Aquifex aeolicus was one of the earliest diverging, and is one of the most thermophilic, bacteria known. It can grow on hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and mineral salts. The complex metabolic machinery needed for A. aeolicus to function as a chemolithoautotroph (an organism which uses an inorganic carbon source for biosynthesis and an inorganic chemical energy source) is encoded within a genome that is only one-third the size of the E. coli genome. Metabolic flexibility seems to be reduced as a result of the limited genome size. The use of oxygen (albeit at very low concentrations) as an electron acceptor is allowed by the presence of a complex respiratory apparatus. Although this organism grows at 95 degrees C, the extreme thermal limit of the Bacteria, only a few specific indications of thermophily are apparent from the genome. Here we describe the complete genome sequence of 1,551,335 base pairs of this evolutionarily and physiologically interesting organism.

In the Intraoperative Hypothermia for Aneurysm Surgery Trial, neither systemic hypothermia nor supplemental protective drug affected short- or long-term neurologic outcomes of patients undergoing temporary clipping.

Office-based steroid injection combined with voice therapy for mild/moderate vocal fold scar is associated with improved patient-reported and functional voice measures. These findings provide preliminary support for this approach. Importantly, the procedure is low risk and can be performed in the office, thus offering a simple treatment alternative to patients with a disorder that has traditionally been difficult to manage. Prospective studies evaluating the effects of multiple injections are warranted.

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This is the first reported case of malignant immature teratoma to involve the larynx, trachea, and recurrent laryngeal nerve in an adult patient, and the first single-stage technique described to use free tissue transfer without prefabrication for a 7-cm airway defect.