Chronic Exposure to Complex Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Elicits Rapid Resistance in Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1

Engineered nanoparticles are incorporated into numerous emerging technologies because of their unique physical and chemical properties. Many of these properties facilitate novel interactions, including both intentional and accidental effects on biological systems. Silver-containing particles are widely used as antimicrobial agents and recent evidence indicates that bacteria rapidly become resistant to these nanoparticles. Much less studied is the chronic exposure of bacteria to particles that were not designed to interact with microorganisms. For example, previous work has demonstrated that the lithium intercalated battery cathode nanosheet, nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), is cytotoxic and causes a significant delay in growth of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 upon acute exposure. Here, we report that S. oneidensis MR-1 rapidly adapts to chronic NMC exposure and is subsequently able to survive in much higher concentrations of these particles, providing the first evidence of permanent bacterial resistance following exposure to nanoparticles that were not intended as antibacterial agents. We also found that when NMC-adapted bacteria were subjected to only the metal ions released from this material, their specific growth rates were higher than when exposed to the nanoparticle. As such, we provide here the first demonstration of bacterial resistance to complex metal oxide nanoparticles with an adaptation mechanism that cannot be fully explained by multi-metal adaptation. Importantly, this adaptation persists even after the organism has been grown in pristine media for multiple generations, indicating that S. oneidensis MR-1 has developed permanent resistance to NMC

A reversible light- and genotype-dependent acquired thermotolerance response protects the potato plant from damage due to excessive temperature

A powerful acquired thermotolerance response in potato was demonstrated and characterised in detail, showing the time course required for tolerance, the reversibility of the process and requirement for light. Potato is particularly vulnerable to increased temperature, considered to be the most important uncontrollable factor affecting growth and yield of this globally significant crop. Here, we describe an acquired thermotolerance response in potato, whereby treatment at a mildly elevated temperature primes the plant for more severe heat stress. We define the time course for acquiring thermotolerance and demonstrate that light is essential for the process. In all four commercial tetraploid cultivars that were tested, acquisition of thermotolerance by priming was required for tolerance at elevated temperature. Accessions from several wild-type species and diploid genotypes did not require priming for heat tolerance under the test conditions employed, suggesting that useful variation for this trait exists. Physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches were employed to elucidate potential mechanisms that underpin the acquisition of heat tolerance. This analysis indicated a role for cell wall modification, auxin and ethylene signalling, and chromatin remodelling in acclimatory priming resulting in reduced metabolic perturbation and delayed stress responses in acclimated plants following transfer to 40 °C

At the coalface and the cutting edge: general practitioners’ accounts of the rewards of engaging with HIV medicine

The interviews we conducted with GPs suggest that an engagement with HIV medicine enables clinicians to develop strong and long-term relationships with and expertise about the care needs of people living with HIV ‘at the coalface’, while also feeling connected with a broader network of medical practitioners and other professionals concerned with and contributing to the ever-changing world of science: ‘the cutting edge’. The general practice HIV prescriber is being modelled here as the interface between these two worlds, offering a rewarding opportunity for general practitioners to feel intimately connected to both community needs and scientific change

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Distribution and community composition of lichens on mature mangroves (Avicennia marina subsp. australasica (Walp.) J.Everett) in New Zealand.

Mangrove forests of a single trees species, Avicennia marina subsp. australasica are widespread in the upper North Island of New Zealand, but there is little available information on the diversity of epiphytes such as lichens within them. A survey of 200 trees from 20 mangrove sites recorded a total of 106 lichen species from 45 genera. Two of these species are considered to be 'Threatened', five 'At Risk' and 27 'Data Deficient'. Multiple regression indicated that tree diameter (DBH) and mean annual rain days positively influenced site species richness. Multidimensional scaling showed that sites from the same geographical region generally formed distinct clusters. Redundancy analysis indicated that mean annual wet days, latitude and DBH measurably influenced species composition

Example of a representative species accumulation curve (site K1).

<p>All other sites followed a similar pattern. Error bars represent standard deviation.</p

Mangrove study sites, North Island, New Zealand.

<p>Mangrove study sites, North Island, New Zealand.</p

Distribution and community composition of lichens on mature mangroves (<i>Avicennia marina</i> subsp. <i>australasica</i> (Walp.) J.Everett) in New Zealand

<div><p>Mangrove forests of a single trees species, <i>Avicennia marina</i> subsp. <i>australasica</i> are widespread in the upper North Island of New Zealand, but there is little available information on the diversity of epiphytes such as lichens within them. A survey of 200 trees from 20 mangrove sites recorded a total of 106 lichen species from 45 genera. Two of these species are considered to be ‘Threatened’, five ‘At Risk’ and 27 ‘Data Deficient’. Multiple regression indicated that tree diameter (DBH) and mean annual rain days positively influenced site species richness. Multidimensional scaling showed that sites from the same geographical region generally formed distinct clusters. Redundancy analysis indicated that mean annual wet days, latitude and DBH measurably influenced species composition.</p></div