Microbial responses to changes in land use

Background/Question/Methods
Land use change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. This is especially true for land use change that results in the destruction of intact forest, or "deforestation”. Deforestation is causing a loss of biological diversity on an unprecedented scale, especially in the Tropics. It is unclear how the majority of the biodiversity on Earth – microbial biodiversity – is responding to these extraordinary rates of deforestation. I will provide an overview of our current understanding of microbial responses to deforestation. I will focus, as an example, on our current research regarding the effects of deforestation on the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), bacteria and archaea within Amazon Rainforest soils. This study takes advantage of an established chronosequence of primary rainforest, pastures of various ages, and secondary rainforest to determine the effect of deforestation on the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of soil microorganisms, assayed using culture-independent methods.

Results/Conclusions
There is increasing evidence that deforestation significantly affects microbial diversity, and that “recovery” of microbial diversity in secondary forest soils is incomplete. For example, rarefaction curves suggest that the accumulation of AMF taxa is higher for Amazon primary forest soil relative to secondary forest soil. In addition, the community composition varies with land use; three AMF taxa were shared between primary and secondary forests, seven were found only in primary forest, and three were found exclusively in secondary forest soil. We also observed that the phylogenetic diversity of AMF is more reduced in secondary forest soils than expected given the regional pool of AMF taxa.

*The audio track for talks in this symposium may be obtained at the following web address:*

*https://sites.google.com/site/esa2010symposium13audiocontent/esa2010-symposium13-audio-content

An environmentally sensitive equilibrium morphology phase map of zinc sulphide nanoparticles

Zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles have promising applications in a diverse range of fields, including bio-technology; optoelectronics; catalysis; photovoltaics; gas, chemical and bio-sensors; field effect transistors; and field emitters. Like most modern nanomaterials, ZnS nanoparticles derive their utility from physical properties which can be ‘customised’ or ‘tuned’ for specific needs; however, there are considerable risks associated with the use of nanoscale ZnS, which exist as a direct consequence of the structure/property relationships from which their utility is derived. These risks include instability, adverse physical properties and elevated toxicity. In order to minimize exposure to these risks, ab inito calculations and a shape-dependent thermodynamic model were used to predict the equilibrium morphologies and phase transformations between the cubic, hexagonal and amorphous phases of ZnS as a function of size, temperature and pressure. The likelihood of a phase transformation occurring was fond to vary significantly, depending heavily on both size and shape. Further to this, thermodynamic conditions were identified which are expected to favour the formation of specific morphologies and encourage long-term stability in a broader environmental sense. These results show how tailoring the shape of a nanoparticle may ultimately determine its phase by encouraging or suppressing phase transformations, and provide insight into how experimental synthesis conditions can be modified to obtain synthesis objectives and maintain post-synthesis phase and morphological stability; outcomes which are critical for safe, stable and effective applications of this material

Minimalno invazivno liječenje idiopatske siringomijelije uporabom ventilacijskih T-cjevčica za bubnjić: prikaz slučaja i operativne tehnike

Syringomyelia is characterized by a fluid-filled cavity within the spinal cord. Expansion of the syrinx often results in the clinical course of progressive neurologic deficit. Surgery for syringomyelia generally aims to treat the underlying cause, if it is known. However, little is known about idiopathic syringomyelia, which requires specific management. In our paper, an alternative, minimally invasive treatment option for large symptomatic idiopathic cervicothoracic syrinx is described and discussed. We present a case of a 44-year-old male without a history of spinal cord trauma, infection, or other pathologic processes, who presented for thoracic pain. Due to progressive pain and left leg paresis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed and revealed extensive septated syringomyelia from T5 to T7 and hydromyelia cranially. We applied minimally invasive technique for shunting the idiopathic syrinx into the subarachnoid space using two Richards modified myringotomy T-tubes. Postoperative MRI revealed significant decrease in the syrinx size and clinical six-month follow-up showed improvement of clinical symptoms. This minimally invasive treatment of syringomyelia was found to be an effective method for idiopathic septated syrinx, without evident underlying cause. However, long-term follow-up and more patients are necessary for definitive evaluation of this technique.Siringomijeliju predstavlja stvaranje šupljina ispunjenih tekućinom unutar kralježnične moždine. Širenje šupljine često dovodi do pojave neuroloških poremećaja koji se postupno pogoršavaju. Operativno liječenje je usmjereno na otklanjanje uzroka siringomijelije, ako je taj uzrok poznat. Međutim, malo se zna o idiopatskoj siringomijeliji koja zahtijeva poseban tretman. U našem članku opisujemo alternativnu, minimalno invazivnu metodu liječenja velike simptomatske idiopatske vratno-prsne siringomijelije. Prikazujemo slučaj 44-godišnjeg bolesnika bez prethodno poznate ozljede, upale ili drugih bolesti kralježnične moždine, koji se žalio na bolove u prsnoj kralježnici. Zbog pogoršanja bolova i slabosti lijeve noge učinjena je magnetska rezonanca koja je pokazala veliku pregrađenu siringomijeliju u razini od 5. do 7. prsnog kralješka i kranijalno posljedičnu hidromijeliju. Primijenili smo minimalno invazivnu tehniku drenaže sirinksa u subarahnoidni prostor uporabom dviju ventilacijskih cjevčica za bubnjić (Richardsove modificirane T-cjevčice). Snimke nakon operacije su pokazale značajno smanjenje sirinksa, a kontrolni pregled nakon šest mjeseci poboljšanje neuroloških simptoma. Ova minimalno invazivna operacija siringomijelije se pokazala učinkovitom metodom u liječenju idiopatskog, membranom pregrađenog sirinksa nepoznate etiologije. Međutim, za konačnu procjenu ove metode potrebno je duže praćenje i veći broj slučajeva

The electroretinogram:a useful tool for evaluating age-related macular disease?

With an ageing population, the number of age-related macular disease (ARMD) cases will inevitably rise. This gives greater impetus for the need to identify the disease earlier and assess treatments to slow disease progression. Differing electroretinogram (ERG) modalities have been reviewed in relation to the objective assessment of retinal function in ARMD and for monitoring the effectiveness of clinical interventions. Conflicting results have been found with regard to the efficacy of ERG findings in the investigation of ARMD in previous years. The newer multifocal ERG paradigm provides spatial topographical information about retinal function in ARMD. It has shown promising results in monitoring effectiveness of clinical interventions and studies are continuing in this area. Better knowledge of retinal function in ARMD may lead to enhanced treatments at each phase of the disease

Release Note -- Vbfnlo-2.6.0

Vbfnlo is a flexible parton level Monte Carlo program for the simulation of vector boson fusion (VBF), double and triple vector boson (plus jet) production in hadronic collisions at next-to-leading order (NLO) in the strong coupling constant, as well as Higgs boson plus two jet production via gluon fusion at the one-loop level. This note briefly describes the main additional features and processes that have been added in the new release -- Vbfnlo Version 2.6.0. At NLO QCD diboson production (W\gamma, WZ, ZZ, Z\gamma and \gamma\gamma), same-sign W pair production via vector boson fusion and the process W\gamma\gamma j have been implemented (for which one-loop tensor integrals up to six-point functions are included). In addition, gluon induced diboson production can be studied separately at the leading order (one-loop) level. The diboson processes WW, WZ and W\gamma can be run with anomalous gauge boson couplings, and anomalous couplings between a Higgs and a pair of gauge bosons is included in WW, ZZ, Z\gamma and \gamma\gamma diboson production. The code has also been extended to include anomalous gauge boson couplings for single vector boson production via VBF, and a spin-2 model has been implemented for diboson pair production via vector boson fusion.Comment: 14 pages, 6 tables; new code available at http://www-itp.particle.uni-karlsruhe.de/vbfnlo

Planar Superconducting Resonators with Internal Quality Factors above One Million

We describe the fabrication and measurement of microwave coplanar waveguide resonators with internal quality factors above 10 million at high microwave powers and over 1 million at low powers, with the best low power results approaching 2 million, corresponding to ~1 photon in the resonator. These quality factors are achieved by controllably producing very smooth and clean interfaces between the resonators' aluminum metallization and the underlying single crystal sapphire substrate. Additionally, we describe a method for analyzing the resonator microwave response, with which we can directly determine the internal quality factor and frequency of a resonator embedded in an imperfect measurement circuit.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Conversion of Cerrado into agricultural land in the south-western amazon: carbon stocks and soil fertility.

Mudanças de uso da terra e práticas de manejo modificam a dinâmica do C e a fertilidade do solo. Este estudo avaliou as implicações dos sistemas de cultivo (NT e CT) nos estoques de C e de nutrientes e identificou inter-relações entre estes estoques e outros atributos da fertilidade do solo em Latossolo após a mudança do uso da terra no cerrado amazônico. Os estoques de C e de nutrientes (P, K, Ca e Mg) ajustados pela massa equivalente do solo sob cerrado (CE), foram maiores principalmente sob NT. Após a adoção do NT, exceto em 2NT, os estoques de C foram maiores em relação às demais áreas avaliadas. Correlações entre estoques de C e de nutrientes revelaram algumas correlações positivas com Ca e Mg nas áreas sob NT, devido ao uso continuo de calcário, à maior quantidade de resíduos culturais e ao não revolvimento do solo, associado à correlações positivas com CTC, saturação por bases e pH. A correlação positiva (r = 0,91, p < 0,05) entre estoques de C e CTC em CE indica a importante contribuição da MOS na CT de solos tropicais, embora os sítios de troca estejam ocupados principalmente por H + Al. Estoques de P e K mostraram correlações positivas com estoques de C em CE (0,81 e 0,82; respectivamente), indicando a alta relação de P e K com a MOS em ecossistemas naturais. A alta variabilidade espacial associada à aplicação de fertilizantes (P e K) no sulco de plantio pode ter mascarado os resultados dos estoques. A principal fonte destes nutrientes para o solo foi o fertilizante aplicado e não a MOS

Human Female Genital Tract Infection by the Obligate Intracellular Bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis Elicits Robust Type 2 Immunity

While Chlamydia trachomatis infections are frequently asymptomatic, mechanisms that regulate host response to this intracellular Gram-negative bacterium remain undefined. This investigation thus used peripheral blood mononuclear cells and endometrial tissue from women with or without Chlamydia genital tract infection to better define this response. Initial genome-wide microarray analysis revealed highly elevated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 10 and other molecules characteristic of Type 2 immunity (e.g., fibrosis and wound repair) in Chlamydia-infected tissue. This result was corroborated in flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry studies that showed extant upper genital tract Chlamydia infection was associated with increased co-expression of CD200 receptor and CD206 (markers of alternative macrophage activation) by endometrial macrophages as well as increased expression of GATA-3 (the transcription factor regulating TH2 differentiation) by endometrial CD4+ T cells. Also among women with genital tract Chlamydia infection, peripheral CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD4- cells that proliferated in response to ex vivo stimulation with inactivated chlamydial antigen secreted significantly more interleukin (IL)-4 than tumor necrosis factor, interferon-γ, or IL-17; findings that repeated in T cells isolated from these same women 1 and 4 months after infection had been eradicated. Our results thus newly reveal that genital infection by an obligate intracellular bacterium induces polarization towards Type 2 immunity, including Chlamydia-specific TH2 development. Based on these findings, we now speculate that Type 2 immunity was selected by evolution as the host response to C. trachomatis in the human female genital tract to control infection and minimize immunopathological damage to vital reproductive structures. © 2013 Vicetti Miguel et al

Proof of the thermodynamical stability of the E' center in SiO2

The E' center is a paradigmatic radiation-induced defect in SiO2 whose peculiar EPR and hyperfine activity has been known since over 40 years. This center has been traditionally identified with a distorted, positively-charged oxygen vacancy V_O+. However, no direct proof of the stability of this defect has ever been provided, so that its identification is still strongly incomplete. Here we prove directly that distorted V_O+ is metastable and that it satisfies the key requirements for its identification as E', such as thermal and optical response, and activation-deactivation mechanisms.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, 2 figure