Microbial characterization of a mine soil subjected to different remediation technologies combining organic and inorganic treatments and plant cultivation

RAMIRAN International ConferenceIn Portugal, additional research is needed if technologies based on the combined action of plants and the microbial communities they support within the rhizosphere are to be adopted in large-scale remediation actions (Nabais et al., 2008). Plants growing in abandoned mines are useful to indicate the mineral composition of the soil and they are able to accumulate or exclude toxic metals (Pratas et al., 2005). Taking into account that the mine degraded soils have low concentrations of plant nutrients, it is necessary to apply amendments to ensure plant cover when remediation technologies are present. But soil amendments and the development of a root system might induce shifts in the microbial community structure among the different treatments (Pérez-de-Mora et al., 2006). Moreover, data about the toxic effects of heavy metals on soil microorganisms indicated that heavy metal-sensitive bacteria are probably responsible for the decrease in bacterial activity and the competitive advantage of more tolerant ones resulted in a change in community composition (Díaz-Raviña and Bååth, 1996). Hence, relationships between the soil composition, plant species occurring above-ground and the soil microbial communities have been revealed in many research (Kourtev et al., 2003) providing an important link between above and below-ground processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil microbial community structure is increasingly being marketed as ecologically-relevant endpoint and it can realistically be incorporated for assessing the potential risks associated with soil amendment strategies on sustainability of soil ecosystems. Studies of different remediation technologies with mine soils in Portugal, including amendment materials from farming and industrial sources and the use of native plant species (Guiwei et al., 2008; de Varennes et al., 2009) revealed differential effects of treatments on soil enzymes and microbial respiration, suggesting a change in microbial communities. The information about this fact is scarce and had focused on soil biochemical properties, producing no clear results. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) patterns are sensitive indicators of changes in microbial community structure. This technique has been used to elucidate different strategies employed by microorganism to adapt to changed environmental conditions under wide ranges of soil types, management practices, climatic origins and different perturbations (Zelles, 1999). The present study is the first attempt to characterize, by means of the analysis of PLFA patterns, soil microbial population from a Pb-contaminated mine soil subjected to different remediation technologies including revegetation with native herbaceous species

Microbial community structure in a unlimed and limed mine contaminated soil (Pb, Cu, As) with different organic and inorganic treatments

RAMIRAN International ConferenceMine contaminated soils are very unfavourable environments with limiting factors, in particular residual high levels of heavy metals, soil acidity, lack of organic matter and poor substrate structure. Toxic effects of HM on soil microorganisms have been extensively studied (Frostegård et al., 1993; Bååth et al., 1998) and the measurements of community structure indicated that the HM had an effect resulting in a change in community composition (Ellis et al., 2003; Rajapaksha et al, 2004). Nowadays molecular biology techniques, such as the analysis of phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) patterns, make it possible to study the microbial community structure of soil microorganisms. The PLFA technique has been used to elucidate different strategies employed by microorganism to adapt to changed environmental conditions under wide ranges of soil types, management practices, climatic origins and different perturbations (Zelles, 1999). By phospholipid fatty acid analysis it is possible to examine broad scale patterns in microbial community structure (Bååth et al. 2005) and generally, after the application of multivariate statistical analyses, whole community fatty acids profiles indicate which communities are similar or different. Determination both microbial community composition and biomass size by this direct method gives results that very closely represent the in situ soil conditions and is currently used for soil monitoring purposes (Nielsen and Winding, 2002). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different remediation technologies in a mine contaminated soil including several organic and inorganic treatments combined with liming by the soil microbial community structure analysi

Shifts in the structure of a mine contaminated soil (Pb, Cu, As) following different organic and inorganic treatments

RAMIRAN International ConferenceSoil microbial community structure is increasingly being marketed as ecologically-relevant endpoint and it can realistically be incorporated for assessing the potential risks associated with anthropogenic disturbances and soil amendment strategies on sustainability of soil ecosystems. In Portugal, additional research is needed if technologies based on the combined action of plants and the microbial communities they support within the rhizosphere are to be adopted in large-scale remediation actions (Nabais et al., 2008). The information about this fact in mine soils is scarce and had focused on soil biochemical properties, producing no clear results. Furthermore, the effects of phytoremediation as soil remediation technique and metal contamination on microbial community structural would be achieved by PLFA studies. By phospholipid fatty acid analysis it is possible to examine broad scale patterns in microbial community structure (Bååth et al. 2005) and generally, after the application of multivariate statistical analyses, whole community fatty acids profiles indicate which communities are similar or different. Determination both microbial community composition and biomass size by this direct method gives results that very closely represent the in situ soil conditions and is currently used for soil monitoring purposes (Nielsen and Winding, 2002). The present investigation studies the medium-term response in the soil microbial community structure after the application of different remediation technologies including several organic and inorganic treatments

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Search for direct stau production in events with two hadronic tau-leptons in root s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of the supersymmetric partners ofτ-leptons (staus) in final stateswith two hadronically decayingτ-leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of139fb−1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LargeHadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the expected StandardModel background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of direct production of stau pairs with eachstau decaying into the stable lightest neutralino and oneτ-lepton in simplified models where the two staumass eigenstates are degenerate. Stau masses from 120 GeV to 390 GeV are excluded at 95% confidencelevel for a massless lightest neutralino

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Cancer incidence in kidney transplant recipients: a study protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Different publications show an increased incidence of neoplasms in renal transplant patients. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence of cancer in the recipients of renal transplants performed in the A Coruña Hospital (Spain) during the period 1981–2007.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>During the study period 1967 kidney transplants were performed, corresponding to 1710 patients. Patients with neoplasms prior to the transplant will be excluded (n = 38). A follow-up study was carried out in order to estimate cancer incidence after transplantation.</p> <p>For each patient, information included donor and recipient characteristics, patients and graft survival and cancer incidence after transplantation. Incident cancer is considered as new cases of cancer after the transplant with anatomopathological confirmation. Their location will be classified according to the ICD-9.</p> <p>The analysis will be calculated using the indirect standardisation method. Age-adjusted cancer incidence rates in the Spanish general population will be obtained from the Carlos III Health Institute, the National Epidemiology Centre of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Crude first, second and third-year post-transplantation cancer incidence rates will be calculated for male and female recipients. The number of cases of cancer at each site will be calculated from data in the clinical records. The expected number of cancers will be calculated from data supplied by the Carlos III Health Institute. For each tumour location we will estimate the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), using sex-specific cancer incidence rates, by dividing the incidence rate for the transplant patients by the rate of the general population. The 95% confidence intervals of the SIRs and their associated p-values will be calculated by assuming that the observed cancers follow a Poisson distribution. Stratified analysis will be performed to examine the variation in the SIRs with sex and length of follow-up.</p> <p>Competing risk survival analysis methods will be applied to estimate the cumulative incidence of cancer and to identify variables associated to its occurrence.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Information about cancer incidence in kidney transplant patients could be useful to adapt the guidelines on post-kidney transplant follow-up on tumour screening, and evaluate the impact of intervention measures for the prevention of cancer in these patients.</p

Soil biota in boreal urban greenspace : Responses to plant type and age

Plant functional type influences the abundance and distribution of soil biota. With time, as root systems develop, such effects become more apparent. The relationship of plant type and time with the structure and abundance of soil microbial and invertebrate communities has been widely investigated in a variety of systems. However, much less is known about long-term soil community dynamics within the context of urban environments. In this study, we investigated how soil microbes, nematodes and earthworms respond to different plant functional types (lawns only and lawns with deciduous or evergreen trees) and park age in 41 urban parks in southern Finland. As non-urban controls we included deciduous and evergreen trees in 5 forest sites. We expected that microbial biomass and the relative abundance of fungi over bacteria would increase with time. We also expected major differences in soil microbial and nematode communities depending on vegetation: we hypothesized that i) the presence of trees, and evergreens in particular, would support a greater abundance of fungi and fungal-feeding nematodes over bacteria and bacterial-feeding nematodes and ii) the fungi to bacteria ratio would be lowest in lawns, with deciduous trees showing intermediate values. In contrast to our predictions, we showed that old deciduous trees, rather than evergreens, supported the highest fungal abundances and fungal-feeding nematodes in the soil. Consistent with our predictions, microbial biomass in urban park soils tended to increase with time, whereas - in contrast to our hypotheses - fungal-feeding nematode abundance declined. Even in the oldest parks included in the current study, microbial biomass estimates never approximated those in the minimally managed natural forests, where biomass estimates were three times higher. Anecic earthworm abundance also increased with time in urban parks, whereas abundances of fungal-feeding, plant-feeding and omnivorous nematodes, as well as those of epigeic and endogeic earthworms remained constant with time and without any distinct differences between urban parks and the control forests. Our findings highlight that although urban park soils harbor diverse soil communities and considerable microbial biomass, they are distinct from adjacent natural sites in community composition and biomass.Peer reviewe