Draft Nuclear Genome Sequence of the Liquid Hydrocarbon-Accumulating Green Microalga Botryococcus braunii Race B (Showa).

Botryococcus braunii has long been known as a prodigious producer of liquid hydrocarbon oils that can be converted into combustion engine fuels. This draft genome for the B race of B. braunii will allow researchers to unravel important hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathways and identify possible regulatory networks controlling this unusual metabolism

Sub-inhibitory fosmidomycin exposures elicits oxidative stress in Salmonella enterica Serovar typhimurium LT2

Fosmidomycin is a time-dependent nanomolar inhibitor of methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) synthase, which is the enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step in the MEP pathway to isoprenoids. Importantly, fosmidomycin is one of only a few MEP pathway-specific inhibitors that exhibits antimicrobial activity. Most inhibitors identified to date only exhibit activity against isolated pathway enzymes. The MEP pathway is the sole route to isoprenoids in many bacteria, yet has no human homologs. The development of inhibitors of this pathway holds promise as novel antimicrobial agents. Similarly, analyses of the bacterial response toward MEP pathway inhibitors provides valuable information toward the understanding of how emergent resistance may ultimately develop to this class of antibiotics. We have examined the transcriptional response of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium LT2 to sub-inhibitory concentrations of fosmidomycin via cDNA microarray and RTPCR. Within the regulated genes identified by microarray were a number of genes encoding enzymes associated with the mediation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Regulation of a panel of genes implicated in the response of cells to oxidative stress (including genes for catalases, superoxide dismutases, and alkylhydrogen peroxide reductases) was investigated and mild upregulation in some members was observed as a function of fosmidomycin exposure over time. The extent of regulation of these genes was similar to that observed for comparable exposures to kanamycin, but differed significantly from tetracycline. Furthermore, S. typhimurium exposed to sub-inhibitory concentrations of fosmidomycin displayed an increased sensitivity to exogenous H2O2 relative to either untreated controls or kanamycin-treated cells. Our results suggest that endogenous oxidative stress is one consequence of exposures to fosmidomycin, likely through the temporal depletion of intracellular isoprenoids themselves, rather than other mechanisms that have been proposed to facilitate ROS accumulation in bacteria (e.g. cell death processes or the ability of the antibiotic to redox cycle)

New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work

In 2009 and 2010, the Agency commissioned an update to its previous research on gender issues at work (EU-OSHA, 2003), which found that inequality both within and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work. This report provides that update and the first figures on the effects of the recent economic downturn on women at work. It aims to fulfil the task outlined by the European strategy on health and safety at work (EC, 2002) for EU-OSHA’s European Risk Observatory: ‘examining the specific challenges in terms of health and safety posed by the more extensive integration of women in the labour market’. Gender inequalities in the workplace and work–life balance issues have become increasingly important as the employment rates of women have continued to grow in all Member States. Although in 2012 58.6 % of working age women (in the EU-27) were in employment and women filled 59 % of all newly created jobs in 2009(1 ), the extent to which women contribute economically still seems to be underestimated. At its start, women were affected less than men by the recent economic crisis, as the first jobs to be lost were mostly in the male-dominated construction and manufacturing industries. However, between 2008 and 2012, European gender differences in employment fell by an average of 7.6 to 6.3 percentage points, mainly because male employment rates fell more than those of women, which have returned to the 2007 level. A modern organisation of work, a knowledge economy, competitiveness and more and better jobs are central to the post-2010 Lisbon Strategy and the EU’s 2020 Strategy. Women are essential to the workforce in terms of providing an active and sustainable source of labour, and in June 2010 the European Council set a new, ambitious target aiming to raise the employment rate for women and men aged 20–64 to 75 % by 2020, partly through the greater participation of young people, older workers and low-skilled workers and the better integration of legal migrants. However, although employment rates for women are rising, much remains to be done, especially for older and younger women, to reach this goal and at the same time ensure decent work for all. The issue of occupational safety and health (OSH) for women who work in the European Union (EU) is central to an understanding of the working environment. Previous research has shown that women’s OSH has to be improved. Research from the European Commission illustrates that, even by 1995, women accounted for close to or above half of all cases of work-associated ill health, including allergies (45 %), infectious illnesses (61 %), neurological complaints (55 %) and hepatic and dermatological complaints (48 %). The situation has not improved. Further, for ‘women’s jobs’, such as those in the health and social services, retail and hospitality sectors, there is a stagnation in accident rates in some countries; women are more likely to be bullied and harassed, subjected to sexual harassment and have to use poorly fitting personal protective equipment that is not usually sized for a smaller frame. The aims of this review are to: Provide a statistical overview of the trends in employment and integration of women in the labour market, and explore how they impact on their occupational safety and health. Identify and highlight the main issues and trends in employment characteristics, working conditions, hazard exposure and work-related accidents and health problems for women at work and explore more in-depth selected issues not addressed thoroughly before, such as combined exposures, informal work and the rehabilitation of women into work. Identify emerging issues for OSH research and the prevention of occupational diseases and accidents affecting women at work. This focus on OSH benefits not only women but also men who work, and thus reinforces the considerable potential to be gained by improved workplaces. A summary of the findings and trends and a more detailed list of suggestions is included in every chapter of this report and in the conclusions

Regulation of Petrobactin and Bacillibactin Biosynthesis in Bacillus anthracis under Iron and Oxygen Variation

siderophore biosynthetic operons that are responsible for synthesis of petrobactin and bacillibactin, during variable growth conditions., a member of the bacillibactin biosynthetic operon, was only transcribed under conditions of iron-depletion, regardless of growth aeration.

Lung cancer risk among German male uranium miners: a cohort study, 1946–1998

From 1946 to 1990 extensive uranium mining was conducted in the southern parts of the former German Democratic Republic. The overall workforce included several 100 000 individuals. A cohort of 59 001 former male employees of the Wismut Company was established, forming a large retrospective uranium miners' cohort for the time period 1946–1998. Mean duration of follow-up was 30.5 years with a total of 1 801 630 person-years. Loss to follow-up was low at 5.3%. Of the workers, 16 598 (28.1%) died during the study period. Based on 2388 lung cancer deaths, the radon-related lung cancer risk is evaluated. The excess relative risk (ERR) per working level month (WLM) was estimated as 0.21% (95% CI: 0.18–0.24). It was dependent on time since exposure and on attained age. The highest ERR/WLM was observed 15–24 years after exposure and in the youngest age group (<55 years of age). While a strong inverse exposure-rate effect was detected for high exposures, no significant association was detected at exposures below 100 WLM. Excess relative risk /WLM was not modified by duration of exposure. The results would indicate the need to re-estimate the effects of risk modifying factors in current risk models as duration of exposure did not modify the ERR/WLM and there was only a modest decline of ERR/WLM with increasing time since exposure

Review of the algal biology program within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts

In 2010,when the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) consortiumbegan, littlewas known about themolecular basis of algal biomass or oil production. Very fewalgal genome sequenceswere available and efforts to identify the best-producing wild species through bioprospecting approaches had largely stalled after the U.S. Department of Energy\u27s Aquatic Species Program. This lack of knowledge included how reduced carbon was partitioned into storage products like triglycerides or starch and the role played bymetabolite remodeling in the accumulation of energy-dense storage products. Furthermore, genetic transformation and metabolic engineering approaches to improve algal biomass and oil yields were in their infancy. Genome sequencing and transcriptional profiling were becoming less expensive, however; and the tools to annotate gene expression profiles under various growth and engineered conditions were just starting to be developed for algae. It was in this context that an integrated algal biology program was introduced in the NAABB to address the greatest constraints limiting algal biomass yield. This review describes the NAABB algal biology program, including hypotheses, research objectives, and strategies to move algal biology research into the twenty-first century and to realize the greatest potential of algae biomass systems to produce biofuels

Use of the MEGA exposure database for the validation of the Stoffenmanager model

Objectives: This paper explores the usefulness of the exposure database MEGA for model validation and evaluates the capability of two Stoffenmanager model equations (i.e. handling of powders/granules and machining) to estimate workers exposure to inhalable dust. Methods: For the task groups, ‘handling of powders and granules’ (handling) and ‘machining of wood and stone’ (machining) measurements were selected from MEGA and grouped in scenarios depending on task, product, and control measures. The predictive capability of the model was tested by calculating the relative bias of the single measurements and the correlation between geometric means (GMs) for scenarios. The conservatism of the model was evaluated by checking if the percentage of measurement values above the 90th percentile estimate was £10%. Results: From 22 596 personal measurements on inhalable dust within MEGA, 390 could be selected for handling and 1133 for machining. The relative bias for the task groups was 225 and 68%, respectively, the percentage of measurements with a higher result than the estimated 90th percentile 11 and 7%. Correlations on a scenario level were good for both model equations as well for the GM (handling: rs 5 0.90, n 5 15 scenarios; machining: rs 5 0.84, n 5 22 scenarios) as for the 90th percentile (handling: rs 5 0.79; machining: rs 5 0.76). Conclusions: The MEGA database could be used for model validation, although the presented analyses have learned that improvements in the database are necessary for modelling purposes in the future. For a substantial amount of data, contextual information on exposure determinants in addition to basic core information is stored in this database. The relative low bias, the good correlation, and the level of conservatism of the tested model show that the Stoffenmanager can be regarded as a useful Tier 1 model for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals legislation