Desulfotomaculum carboxydivorans sp.nov., a novel sulfate-reducing bacterium capable of growth at 100% CO

A moderately thermophilic, anaerobic, chemolithoheterotrophic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain CO-1-SRBT, was isolated from sludge from an anaerobic bioreactor treating paper mill wastewater. Cells were Gram-positive, motile, spore-forming rods. The temperature range for growth was 30¿68 °C, with an optimum at 55 °C. The NaCl concentration range for growth was 0¿17 g l¿1; there was no change in growth rate until the NaCl concentration reached 8 g l¿1. The pH range for growth was 6·0¿8·0, with an optimum of 6·8¿7·2. The bacterium could grow with 100 % CO in the gas phase. With sulfate, CO was converted to H2 and CO2 and part of the H2 was used for sulfate reduction; without sulfate, CO was completely converted to H2 and CO2. With sulfate, strain CO-1-SRBT utilized H2/CO2, pyruvate, glucose, fructose, maltose, lactate, serine, alanine, ethanol and glycerol. The strain fermented pyruvate, lactate, glucose and fructose. Yeast extract was necessary for growth. Sulfate, thiosulfate and sulfite were used as electron acceptors, whereas elemental sulfur and nitrate were not. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences placed strain CO-1-SRBT in the genus Desulfotomaculum, closely resembling Desulfotomaculum nigrificans DSM 574T and Desulfotomaculum sp. RHT-3 (99 and 100 % similarity, respectively). However, the latter strains were completely inhibited above 20 and 50 % CO in the gas phase, respectively, and were unable to ferment CO, lactate or glucose in the absence of sulfate. DNA¿DNA hybridization of strain CO-1-SRBT with D. nigrificans and Desulfotomaculum sp. RHT-3 showed 53 and 60 % relatedness, respectively. On the basis of phylogenetic and physiological features, it is suggested that strain CO-1-SRBT represents a novel species within the genus Desulfotomaculum, for which the name Desulfotomaculum carboxydivorans is proposed. This is the first description of a sulfate-reducing micro-organism that is capable of growth under an atmosphere of pure CO with and without sulfate. The type strain is CO-1-SRBT (=DSM 14880T=VKM B-2319T

Ultrafast insulator-metal transition in VO2 nanostructures assisted by picosecond strain pulses

Strain engineering is a powerful technology that exploits the stationary external or internal stress of specific spatial distribution for controlling the fundamental properties of condensed materials and nanostructures. This advanced technique modulates in space the carrier density and mobility, the optical absorption, and in strongly correlated systems, the phase, e.g., insulator-metal or ferromagnetic-paramagnetic. However, while successfully accessing nanometer-length scales, strain engineering is yet to be brought down to ultrafast time scales allowing strain-assisted control of the state of matter at THz frequencies. We demonstrate control of an optically-driven insulator-to-metal phase transition by a picosecond strain pulse, which paves the way to ultrafast strain engineering in nanostructures with phase transitions. This is realized by simultaneous excitation of VO2 nanohillocks by a 170-fs laser and picosecond strain pulses finely timed with each other. By monitoring the transient optical reflectivity of the VO2, we show that strain pulses, depending on the sign of the strain at the moment of optical excitation, increase or decrease the fraction of VO2 that undergoes an ultrafast phase transition. A transient strain of moderate amplitude of approximately 0.1% applied during ultrafast photo-induced nonthermal transition changes the fraction of VO2 in the laser-induced phase by approximately 1%. In contrast, if applied after the photoexcitation when the phase transformations of the material are governed by thermal processes, a transient strain of the same amplitude produces no measurable effect on the phase state

New precision measurement of the J/ψJ/\psi- and ψ′\psi' -meson masses

A new high precision measurement of the $J/\psi$- and $\psi'$-meson masses has been performed at the VEPP-4M collider using the KEDR detector. The resonant depolarization method has been employed for the absolute calibration of the beam energy. The following mass values have been obtained: $M_{J/\psi} = 3096.917 \pm 0.010 \pm 0.007$ MeV, $M_{\psi'} = 3686.111 \pm 0.025 \pm 0.009$ MeV. The relative measurement accuracy has reached $4. 10^{-6}$ for $J/\psi$ and $7. 10^{-6}$ for $\psi'$, approximately 3 times better than in the previous precise experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 4 tables, 10 figure

Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists differ in chemical structure, duration of action, and in their effects on clinical outcomes. The cardiovascular effects of once-weekly albiglutide in type 2 diabetes are unknown. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of albiglutide in preventing cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 610 sites across 28 countries. We randomly assigned patients aged 40 years and older with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at a 1:1 ratio) to groups that either received a subcutaneous injection of albiglutide (30–50 mg, based on glycaemic response and tolerability) or of a matched volume of placebo once a week, in addition to their standard care. Investigators used an interactive voice or web response system to obtain treatment assignment, and patients and all study investigators were masked to their treatment allocation. We hypothesised that albiglutide would be non-inferior to placebo for the primary outcome of the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, which was assessed in the intention-to-treat population. If non-inferiority was confirmed by an upper limit of the 95% CI for a hazard ratio of less than 1·30, closed testing for superiority was prespecified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02465515. Findings: Patients were screened between July 1, 2015, and Nov 24, 2016. 10 793 patients were screened and 9463 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to groups: 4731 patients were assigned to receive albiglutide and 4732 patients to receive placebo. On Nov 8, 2017, it was determined that 611 primary endpoints and a median follow-up of at least 1·5 years had accrued, and participants returned for a final visit and discontinuation from study treatment; the last patient visit was on March 12, 2018. These 9463 patients, the intention-to-treat population, were evaluated for a median duration of 1·6 years and were assessed for the primary outcome. The primary composite outcome occurred in 338 (7%) of 4731 patients at an incidence rate of 4·6 events per 100 person-years in the albiglutide group and in 428 (9%) of 4732 patients at an incidence rate of 5·9 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·68–0·90), which indicated that albiglutide was superior to placebo (p<0·0001 for non-inferiority; p=0·0006 for superiority). The incidence of acute pancreatitis (ten patients in the albiglutide group and seven patients in the placebo group), pancreatic cancer (six patients in the albiglutide group and five patients in the placebo group), medullary thyroid carcinoma (zero patients in both groups), and other serious adverse events did not differ between the two groups. There were three (<1%) deaths in the placebo group that were assessed by investigators, who were masked to study drug assignment, to be treatment-related and two (<1%) deaths in the albiglutide group. Interpretation: In patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide was superior to placebo with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events. Evidence-based glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists should therefore be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline

Thioalkalivibrio thiocyanoxidans sp. nov. and Thioalkalivibrio paradoxus sp. nov., novel alkaliphilic, obligately autotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria capable of growth on thiocyanate, from soda lakes

Afternoon Panel ● Moderator: Professor Dr. Arthur Gemmell ● Rapporteur: Professor Dr. Zakia Afrin Speakers 1. Professor Dr. Andrew Conteh: “Brexit and Public International Law”2. Professor Dr. Emeka Duruigbo: “Attracting Foreign Oil and Gas Investment in Stranded Assets Environment” 3. Mr. Quang Chau: “Investor-State Dispute Settlement in Vietnam: Implementation in Reality and the Path Forward” 4. Dr. Ramesh Bikram Karky: “The International Legal Landscape on Gene Editing & Genes Patenting.” 5. Professor Warren Small: “A Broken Road to Justice: The Syrian Civil War as a Model for the Application of International Humanitarian Law” 6. Professor Celine Castets-Renard: “Data Privacy Law in the Digital World: An International and Practical Perspective

Diversity of culturable halophilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in hypersaline habitats

Applied Science

Phylogenetic relationships among budding purple bacteria of the genus Rhodopseudomonas

Phylogenetic relationships within a group of budding purple nonsulfur bacteria of the genus Rhodopseudomonas were studied by DNA-DNA hybridization. Most of the strains were new isolates from natural environments with a wide ränge of physicochemical conditions.A total of 32 strains were analyzed, includ- ing the type strains of Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Rps. rutila, Rps. marina, and Rps. acidophila. Nine phylo- genetically remote clusters were revealed, showing an average DNA-DNA horaology of 15%. One of the Clusters contained the type strain of Rps. marina, isolated front marine habitats, and two new isolates from hot ffeshwater springs. These new isolates tumed out to be facultative halophiles with a salinity Optimum of 1-3% and were assigned to Rps. marina on the basis of their phenotypic characteristics and DNA-DNA homology of 60% with the type strain of this species. The type strain of Rps. acidophila was not specifically related to any other strain used during this investigation. The remaining 26 isolates and the type strains of Rps. palustris and Rps. rutila were very similar phenotypically, but formed seven phylogenetically remote clusters including 13 genospecies; none of the new isolates were closely related to the type strains of Rps. palustris and Rps. rutila, which also proved to be phylogenetically distinct. Thus, the Rps. palustris-like bacteria, which are widespread in nature and comprise phenotypically a homogeneous group, appear to be phylogenetically diverse. The prospects for developing a Classification system for these budding purple nonsulfur bacteria that would be in agreement with their phylogenetic relationships are discussed. Possible correlation between the phylogenetic relationships of these bacteria and the ecological peculiarities of their natural habitats is also considered