The clinical relevance of vaginal colonization with Mycoplasma hominis (M hominis) as a cause of prematurity is doubtful. One of the possible pathways which could explain the role of M hominis in the induction of preterm labour is an increased synthesis of prostaglandins by a phospholipase A2 activity. The aim of this study was to prove whether M hominis secrets proteins with a PLA2 activity and to test whether there are strain differences in the enzyme activity between M hominis isolated from women with normal pregnancy and those with preterm labour. Using specific radio-immunoassay we could not measure any PLA2 activity in the supernatant of all investigated M hominis strains. We exclude the mechanism of induction of preterm labour by M hominis via an increased prostaglandin synthesis. Our findings make a relation between vaginal colonization with M hominis and prematurity unlikely.

On February 17 2016, the IceCube real-time neutrino search identified, for the first time, three muon neutrino candidates arriving within 100 s of one another, consistent with coming from the same point in the sky. Such a triplet is expected once every 13.7 years as a random coincidence of background events. However, considering the lifetime of the follow-up program the probability of detecting at least one triplet from atmospheric background is 32%. Follow-up observatories were notified in order to search for an electromagnetic counterpart. Observations were obtained by Swift's X-ray telescope, by ASAS-SN, LCO and MASTER at optical wavelengths, and by VERITAS in the very-high-energy gamma-ray regime. Moreover, the Swift BAT serendipitously observed the location 100 s after the first neutrino was detected, and data from the Fermi LAT and HAWC observatory were analyzed. We present details of the neutrino triplet and the follow-up observations. No likely electromagnetic counterpart was detected, and we discuss the implications of these constraints on candidate neutrino sources such as gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae and active galactic nucleus flares. This study illustrates the potential of and challenges for future follow-up campaigns.

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Data collected from 1968 through 1997 showed a globally synchronous annual increase in soil acidity during the period June through August which was highly correlated with progressively decreasing geomagnetic field strength despite periodic local alterations in electromagnetic activity at the planetary boundary layer. Monthly determinations of soil pH for periods of one or more years at sites in Australia, South America, North America, Scotland, and Germany showed pH values to be consistently and significantly correlated with the monthly average geomagnetic field strength and the auroral electrojet values recorded during the time period covered by the data. Unweighed simple and multiple 2631 ORDER REPRINTS least squares linear regressions of soil pH on geomagnetic D, H, and Z, and the auroral electrojet gave r 2 and p values as high as r 2 ¼ 0:9997; p ¼ 0:0000: These relationships were subject to modifications in soil pH by telluric currents and electromagnetic events, such as thunderstorms and accompanying acid rain, occurring at the planetary boundary layer. Short-term variations in electrical conductivity of soil, in situ plant-available soil moisture, availability of soil mineral nutrient elements for plant uptake, soil pH, and the pH of fresh and stored samples of soil diluted 1:5 in water, rainwater, and other solutions, and Rn levels in soil and air were highly correlated with ambient telluric currents and with atmospheric electrical discharges. Decreasing soil pH values were consistently associated with decreased availability of soil mineral nutrients for plant uptake, lower foliar mineral element content in growing plants, and reduced health status, fertility, and productivity of herbivores. Rising pH values were accompanied by increases in available soil mineral nutrient elements and improvements in plant and animal health and productivity.

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