Life in an arsenic-containing gold mine: genome and physiology of the autotrophic arsenite-oxidizing bacterium rhizobium sp. NT-26

Arsenic is widespread in the environment and its presence is a result of natural or anthropogenic activities. Microbes have developed different mechanisms to deal with toxic compounds such as arsenic and this is to resist or metabolize the compound. Here, we present the first reference set of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data of an Alphaproteobacterium isolated from an arsenic-containing goldmine: Rhizobium sp. NT-26. Although phylogenetically related to the plant-associated bacteria, this organism has lost the major colonizing capabilities needed for symbiosis with legumes. In contrast, the genome of Rhizobium sp. NT-26 comprises a megaplasmid containing the various genes, which enable it to metabolize arsenite. Remarkably, although the genes required for arsenite oxidation and flagellar motility/biofilm formation are carried by the megaplasmid and the chromosome, respectively, a coordinate regulation of these two mechanisms was observed. Taken together, these processes illustrate the impact environmental pressure can have on the evolution of bacterial genomes, improving the fitness of bacterial strains by the acquisition of novel functions

Life in an arsenic-containing gold mine: Genome and physiology of the autotrophic arsenite-oxidizing bacterium Rhizobium sp. NT-26:

Arsenic is widespread in the environment and its presence is a result of natural or anthropogenic activities. Microbes have developed different mechanisms to deal with toxic compounds such as arsenic and this is to resist or metabolize the compound. Here, we present the first reference set of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data of an Alphaproteobacterium isolated from an arseniccontaining goldmine: Rhizobium sp. NT-26. Although phylogenetically related to the plant-associated bacteria, this organism has lost the major colonizing capabilities needed for symbiosis with legumes. In contrast, the genome of Rhizobium sp. NT-26 comprises a megaplasmid containing the various genes, which enable it to metabolize arsenite. Remarkably, although the genes required for arsenite oxidation and flagellar motility/biofilm formation are carried by the megaplasmid and the chromosome, respectively, a coordinate regulation of these two mechanisms was observed. Taken together, these processes illustrate the impact environmental pressure can have on the evolution of bacterial genomes, improving the fitness of bacterial strains by the acquisition of novel functions. © The Author(s) 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution

Représentations par les médecins généralistes du rôle de l'entourage accompagnant le patient

International audienceThe Aim : of this study is to describe, from the perspective of general practitioners, the role of relatives and caregivers who accompany a patient in their consultation and treatment processes. 435 general practitioners filled out two questionnaires: the first was self administered and the second described specific clinical situations and the possible role of the family caregiver in the case of a patient with Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's disease, depression, epilepsy, asthma, cardiovascular disease, or type II diabetes.General practitioners think that overall they offer satisfactory responses to relatives' requests and concerns regarding the disease itself and its treatment. However, they do not feel skilled or qualified enough to answer them with regard to administrative or social questions. The relative's role is for the most part, perceived as positive, and seems to contribute to the efficacy of the care provided. This description corresponds to a new trend in modern medical practice, dominated by the burden of chronic and disabling diseases which implies, and in some cases requires, the need to involve a relative's presence and on-going support.L’objectif de cette étude est de décrire la perception des médecins généralistes du rôle et de la place de l’entourage accompagnant le patient en consultation. 435 médecins représentatifs de leur profession ont rempli deux questionnaires, l’un auto-administré déclaratif, l’autre décrivant trois situations cliniques réelles et la place des accompagnants en cas de maladie d’Alzheimer, de maladie de Parkinson, de dépression, d’épilepsie, d’asthme, d’insuffisance cardiaque ou de diabète de type 2. Les médecins pensent répondre de façon globalement satisfaisante aux attentes de l’entourage concernant la maladie et son traitement mais s’estiment peu compétents pour les questions administratives et sociales. Le rôle de l’accompagnant est majoritairement perçu comme positif et contributif à l’efficacité des soins. Cette étude correspond à la nouvelle donne de l’exercice médical moderne, dominé par le poids des pathologies chroniques et invalidantes impliquant la présence d’un tiers

Les Machines a Vapeur marines et les Propulseurs a l'Exposition Universelle de 1867 : rapports adressés à son Excellence M. le Ministre de la Marine

Par MM. Bonnefoy, Hubac, Joublin, Morel, Mouche, et PostecIndirektes handschriftliches Exlibris: "1908, 102", das ist: Herrn Prof. Tobler, Zürich Exemplar der ETH-BI

Effects of humanlike conversational behaviour on perception of psychological antropomorphism: A case study with a humanoid robot

Salem M, Eyssel FA, Rohlfing K, Kopp K, Joublin F. Effects of humanlike conversational behaviour on perception of psychological antropomorphism: A case study with a humanoid robot. In: Multu B, Bartneck C, Ham J, Evers V, Kanda T, eds. Social Robotics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol 7072. Heidelberg/ Berlin: Springer; 2011

Effects of gesture on the perception of psychological anthropomorphism: A case study with a humanoid robot

Salem M, Eyssel FA, Rohlfing K, Kopp S, Joublin F. Effects of gesture on the perception of psychological anthropomorphism: A case study with a humanoid robot. In: Mutlu B, Bartneck C, Ham J, Evers V, Kanda T, eds. Social Robotics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol 7072. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Science + Business Media; 2011: 31-41.Previous work has shown that gestural behaviors affect anthropomorphic inferences about artificial communicators such as virtual agents. In an experiment with a humanoid robot, we investigated to what extent gesture would affect anthropomorphic inferences about the robot. Particularly, we examined the effects of the robot's hand and arm gestures on the attribution of typically human traits, likability of the robot, shared reality, and future contact intentions after interacting with the robot. For this, we manipulated the non-verbal behaviors of the humanoid robot in three experimental conditions: (1) no gesture, (2) congruent gesture, and (3) incongruent gesture. We hypothesized higher ratings on all dependent measures in the two gesture (vs. no gesture) conditions. The results confirm our predictions: when the robot used gestures during interaction, it was anthropomorphized more, participants perceived it as more likable, reported greater shared reality with it, and showed increased future contact intentions than when the robot gave instructions without using gestures. Surprisingly, this effect was particularly pronounced when the robot's gestures were partly incongruent with speech. These findings show that communicative non-verbal behaviors in robotic systems affect both anthropomorphic perceptions and the mental models humans form of a humanoid robot during interaction

Investigations of alleged CO2 leakage in Weyburn, Canada in the context of longer term surface gas monitoring

International audienceThe Weyburn oilfield in SE Saskatchewan, Canada has been in production for more than 50 years. A CO2 flood was started in 2000 to enhance oil recovery. The gas is piped from a coal gasification plant across the US border in North Dakota. In addition to boosting oil production it is expected that about 30 million tonnes of CO2 will be permanently stored in the reservoir, at a depth of about 1400 m, by the end of the 30 year lifetime of the project

To err is human (-like): Effects of robot gesture on perceived anthropomorphism and likeability

Salem M, Eyssel FA, Rohlfing K, Kopp S, Joublin F. To err is human (-like): Effects of robot gesture on perceived anthropomorphism and likeability. International Journal of Social Robotics. 2013;5(3):313-323