Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Sievert, S. M., Buehring, S., Gulmann, L. K., Hinrichs, K.-U., Ristova, P. P., & Gomez-Saez, G. Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), (2022): 96, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00426-5.Hydrothermalism in coastal sediments strongly impacts biogeochemical processes and supports chemoautotrophy. Yet, the effect of fluid flow on microbial community composition and rates of chemoautotrophic production is unknown because rate measurements under natural conditions are difficult, impeding an assessment of the importance of these systems. Here, in situ incubations controlling fluid flow along a transect of three geochemically distinct locations at a shallow-water hydrothermal system off Milos (Greece) show that Campylobacteria dominated chemoautotrophy in the presence of fluid flow. Based on injected 13C-labelled dissolved inorganic carbon and its incorporation into fatty acids, we constrained carbon fixation to be as high as 12 µmol C cm−3 d−1, corresponding to areal rates up to 10-times higher than previously reported for coastal sediments, and showed the importance of fluid flow for supplying the necessary substrates to support chemoautotrophy. Without flow, rates were substantially lower and microbial community composition markedly shifted. Our results highlight the importance of fluid flow in shaping the composition and activity of microbial communities of shallow-water hydrothermal vents, identifying them as hotspots of microbial productivity.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL

Prediction of Long-Term Indoor Radon Concentration Based on Short-Term Measurements

We present a method for the estimation of annual radon concentration based on short-term (three months) measurements. The study involves results from two independent sets of indoor radon concentration measurements performed in 16 cities of the Republic of Macedonia. The first data set contains winter and annual radon concentration obtained during the National survey in 2010 and the second, contains only the radon concentration measured during the winter of 2013. Both data sets pertain to radon concentration from the same cities and have been measured applying the same methodology in ground floor dwellings. The results appeared to be consistent and the dispersion of radon concentration was low. Linear regression analysis of the radon concentration measured in winter of 2010 and of the 2010 annual radon concentration revealed a high coefficient of determination R-2 = 0.92, with a relative uncertainty of 3%. Furthermore, this model was used to estimate the annual radon concentration solely from winter-term measurements performed in 2013. The geometrical mean of the estimated annual radon concentration of the 2013: radon concentration (A-2013) =98 Bqm(-3) was almost equal to the geometrical mean of the annual radon concentration from the 2010, radon concentration (A-2010) = 99 Bqm(-3). Analysis of the influence of building characteristics, such as presence/absence of a basement in the building, or the dominant building material on the estimated annual radon concentration is also reported. Our results show that a low number of relatively short-term radon measurements may produce a reasonable insight into a gross average obtained in a larger survey

Profiling and imaging of forensic evidence – a pan-European forensic round robin study part 1: document forgery

The forensic scenario, on which the round robin study was based, simulated a suspected intentional manipulation of a real estate rental agreement consisting of a total of three pages. The aims of this study were to (i) establish the amount and reliability of information extractable from a single type of evidence and to (ii) provide suggestions on the most suitable combination of compatible techniques for a multi-modal imaging approach to forgery detection. To address these aims, seventeen laboratories from sixteen countries were invited to answer the following tasks questions: (i) which printing technique was used? (ii) were the three pages printed with the same printer? (iii) were the three pages made from the same paper? (iv) were the three pages originally stapled? (v) were the headings and signatures written with the same ink? and (vi) were headings and signatures of the same age on all pages? The methods used were classified into the following categories: Optical spectroscopy, including multispectral imaging, smartphone mapping, UV-luminescence and LIBS; Infrared spectroscopy, including Raman and FTIR (micro-)spectroscopy; X-ray spectroscopy, including SEM-EDX, PIXE and XPS; Mass spectrometry, including ICPMS, SIMS, MALDI and LDIMS; Electrostatic imaging, as well as non-imaging methods, such as non-multimodal visual inspection, (micro-)spectroscopy, physical testing and thin layer chromatography. The performance of the techniques was evaluated as the proportion of discriminated sample pairs to all possible sample pairs. For the undiscriminated sample pairs, a distinction was made between undecidability and false positive claims. It was found that none of the methods used were able to solve all tasks completely and/or correctly and that certain methods were a priori judged unsuitable by the laboratories for some tasks. Correct results were generally achieved for the discrimination of printer toners, whereas incorrect results in the discrimination of inks. For the discrimination of paper, solid state analytical methods proved to be superior to mass spectrometric methods. None of the participating laboratories deemed addressing ink age feasible. It was concluded that correct forensic statements can only be achieved by the complementary application of different methods and that the classical approach of round robin studies to send standardised subsamples to the participants is not feasible for a true multimodal approach if the techniques are not available at one location

Spin-coated CZTS films prepared by two different precursor mixing regimes, at room temperature and at 150 °C

In this paper, we examine the impact of the precursor's mixing temperature and mixing protocol on the crystal structure and morphological and optical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films. Four samples of CZTS thin films were synthesized with the sol-gel spin coating technique by previously mixing precursors at (a) 150 °C and (b) room temperature (RT), either (i) all at once or (ii) through sequential adding the individual chemicals 30 min apart. SEM-EDX, XRD, Raman and Visible spectroscopy analysis showed that sample 150°C-ST (chemicals mixed at the same time at 150 °C) fulfilled all the theoretical stoichiometric criteria (poor in Cu, rich in Zn) for the high-quality CZTS absorbers. The larger grain size (850 nm) and crystallite size (73.96 nm), lower strain (0.49×10−3) and band gap Eg=1.44eV which is closest to the Shockley–Queisser limit for single junction solar cells (1.34 eV)

Natural genetic variation shapes root system responses to phytohormones in Arabidopsis

Plants adjust their architecture by modulating organ growth. This ability is largely dependent on phytohormones. While responses to phytohormones have been studied extensively, it remains unclear to which extent and how these responses are modulated in non-reference strains. Here, we assess variation of root traits upon treatment with auxin, cytokinin and abscisic acid (ABA) in 192 Arabidopsis accessions. We identify common response patterns, uncover the extent of their modulation by specific genotypes, and find that the Col-0 reference accession is not a good representative of the species in this regard. We conduct genome-wide association studies and identify 114 significant associations, most of them relating to ABA treatment. The numerous ABA candidate genes are not enriched for known ABA-associated genes, indicating that we largely uncovered unknown players. Overall, our study provides a comprehensive view of the diversity of hormone responses in the Arabidopsis thaliana species, and shows that variation of genes that are yet mostly not associated with such a role to determine natural variation of the response to phytohormones

Patients With Cancer in the Countries of South-East Europe (the Balkans) Region and Prospective of the Particle Therapy Center: South-East European International Institute for Sustainable Technologies (SEEIIST)

Purpose: A recent initiative was launched for establishing the South-East European International Institute for Sustainable Technologies (SEEIIST), which will provide a cutting-edge Hadron radiation therapy treatment and research institute for treating cancer patients with Hadron therapy (HT). To justify the initiative for building the SEEIIST facility, a study was conducted to estimate the number of patients with cancer from the SEE region that would be eligible for HT. Methods and Materials: Two different methods for projecting the future annual cancer incidence have been applied: (1) using the International Agency on Research on Cancer@World Health Organization’s (WHO) Globocan model which uses country’s demographic factors, and (2) averaging the crude incidence data of 3 SEE countries with available national cancer registries, using a linear regression model of combined incidence per 100,000, and applying it to the entire SEE region. Cancer epidemiology data were collected and studied by using the countries’ cancer datasheets from WHO. The top 10 cancers were presented for the SEE region. Studies of other countries were used to develop a primordial model for estimating the number of SEE patients who could be treated most successfully with HT upon SEEIIST commissioning in 2030. Results: A model was developed to estimate the number of eligible patients for HT from SEE. It is estimated that 2900 to 3200 patients per year would be eligible for HT in the new SEEIIST facility in 2030. Conclusions: After commissioning, SEEIIST will initially treat approximately 400 patients per year, progressing toward 1000. Creation of SEEIIST dedicated patient selection criteria will be both necessary and highly challenging

Microhardness Evolution in Relation to the Crystalline Microstructure of Aluminum Alloy AA3004

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) was used as a technique for severe plastic deformation (SPD) on Al alloy AA3004. This technique produced fully dense materials of refined grain structure to sub-micrometer dimensions and advanced mechanical properties. The ECAP processing of samples was conducted as 1 to 4 passes through the die at room temperature. We present the results of the studied homogeneity evolution with the ECAP treatment. Furthermore, a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used for examination of the microstructure changes in samples undergone from 1 to 4 passes. The microhardness-HV increased upon each ECAP pass. The resulting micro-hardness evolution was attributed to crystalline microstructure modifications, such as the d-spacing (studied by X-ray Diffraction-XRD) depending on the number of ECAP pressings. The microcrystalline changes (grain refining evaluated from the Scanning Electron Microscopy - SEM images) were found to be related to the HV, following the Hall-Petch equation

Bacterial diversity in the South Adriatic Sea during a strong deep winter convection year

The South Adriatic Sea is the deepest part of the Adriatic Sea and represents a key area for both the Adriatic Sea and the deep eastern Mediterranean. It has a role in dense water formation for the eastern Mediterranean deep circulation cell, and it represents an entry point for water masses originating from the Ionian Sea. The biodiversity and seasonality of bacterial picoplankton before, during, and after deep winter convection in the oligotrophic South Adriatic waters were assessed by combining comparative 16S rRNA sequence analysis and catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). The picoplankton communities reached their maximum abundance in the spring euphotic zone when the maximum value of the chlorophyll a in response to deep winter convection was recorded. The communities were dominated by Bacteria, while Archaea were a minor constituent. A seasonality of bacterial richness and diversity was observed, with minimum values occurring during the winter convection and spring postconvection periods and maximum values occurring under summer stratified conditions. The SAR11 clade was the main constituent of the bacterial communities and reached the maximum abundance in the euphotic zone in spring after the convection episode. Cyanobacteria were the second most abundant group, and their abundance strongly depended on the convection event, when minimal cyanobacterial abundance was observed. In spring and autumn, the euphotic zone was characterized by Bacteroidetes and Gammaproteobacteria. Bacteroidetes clades NS2b, NS4, and NS5 and the gammaproteobacterial SAR86 clade were detected to co-occur with phytoplankton blooms. The SAR324, SAR202, and SAR406 clades were present in the deep layer, exhibiting different seasonal variations in abundance. Overall, our data demonstrate that the abundances of particular bacterial clades and the overall bacterial richness and diversity are greatly impacted by strong winter convection