Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications. Executive summary

This article is a summary, by the authors, of a 140-page report prepared in 2012 by the UK Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, chaired by British sociologist and academic administrator Janet Finch, DBE. The Working Group was charged with recommending how to develop a model that would be effective and sustainable over time, for expanding access to the published fi ndings of research. The whole report, which can be accessed at http://www.researchinfonet.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Finch-Group-report-FINAL-VERSION.pdf [http://tinyurl.com/d2lxqks], has been published under a Creative Commons License Attribution 3.0 Unported. This is the fi rst of a series of Perspectives articles devoted to the Open Access Initiative that will be published in INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY. Our journal already published an Editorial on the topic in 2004 (Guerrero R & Piqueras M, Int Microbiol 7:157-161), and strongly supports open access. [Int Microbiol 2013; 16(2):125-132

Impact of a neonatal early-onset sepsis risk calculator on antibiotic use in a regional Australian hospital

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the online neonatal EOS Calculator at an Australian regional hospital. In addition, the utility of commonly used biomarkers as screening tools for suspected Early Onset Sepsis (EOS) was also assessed. Background: Early onset sepsis is a potentially fatal condition; however, it is also rare, and remains a diagnostic challenge. Despite evidence against the use of non-specific infection biomarkers in neonates, many neonatal facilities worldwide continue to use these to investigate and guide management of neonatal EOS. Nevertheless, there is little research regarding use of the neonatal EOS Calculator in Australian and non-tertiary facilities. Objective: This study sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the online neonatal EOS Calculator at an Australian regional hospital. Methods: Retrospective review of neonates born at ≥34+0 weeks gestation investigated and/or treated for presumed early onset sepsis across a two-year period within a 224-bed regional acute hospital in Victoria, Australia. Actual management was compared to neonatal EOS Calculator recommendations to determine the potential reduction in investigations and empiric intravenous antibiotic use. Outcome data and blood culture results were used to assess safety. Levels of commonly used biomarkers were compared to EOS calculation and clinical examination findings. Results: Retrospective application of the EOS Calculator among 296 subjects with presumed EOS was shown to reduce investigation by 44.3% and empirical antibiotic use by 48.9%. No true cases of culture-positive sepsis were identified. Elevated initial C-reactive protein (CRP) correlated positively with high EOS Calculation results and clinical illness on examination; however, there was absent or negative correlation of EOS risk with other biomarkers. Conclusion: Use of the neonatal EOS Calculator may substantially reduce rates of investigation and empirical antibiotic use at regional facilities. However, more data is needed to establish the safety of the calculator. Biomarkers are of low value in clinical decision making with well infants and may hinder decision making when compared to the EOS Calculator and clinical examination

Impact of catchment-derived nutrients and sediments on marine water quality on the Great Barrier Reef: an application of the eReefs marine modelling system

Water quality of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is determined by a range of natural and anthropogenic drivers that are resolved in the eReefs coupled hydrodynamic - biogeochemical marine model forced by a process-based catchment model, GBR Dynamic SedNet. Model simulations presented here quantify the impact of anthropogenic catchment loads of sediments and nutrients on a range of marine water quality variables. Simulations of 2011–2018 show that reduction of anthropogenic catchment loads results in improved water quality, especially within river plumes. Within the 16 resolved river plumes, anthropogenic loads increased chlorophyll concentration by 0.10 (0.02–0.25) mg Chl m−3. Reductions of anthropogenic loads following proposed Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan targets reduced chlorophyll concentration in the plumes by 0.04 (0.01–0.10) mg Chl m−3. Our simulations demonstrate the impact of anthropogenic loads on GBR water quality and quantify the benefits of improved catchment management

A Protocol for NMR Analysis of the Enantiomeric Excess of Chiral Diols Using an Achiral Diboronic Acid Template

A practically simple derivatization protocol for determining the enantiopurity of chiral diols by ¹H NMR spectroscopic analysis is described. Diols were treated with 0.5 equiv of 1,3-phenyldiboronic acid to afford mixtures of diastereomeric boronate esters whose homochiral/heterochiral ratios are an accurate reflection of the diol’s enantiopurity

Wind, Waves, and Wing Loading: Morphological Specialization May Limit Range Expansion of Endangered Albatrosses

Among the varied adaptations for avian flight, the morphological traits allowing large-bodied albatrosses to capitalize on wind and wave energy for efficient long-distance flight are unparalleled. Consequently, the biogeographic distribution of most albatrosses is limited to the windiest oceanic regions on earth; however, exceptions exist. Species breeding in the North and Central Pacific Ocean (Phoebastria spp.) inhabit regions of lower wind speed and wave height than southern hemisphere genera, and have large intrageneric variation in body size and aerodynamic performance. Here, we test the hypothesis that regional wind and wave regimes explain observed differences in Phoebastria albatross morphology and we compare their aerodynamic performance to representatives from the other three genera of this globally distributed avian family. In the North and Central Pacific, two species (short-tailed P. albatrus and waved P. irrorata) are markedly larger, yet have the smallest breeding ranges near highly productive coastal upwelling systems. Short-tailed albatrosses, however, have 60% higher wing loading (weight per area of lift) compared to waved albatrosses. Indeed, calculated aerodynamic performance of waved albatrosses, the only tropical albatross species, is more similar to those of their smaller congeners (black-footed P. nigripes and Laysan P. immutabilis), which have relatively low wing loading and much larger foraging ranges that include central oceanic gyres of relatively low productivity. Globally, the aerodynamic performance of short-tailed and waved albatrosses are most anomalous for their body sizes, yet consistent with wind regimes within their breeding season foraging ranges. Our results are the first to integrate global wind and wave patterns with albatross aerodynamics, thereby identifying morphological specialization that may explain limited breeding ranges of two endangered albatross species. These results are further relevant to understanding past and potentially predicting future distributional limits of albatrosses globally, particularly with respect to climate change effects on basin-scale and regional wind fields

Ward Round - a boy with multiple joint swellings

IK is a 10-year-old HIV non-reactive boy who was referred to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) General Paediatric Clinic in early October 2007 with complaints of several months of multiple joint swellings and loss of range of movement. We could not identify any obvious trigger for the joint problems. There were no associated systemic features such as fever, lethargy, malaise or rash