capsule biofilms, suggesting the need for further study and higher resolution analyses.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Sholpan S. Kaliyeva, Alyona Lavrinenko, Yerbol Tishkambayev, Gulzira Zhussupova, Aissulu Issabekova, Dinara Begesheva, Natalya Simokhina
Summary: Bacterial skin and soft tissue inflammatory diseases are major causes of hospitalizations in emergency departments. This study aimed to identify the differences in microbial landscape and antibiotic susceptibility among pathogens causing soft tissue infections in adults and children from 2018 to 2020. The findings showed a higher proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis strains in children compared to adults. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was not detected in children, but accounted for 12.5% of cases in adults. Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumanii were the main causes of infection in adults, with significant levels of multidrug resistance.
Article
Biology
Kristyn K. Voegele, Zachary M. Boles, Paul Ullmann, Elena R. Schroeter, Wenxia Zheng, Kenneth J. Lacovara
Summary: The study reveals that original soft tissues and proteins can be recovered from fossils preserved in marine environments, expanding the range of environments that are known to preserve original organics and soft tissues. This has implications for future paleomolecular studies as it broadens the types of fossils that can be examined.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xianlei Cai, Ling Yao, Qiyue Sheng, Luyao Jiang, Ting Wang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Huanhuan Deng
Summary: Biofilm bioreactor significantly improved water quality in urban rivers, especially by decreasing dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations. The presence of biofilm bioreactor increased the abundance of planktonic bacteria, but decreased the diversity of planktonic microbial community.
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Gabriela Calabkova, Jiri Chlachula, Martin Ivanov, Michaela Hlozkova, Jolanta Czerniawska, Michaela Vasinova-Galiova, Lubomir Prokes, Petr Gadas
Summary: This study explores the impact of past microbial activity on the preservation of fossils retrieved from permafrost. The findings reveal that the preservation of bone material is dependent on the conditions in which the bone was preserved, with some bones only experiencing superficial microbial degradation processes while others underwent progressive microbial attacks and chemical changes.
QUATERNARY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Joachim Greiner, Teresa Schiatti, Wenzel Kaltenbacher, Marica Dente, Alina Semenjakin, Thomas Kok, Dominik J. Fiegle, Thomas Seidel, Ursula Ravens, Peter Kohl, Remi Peyronnet, Eva A. Rog-Zielinska
Summary: Freshly isolated primary cardiomyocytes (CM) are essential for cardiac research, but their short viability limits their use. This study presents a method of multi-day CM isolation, which prolongs cell viability and allows for exploration of regional differences in the heart.