Response of Deep Subsurface Microbial Community to Different Carbon Sources and Electron Acceptors during similar to 2 months Incubation in Microcosms

Acetate plays a key role as electron donor and acceptor and serves as carbon source in oligotrophic deep subsurface environments. It can be produced from inorganic carbon by acetogenic microbes or through breakdown of more complex organic matter. Acetate is an important molecule for sulfate reducers that are substantially present in several deep bedrock environments. Aceticlastic methanogens use acetate as an electron donor and/or a carbon source. The goal of this study was to shed light on carbon cycling and competition in microbial communities in fracture fluids of Finnish crystalline bedrock groundwater system. Fracture fluid was anaerobically collected from a fracture zone at 967 m depth of the Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole and amended with acetate, acetate + sulfate, sulfate only or left unamended as a control and incubated up to 68 days. The headspace atmosphere of microcosms consisted of 80% hydrogen and 20% CO2. We studied the changes in the microbial communities with community fingerprinting technique as well as high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The amended microcosms hosted more diverse bacterial communities compared to the intrinsic fracture zone community and the control treatment without amendments. The majority of the bacterial populations enriched with acetate belonged to clostridial hydrogenotrophic thiosulfate reducers and Alphaproteobacteria affiliating with groups earlier found from subsurface and groundwater environments. We detected a slight increase in the number of sulfate reducers after the 68 days of incubation. The microbial community changed significantly during the experiment, but increase in specifically acetate-cycling microbial groups was not observed.Peer reviewe

Medication reconciliation and review for older emergency patients requires improvement in Finland

BACKGROUND: 10-30% of hospital stays by older patients are drug-related. The admission phase is important for identifying drug-related problems, but taking an incorrect medication history often leads to medication errors. OBJECTIVES: To enhance medication history recording and identify drug-related problems (DRPs) of older patients admitted to emergency departments (EDs). METHODS: DRPs were identified by pharmacists-led medication reconciliation and review procedures in two EDs in Finland; Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), and Kuopio University Hospital (KUH). One-hundred-and-fifty patients aged >= 65-years, living at home and using >= 6 medicines were studied. RESULTS: 100% of patients (N = 75) in HUS and 99% in KUH (N = 75), had discrepancies in their admission-medication chart recorded by the nurse or physician. Associations between admission-diagnosis and drug-related problems were found in 12 patients (16%) in HUS and 22 patients (29%) in KUH. Of these, high-alert medications (e.g. antithrombotics, cytostatics, opioids) were linked to eight patients (11%) in HUS and six patients (8%) in KUH. Other acute DRPs were identified in 19 patients (25%) in HUS and 54 patients (72%) in KUH. Furthermore, 67 patients (89%) in HUS and all patients in KUH had non-acute DRPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medication reconciliation and review at admission of older ED patients requires improvement in Finland.Peer reviewe

Rapid Reactivation of Deep Subsurface Microbes in the Presence of C-1 Compounds

Microorganisms in the deep biosphere are believed to conduct little metabolic activity due to low nutrient availability in these environments. However, destructive penetration to long-isolated bedrock environments during construction of underground waste repositories can lead to increased nutrient availability and potentially affect the long-term stability of the repository systems, Here, we studied how microorganisms present in fracture fluid from a depth of 500 m in Outokumpu, Finland, respond to simple carbon compounds (C-1 compounds) in the presence or absence of sulphate as an electron acceptor. C-1 compounds such as methane and methanol are important intermediates in the deep subsurface carbon cycle, and electron acceptors such as sulphate are critical components of oxidation processes. Fracture fluid samples were incubated in vitro with either methane or methanol in the presence or absence of sulphate as an electron acceptor. Metabolic response was measured by staining the microbial cells with fluorescent dyes that indicate metabolic activity and transcriptional response with RT-qPCR. Our results show that deep subsurface microbes exist in dormant states but rapidly reactivate their transcription and respiration systems in the presence of C-1 substrates, particularly methane. Microbial activity was further enhanced by the addition of sulphate as an electron acceptor. Sulphate- and nitrate-reducing microbes were particularly responsive to the addition of C-1 compounds and sulphate. These taxa are common in deep biosphere environments and may be affected by conditions disturbed by bedrock intrusion, as from drilling and excavation for long-term storage of hazardous waste.Peer reviewe

Microbial co-occurrence patterns in deep Precambrian bedrock fracture fluids

The bacterial and archaeal community composition and the possible carbon assimilation processes and energy sources of microbial communities in oligotrophic, deep, crystalline bedrock fractures is yet to be resolved. In this study, intrinsic microbial communities from groundwater of six fracture zones from 180 to 2300aEuro-m depths in Outokumpu bedrock were characterized using high-throughput amplicon sequencing and metagenomic prediction. Comamonadaceae-, Anaerobrancaceae- and Pseudomonadaceae-related operational taxonomic units (OTUs) form the core community in deep crystalline bedrock fractures in Outokumpu. Archaeal communities were mainly composed of Methanobacteriaceae-affiliating OTUs. The predicted bacterial metagenomes showed that pathways involved in fatty acid and amino sugar metabolism were common. In addition, relative abundance of genes coding the enzymes of autotrophic carbon fixation pathways in predicted metagenomes was low. This indicates that heterotrophic carbon assimilation is more important for microbial communities of the fracture zones. Network analysis based on co-occurrence of OTUs revealed possible "keystone" genera of the microbial communities belonging to Burkholderiales and Clostridiales. Bacterial communities in fractures resemble those found in oligotrophic, hydrogen-enriched environments. Serpentinization reactions of ophiolitic rocks in Outokumpu assemblage may provide a source of energy and organic carbon compounds for the microbial communities in the fractures. Sulfate reducers and methanogens form a minority of the total microbial communities, but OTUs forming these minor groups are similar to those found in other deep Precambrian terrestrial bedrock environments.Peer reviewe

Asuntosijoittamisen tulevaisuuden näkymät Helsingissä

Tavoitteena selvittää asuntosijoittamisen tulevaisuuden näkymiä Helsingissä aikavälillä, joka tässä tapauksessa on rajattu noin 5–10 vuoteen. Tavoitteeseen on pyritty pääsemään mm. asiantuntijahaastatteluiden avulla, sekä tutkimalla olemassa olevia lähteitä. Opinnäytetyön aihe on rajattu ajan lisäksi myös maantieteellisesti pelkästään Helsingin tulevaisuuden näkymiin, joskin työssä on paikoittain tehty pienehköä vertailua myös muhin Suomena kaupunkeihin, jotta voitaisiin paremmin nähdä Helsingin tilannetta vertailukotien avulla. Opinnäytetyön teoriaosuudessa on selvitetty asuntosijoittamisesta yleisesti, mitä asuntosijoittamisella tarkoitetaan ja mistä asuntosijoittamisen tuotot muodostuvat. Teoriaosassa käydään myös läpi erilaisia asuntosijoittamisen muotoja. Lisäksi siinä perehdytään moniin erilaisiin riskeihin, joita asuntosijoittajan tulee huomioida harkitessaan sijoitusasunnon ostoa. Työssä käydään läpi myös yleistä talouden tilannetta läpi menneisyyden, nykyhetken sekä lähitulevaisuuden osalta. Asuntosijoittajan kannalta on tärkeää ymmärtää ja seurata aktiivisesti mitä maailmalla tapahtuu talouden saralla, jotta riskeihin pystytään varautumaan oikein. Työn tutkimusosuudessa on asiantuntijahaastatteluiden avulla pyritty vastaamaan keskeisiin tutkimuskysymyksiin. Haastateltavaksi on valittu kolme asuntosijoittamisen ja asuntosijoittajien parissa työskentelevää henkilöä. Heidän vastauksiensa, sekä tällä hetkellä saatavilla olevan tilastotiedon perusteella on tehty johtopäätökset asuntosijoittamisen tulevaisuuden näkymistä Helsingissä. Tämän työn perusteella asuntosijoittamisen tulevaisuus näyttää hieman kaksijakoiselta. Asuntosijoittajalle haasteita tuottaa yleinen maailman- ja varsinkin talouden tilanne nousevien korkotasojen ja korkean inflaation myötä. Helsinki asuinpaikkana tulee sen sijaan säilyttämään suosiotaan ja etenkin keskustan alue tulee vuokralaisten keskuudessa olemaan edelleen haluttu asuinalue

Editorial: Geomicrobes:Life in Terrestrial Deep Subsurface

The deep subsurface is, in addition to space, one of the last unknown frontiers to human kind. A significant part of life on Earth resides in the deep subsurface, hiding great potential of microbial life of which we know only little. The conditions in the deep terrestrial subsurface are thought to resemble those of early Earth, which makes this environment an analog for studying early life in addition to possible extraterrestrial life in ultra-extreme conditions. Early microorganisms played a great role in shaping the conditions on the young Earth. Even today deep subsurface microorganisms interact with their geological environment transforming the conditions in the groundwater and on rock surfaces. Essential elements for life are richly present but in difficultly accessible form. The elements driving the microbial deep life is still not completely identified. Most of the microorganisms detected by novel molecular techniques still lack cultured representatives. Nevertheless, using modern sequencing techniques and bioinformatics the functional roles of these microorganisms are being revealed. We are starting to see the differences and similarities between the life in the deep subsurface and surface domains. We may even begin to see the function of evolution by comparing deep life to life closer to the surface of Earth. Deep life consists of organisms from all known domains of life. This Research Topic reveals some of the rich diversity and functional properties of the great biomass residing in the deep dark subsurface

Kinetics of Sulfur Oxidation at Suboptimal Temperatures

Chemolithoautotrophic bacteria were enriched from mine water at incubation temperatures ranging from 4 to 46°C, using elemental sulfur as a substrate in acid mineral salts media. Thiobacillus-type bacteria were successfully enriched for at all test temperatures except 46°C. Changes in pH (−dpH/dt) were used to estimate the rate constants for the enrichment cultures. The rate constants yielded a linear Arrhenius plot, an activation energy of 65 kJ/mol, and a temperature coefficient (Q(10)) of 2.1 for the 4 to 37°C temperature interval