Isolation of a nitrate-reducing bacteria strain from oil field brine and the inhibition of sulfate-reducing bacteria

A nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) strain with vigorous growth, strong nitrate reduction ability, strain B9 2-1, was isolated from Suizhong36-1 oilfield, its routine identification and analysis of 16S rRNA and also the competitive inhibition experiments with the enrichment of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were carried out. The results showed that only the dosing of nitrate, nitrite as electron acceptors, the activation of nitrate-reducing bacteria, as well as the inhibition of sulfide production resulted from a limited capacity, while addition of NRB isolated from the produced fluid, growth and sulfide production activity of sulfate reducing bacteria produced a significant inhibition and antibacterial effects of nitrite, which was better than nitrate. At the same time, the small amount of molybdate dosing showed better results, which will be of significance when applied to shipping and state-defending industries.Key words: Nitrate-reducing bacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, restriction fragment length polymorphism, nitrates, nitrite, oil field, competitive inhibition

Genome wide screens in yeast to identify potential binding sites and target genes of DNA-binding proteins

Knowledge of all binding sites for transcriptional activators and repressors is essential for computationally aided identification of transcriptional networks. The techniques developed for defining the binding sites of transcription factors tend to be cumbersome and not adaptable to high throughput. We refined a versatile yeast strategy to rapidly and efficiently identify genomic targets of DNA-binding proteins. Yeast expressing a transcription factor is mated to yeast containing a library of genomic fragments cloned upstream of the reporter gene URA3. DNA fragments with target-binding sites are identified by growth of yeast clones in media lacking uracil. The experimental approach was validated with the tumor suppressor protein p53 and the forkhead protein FoxI1 using genomic libraries for zebrafish and mouse generated by shotgun cloning of short genomic fragments. Computational analysis of the genomic fragments recapitulated the published consensus-binding site for each protein. Identified fragments were mapped to identify the genomic context of each binding site. Our yeast screening strategy, combined with bioinformatics approaches, will allow both detailed and high-throughput characterization of transcription factors, scalable to the analysis of all putative DNA-binding proteins

Individual participant data meta analysis to compare EPDS accuracy to detect major depression with and without the self-harm item

Item 10 of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is intended to assess thoughts of intentional self-harm but may also elicit concerns about accidental self-harm. It does not specifically address suicide ideation but, nonetheless, is sometimes used as an indicator of suicidality. The 9-item version of the EPDS (EPDS-9), which omits item 10, is sometimes used in research due to concern about positive endorsements of item 10 and necessary follow-up. We assessed the equivalence of total score correlations and screening accuracy to detect major depression using the EPDS-9 versus full EPDS among pregnant and postpartum women. We searched Medline, Medline In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, and Web of Science from database inception to October 3, 2018 for studies that administered the EPDS and conducted diagnostic classification for major depression based on a validated semi-structured or fully structured interview among women aged 18 or older during pregnancy or within 12 months of giving birth. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis. We calculated Pearson correlations with 95% prediction interval (PI) between EPDS-9 and full EPDS total scores using a random effects model. Bivariate random-effects models were fitted to assess screening accuracy. Equivalence tests were done by comparing the confidence intervals (CIs) around the pooled sensitivity and specificity differences to the equivalence margin of δ = 0.05. Individual participant data were obtained from 41 eligible studies (10,906 participants, 1407 major depression cases). The correlation between EPDS-9 and full EPDS scores was 0.998 (95% PI 0.991, 0.999). For sensitivity, the EPDS-9 and full EPDS were equivalent for cut-offs 7-12 (difference range - 0.02, 0.01) and the equivalence was indeterminate for cut-offs 13-15 (all differences - 0.04). For specificity, the EPDS-9 and full EPDS were equivalent for all cut-offs (difference range 0.00, 0.01). The EPDS-9 performs similarly to the full EPDS and can be used when there are concerns about the implications of administering EPDS item 10.This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR, KRS-140994). Dr. Qiu was supported by a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council. Drs. Wu and Levis were supported by Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé (FRQ-S) Postdoctoral Training Fellowships. Dr. Benedetti was supported by a Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) researcher salary award. Dr. Thombs was supported by a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair. Ms. Rice was supported by a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. The primary study by Alvarado et al. was supported by the Ministry of Health of Chile. The primary study by Barnes et al. was supported by a grant from the Health Foundation (1665/608). The primary study by Beck et al. was supported by the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation and the University of Connecticut Research Foundation. The primary study by Helle et al. was supported by the Werner Otto Foundation, the Kroschke Foundation, and the Feindt Foundation. The primary study by Figueira et al. was supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and by the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) (Grant no.403433/2004-5). The primary study by Couto et al. was supported by the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) (Grant no. 444254/2014-5) and the Minas Gerais State Research Foundation (FAPEMIG) (Grant no. APQ-01954-14). The primary study by Chorwe-Sungani et al. was supported by the University of Malawi through grant QZA-0484 NORHED 2013. The primary study by de Figueiredo et al. was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. The primary study by Tissot et al. was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant 32003B 125493). The primary study by Fernandes et al. was supported by grants from the Child: Care Health and Development Trust and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, and by the Ashok Ranganathan Bursary from Exeter College, University of Oxford. Dr. Fernandes is supported by a University of Southampton National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) academic clinical fellowship in Paediatrics. The primary study by van Heyningen et al. was supported by the Medical Research Council of South Africa (fund no. 415865), Cordaid Netherlands (Project 103/10002 G Sub 7) and the Truworths Community Foundation Trust, South Africa. Dr. van Heyningen was supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the Harry Crossley Foundation. VHYTHE001/1232209. The primary study by Tendais et al. was supported under the project POCI/SAU-ESP/56397/2004 by the Operational Program Science and Innovation 2010 (POCI 2010) of the Community Support Board III and by the European Community Fund FEDER. The primary study by Fisher et al. was supported by a grant under the Invest to Grow Scheme from the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The primary study by Green et al. was supported by a grant from the Duke Global Health Institute (453-0751). The primary study by Howard et al. was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme (Grant Reference Numbers RP-PG-1210-12002 and RP-DG-1108-10012) and by the South London Clinical Research Network. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The primary study by Kettunen et al. was supported with an Annual EVO Financing (Special government subsidies from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Finland) by North Karelia Central Hospital and Päijät-Häme Central Hospital. The primary study by Phillips et al. was supported by a scholarship from the National Health and Medical and Research Council (NHMRC). The primary study by Roomruangwong et al. was supported by the Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment Fund 2013 of Chulalongkorn University (CU-56-457-HR). The primary study by Martínez et al. was supported by Iniciativa Científica Milenio, Chile, process # IS130005 and by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, Chile, process # 1130230. The primary study by Nakić Radoš et al. was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports (134-0000000-2421). The primary study by Usuda et al. was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (primary investigator: Daisuke Nishi, MD, PhD), and by an Intramural Research Grant for Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders from the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan. The primary study by Pawlby et al. was supported by a Medical Research Council UK Project Grant (number G89292999N). The primary study by Rochat et al. was supported by grants from the University of Oxford (HQ5035), the Tuixen Foundation (9940), the Wellcome Trust (082384/Z/07/Z and 071571), and the American Psychological Association. Dr. Rochat receives salary support from a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowship (211374/Z/18/Z). The primary study by Rowe et al. was supported by the diamond Consortium, beyondblue Victorian Centre of Excellence in Depression and Related Disorders. The primary study by Comasco et al. was supported by funds from the Swedish Research Council (VR: 521-2013-2339, VR:523-2014-2342), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS: 2011-0627), the Marta Lundqvist Foundation (2013, 2014), and the Swedish Society of Medicine (SLS-331991). The primary study by Smith-Nielsen et al. was supported by a grant from the charitable foundation Tryg Foundation (Grant ID no 107616). The primary study by Prenoveau et al. was supported by The Wellcome Trust (grant number 071571). The primary study by Stewart et al. was supported by Professor Francis Creed’s Journal of Psychosomatic Research Editorship fund (BA00457) administered through University of Manchester. The primary study by Su et al. was supported by grants from the Department of Health (DOH94F044 and DOH95F022) and the China Medical University and Hospital (CMU94-105, DMR-92-92 and DMR94-46). The primary study by Tandon et al. was funded by the Thomas Wilson Sanitarium. The primary study by Tran et al. was supported by the Myer Foundation who funded the study under its Beyond Australia scheme. Dr. Tran was supported by an early career fellowship from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The primary study by Vega-Dienstmaier et al. was supported by Tejada Family Foundation, Inc, and Peruvian-American Endowment, Inc. The primary study by Yonkers et al. was supported by a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant (5 R01HD045735). No other authors reported funding for primary studies or for their work on this study

Combinatorial Fusion Criteria for Real-Time Tracking

We address the problem of automated video tracking of targets when targets undergo multiple mutual occlusions. Our approach is based on the idea that as targets are occluded, selection of feature subsets and combinations of those features are effective in identifying the target and improving tracking performance. We use Combinatorial Fusion Analysis to develop a metric to select which subset of features will produce the most accurate tracking. In particular we show that the combination of a pair of features A and B will improve the accuracy only if (a) A and B have relative high performance, and (b) A and B are diverse. We present experimental results to illustrate the performance of the proposed metric

Combining Multiple Scoring Systems For Video Target Tracking Based on Rank-Score Function Variation

Tracking of video targets is the process of estimating the current and predicting the future state of a target from a sequence of video sensor measurements. Multitarget video tracking is complicated by the fact that targets can occlude one another and affect video feature measurements in a highly non-linear and difficult to model fashion., Tracking multiple targets that undergo repeated mutual occlusions is a challenging problem with several issues to be addressed. In this paper we propose a multisensory fusion approach to the problem of multitarget video tracking with occlusion. Each sensory cue is treated as a scoring system on the set of possible target tracks. Scoring behavior is characterized by a rank-score function, defined by Hsu and Taksa [11]. A diversity measure defined by Hsu, Chung and Kristal [7] is used based on the variation in rank-score functions. We describe the importance of using the rank-score function in the combination of multiple scoring systems for tracking multiple targets with repeated target occlusion, in particular in the process of hypothesis pruning and feature selection. We present experimental results for 12 video sequences from a variety of situations that demonstrate that our approach can be used to design a feature and fusion selection criterion that improves video tracking performance for situations with multiple, mutually occluding targets

Feature Selection for Real-Time Tracking

We address the problem of selecting features to improve automated video tracking of targets that undergo multiple mutual occlusions. As targets are occluded, different feature subsets and combinations of those features are effective in identifying the target and improving tracking performance. We use Combinatorial Fusion Analysis to develop a metric to dynamically select which subset of features will produce the most accurate tracking. In particular we show that the combination of a pair of features A and B will improve the accuracy only if (a) A and B have relative high performance, and (b) A and B are diverse. We present experimental results to illustrate the performance of the proposed metric