High-quality permanent draft genome sequence of <i>Rhizobium sullae</i> strain WSM1592; a <i>Hedysarum coronarium</i> microsymbiont from Sassari, Italy

Rhizobium sullae strain WSM1592 is an aerobic, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod that was isolated from an effective nitrogen (N2) fixing root nodule formed on the short-lived perennial legume Hedysarum coronarium (also known as Sulla coronaria or Sulla). WSM1592 was isolated from a nodule recovered from H. coronarium roots located in Ottava, bordering Sassari, Sardinia in 1995. WSM1592 is highly effective at fixing nitrogen with H. coronarium, and is currently the commercial Sulla inoculant strain in Australia. Here we describe the features of R. sullae strain WSM1592, together with genome sequence information and its annotation. The 7,530,820 bp high-quality permanent draft genome is arranged into 118 scaffolds of 118 contigs containing 7.453 protein-coding genes and 73 RNA-only encoding genes. This rhizobial genome is sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Genomic Encyclopedia for Bacteria and Archaea-Root Nodule Bacteria (GEBA-RNB) project

Genome sequence of <i>Ensifer medicae</i> strain WSM1369; an effective microsymbiont of the annual legume <i>Medicago sphaerocarpos</i>

Ensifer medicae WSM1369 is an aerobic, motile, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod that can exist as a soil saprophyte or as a legume microsymbiont of Medicago. WSM1369 was isolated in 1993 from a nodule recovered from the roots of Medicago sphaerocarpos growing at San Pietro di Rudas, near Aggius in Sardinia (Italy). WSM1369 is an effective microsymbiont of the annual forage legumes M. polymorpha and M. sphaerocarpos. Here we describe the features of E. medicae WSM1369, together with genome sequence information and its annotation. The 6,402,557 bp standard draft genome is arranged into 307 scaffolds of 307 contigs containing 6,656 protein-coding genes and 79 RNA-only encoding genes. This rhizobial genome is one of 100 sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Genomic Encyclopedia for Bacteria and Archaea-Root Nodule Bacteria (GEBA-RNB) project

Improving implementation of evidence-based practice in mental health service delivery: protocol for a cluster randomised quasi-experimental investigation of staff-focused values interventions

BACKGROUND: There is growing acceptance that optimal service provision for individuals with severe and recurrent mental illness requires a complementary focus on medical recovery (i.e., symptom management and general functioning) and personal recovery (i.e., having a ‘life worth living’). Despite significant research attention and policy-level support, the translation of this vision of healthcare into changed workplace practice continues to elude. Over the past decade, evidence-based training interventions that seek to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of staff working in the mental health field have been implemented as a primary redress strategy. However, a large body of multi-disciplinary research indicates disappointing rates of training transfer. There is an absence of empirical research that investigates the importance of worker-motivation in the uptake of desired workplace change initiatives. ‘Autonomy’ is acknowledged as important to human effectiveness and as a correlate of workplace variables like productivity, and wellbeing. To our knowledge, there have been no studies that investigate purposeful and structured use of values-based interventions to facilitate increased autonomy as a means of promoting enhanced implementation of workplace change. METHODS: This study involves 200 mental health workers across 22 worksites within five community-managed organisations in three Australian states. It involves cluster-randomisation of participants within organisation, by work site, to the experimental (values) condition, or the control (implementation). Both conditions receive two days of training focusing on an evidence-based framework of mental health service delivery. The experimental group receives a third day of values-focused intervention and 12 months of values-focused coaching. Well-validated self-report measures are used to explore variables related to values concordance, autonomy, and self-reported implementation success. Audits of work files and staff work samples are reviewed for each condition to determine the impact of implementation. Self-determination theory and theories of organisational change are used to interpret the data. DISCUSSION: The research adds to the current knowledge base related to worker motivation and uptake of workplace practice. It describes a structured protocol that aims to enhance worker autonomy for imposed workplace practices. The research will inform how best to measure and conceptualise transfer. These findings will apply particularly to contexts where individuals are not ‘volunteers’ in requisite change processes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN: ACTRN12613000353796

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

A comparison of differential leucocyte counts measured by conventional automated venous haematology and darkfield microscopic examination of fresh capillary blood

Analysis of fresh capillary blood using darkfield microscopy (FCB-DM) is a point of care screening tool, used by healthcare practitioners in Australia. However, the relationship between the outcomes of FCB-DM measures and the automated venous haematology measures has not been determined. The aim of this study was to compare differential white blood cell counts obtained using automated haematology and FCB-DM. Data of 125 individuals were collected either retrospectively (n = 74) or from participants specifically recruited for the project (n = 51). Retrospective data were collected from active files at a naturopathic clinic. Newly recruited participants provided a fasting capillary blood sample for FCB-DM analysis within 1 h of providing a venous blood sample at a commercial laboratory for automated haematologic analysis. The mean score of neutrophils was found to be higher, and lymphocytes and basophils to be lower, in FCB-DM analysis (p \u3c 0.05). A significant and positive Pearson\u27s correlation coefficient was found between automated haematology and FCB-DM in the cell counts for neutrophils (r = 0.60, p \u3c 0.05) and lymphocytes (r = 0.63, p \u3c 0.05), and a significant and positive Spearman\u27s correlation was found for monocytes (rs = 0.32, p \u3c 0.05) and eosinophils (rs = 0.596, p \u3c 0.05). Linear regression analysis was also conducted to assess the relationship between the two techniques. The variance explained by the regression model was large for neutrophil (37%), lymphocyte (39%), and eosinophil (37%) scores. Despite significant differences in the mean scores of cells counts, significant correlations between the data obtained by the two techniques for neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and eosinophil cells were observed. Given the small amount of blood sample required, FCB-DM would have an advantage in clinical practice, though further research is required to determine the clinical implications of the FCB-DM cell counts

The <i>Sinorhizobium medicae</i> WSM419 <i>lpiA</i> gene is transcriptionally activated by FsrR and required to enhance survival in lethal acid conditions

Sinorhizobium medicae WR101 was identified as a mutant of WSM419 that contained a minitransposon-induced transcriptional gusA fusion activated at least 20-fold at pH 5-7. The expression of this fusion in moderately acid conditions was dependent on the calcium concentration; increasing the calcium concentration to enhance cell growth and survival in acid conditions decreased the expression of the fusion. A gene region containing the gusA fusion was sequenced, revealing five S medicae genes: tcsA, tcrA, fsrR, lpiA and acvB. The gusA reporter in WRI101 was fused to lpiA, which encodes a putative transmembrane protein also found in other Alphaproteobacteria such as Sinorhizobium metiloti, Rhizobium tropici and Agrobacterium tumetaciens. As LpiA has partial sequence similarity to the lysyl-phosphatidylglycerol (LPG) synthetase FmtC/MprF from Staphylococcus aureus, membrane lipid compositions of S. medicae strains were analysed. Cells cultured under neutral or acidic growth conditions did not induce any detectable LPG and therefore this lipid cannot be a major constituent of S. medicae membranes. Expression studies in S. medicae localized the acid-activated IpiA promoter within a 372 bp region upstream of the start codon. The acid-activated transcription of 1piA required the fused sensor-regulator product of the fsrR gene, because expression of lpiA was severely reduced in an S. medicae fsrR mutant. S. meliloti strain 1021 does not contain fsrR and acid-activated expression of the lpiA-gusA fusion did not occur in this species. Although acid-activated 1piA transcription was not required for cell growth, its expression was crucial in enhancing the viability of cells subsequently exposed to lethal acid (pH 4.5) conditions

The Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419 lpiA gene is transcriptionally activated by FsrR and required to enhance survival in lethal acid conditions

Sinorhizobium medicae WR101 was identified as a mutant of WSM419 that contained a minitransposon-induced transcriptional gusA fusion activated at least 20-fold at pH 5-7. The expression of this fusion in moderately acid conditions was dependent on the calcium concentration; increasing the calcium concentration to enhance cell growth and survival in acid conditions decreased the expression of the fusion. A gene region containing the gusA fusion was sequenced, revealing five S medicae genes: tcsA, tcrA, fsrR, lpiA and acvB. The gusA reporter in WRI101 was fused to lpiA, which encodes a putative transmembrane protein also found in other Alphaproteobacteria such as Sinorhizobium metiloti, Rhizobium tropici and Agrobacterium tumetaciens. As LpiA has partial sequence similarity to the lysyl-phosphatidylglycerol (LPG) synthetase FmtC/MprF from Staphylococcus aureus, membrane lipid compositions of S. medicae strains were analysed. Cells cultured under neutral or acidic growth conditions did not induce any detectable LPG and therefore this lipid cannot be a major constituent of S. medicae membranes. Expression studies in S. medicae localized the acid-activated IpiA promoter within a 372 bp region upstream of the start codon. The acid-activated transcription of 1piA required the fused sensor-regulator product of the fsrR gene, because expression of lpiA was severely reduced in an S. medicae fsrR mutant. S. meliloti strain 1021 does not contain fsrR and acid-activated expression of the lpiA-gusA fusion did not occur in this species. Although acid-activated 1piA transcription was not required for cell growth, its expression was crucial in enhancing the viability of cells subsequently exposed to lethal acid (pH 4.5) conditions