Methane oxidizing bacteria at the oxic-anoxic interface : taxon-specific activity and resilience

The methanotrophic bacteria are the only known biological sink for the third most important greenhouse gas methane, performing an important ecosystem function influencing global climate change. In the soil surface layer of water logged soils aerobic methanotrophs thrive at the oxic-anoxic interface attenuating the amount of potentially emitted methane. The highly diverse methanotroph community is shaping the interface characterized by overlapping methane and oxygen gradients by their own activity. However, how the different methanotrophs physically share their microhabitat at the interface is unknown. Here we highly resolved the vertical distribution and activity of methanotrophs at the interface. To assess the structure of the present and active methanotroph community the particulate methane monooxygenase gene pmoA was used as a functional and phylogenetic marker. For quantification of pmoA genes and transcripts a new method, the competitive-(reverse transcriptase)-t-RFLP was established. Only a subset of the methanotroph community was shown to be active and the major activity was confined to a small zone around the interface. The predominantly active methanotrophs were affiliated to Methylobacter and no transcripts of type II methanotrophs (Methylosinus, Methylocystis) were found. Hence, different species within this guild exploited different niches in the same microenvironment. Furthermore, the methanotrophs resistance to desciccation (up to 18 years) was tested. Longer-lasting droughts reduced methanotrophic diversity, and adversely affected methane oxidation upon rewetting. Type I methanotrophs showed relatively higher pmoA gene expression, while type II were more resistant to desiccation. Finally, we showed that high methane source strength aids the ability of the methanotroph community to recover from the effect of a strong disturbance. However, recovery of the type II community was independent of pmoA gene expression and source strength indicating facultative growth. Overall, the methanotroph community in the soil surface layer is highly diverse. This work contributed to understand the high and apparently redundant diversity by unravelling niche differentiation at the fine spatial resolution and evaluating the effect of different source strength. Moreover, the range of alternative substrates used for growth seems to be another important factor in the environment

Functional product business models : a review of the literature and identification of operational tactical practices

Offering functional products (FP) are beginning to emerge as a growing trend within industrial firms driven by the desire to achieve economic performance and sustainable resource management goals. Nevertheless, our knowledge about how companies can adopt and implement FP has remained limited. In this study, we conduct a systematic literature review related to FP business models and tactical practices to advance the understanding regarding FP implementation. Based on the in-depth analysis of 48 articles, we develop a framework that proposes a link between FP business models and tactics. We further link FP business models to five operational level tactics, which can ensure the degree of their implementation and value generation. The identified tactical sets are contract, marketing, network, product design, and sustainability aspects.©2014 Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Compositional and functional stability of aerobic methane consuming communities in drained and rewetted peat meadows

The restoration of peatlands is an important strategy to counteract subsidence and loss of biodiversity. However, responses of important microbial soil processes are poorly understood. We assessed functioning, diversity and spatial organization of methanotrophic communities in drained and rewetted peat meadows with different water table management and agricultural practice. Results show that the methanotrophic diversity was similar between drained and rewetted sites with a remarkable dominance of the genus Methylocystis. Enzyme kinetics depicted no major differences, indicating flexibility in the methane (CH4) concentrations that can be used by the methanotrophic community. Short-term flooding led to temporary elevated CH4 emission but to neither major changes in abundances of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) nor major changes in CH4 consumption kinetics in drained agriculturally used peat meadows. Radiolabeling and autoradiographic imaging of intact soil cores revealed a markedly different spatial arrangement of the CH4 consuming zone in cores exposed to near-atmospheric and elevated CH4. The observed spatial patterns of CH4 consumption in drained peat meadows with and without short-term flooding highlighted the spatial complexity and responsiveness of the CH4 consuming zone upon environmental change. The methanotrophic microbial community is not generally altered and harbors MOB that can cover a large range of CH4 concentrations offered due to water-table fluctuations, effectively mitigating CH4 emission

Spire, an Actin Nucleation Factor, Regulates Cell Division during Drosophila Heart Development

The Drosophila dorsal vessel is a beneficial model system for studying the regulation of early heart development. Spire (Spir), an actin-nucleation factor, regulates actin dynamics in many developmental processes, such as cell shape determination, intracellular transport, and locomotion. Through protein expression pattern analysis, we demonstrate that the absence of spir function affects cell division in Myocyte enhancer factor 2-, Tinman (Tin)-, Even-skipped- and Seven up (Svp)-positive heart cells. In addition, genetic interaction analysis shows that spir functionally interacts with Dorsocross, tin, and pannier to properly specify the cardiac fate. Furthermore, through visualization of double heterozygous embryos, we determines that spir cooperates with CycA for heart cell specification and division. Finally, when comparing the spir mutant phenotype with that of a CycA mutant, the results suggest that most Svp-positive progenitors in spir mutant embryos cannot undergo full cell division at cell cycle 15, and that Tin-positive progenitors are arrested at cell cycle 16 as double-nucleated cells. We conclude that Spir plays a crucial role in controlling dorsal vessel formation and has a function in cell division during heart tube morphogenesis

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

Peer reviewe

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Methane oxidizing bacteria at the oxic-anoxic interface : taxon-specific activity and resilience

The methanotrophic bacteria are the only known biological sink for the third most important greenhouse gas methane, performing an important ecosystem function influencing global climate change. In the soil surface layer of water logged soils aerobic methanotrophs thrive at the oxic-anoxic interface attenuating the amount of potentially emitted methane. The highly diverse methanotroph community is shaping the interface characterized by overlapping methane and oxygen gradients by their own activity. However, how the different methanotrophs physically share their microhabitat at the interface is unknown. Here we highly resolved the vertical distribution and activity of methanotrophs at the interface. To assess the structure of the present and active methanotroph community the particulate methane monooxygenase gene pmoA was used as a functional and phylogenetic marker. For quantification of pmoA genes and transcripts a new method, the competitive-(reverse transcriptase)-t-RFLP was established. Only a subset of the methanotroph community was shown to be active and the major activity was confined to a small zone around the interface. The predominantly active methanotrophs were affiliated to Methylobacter and no transcripts of type II methanotrophs (Methylosinus, Methylocystis) were found. Hence, different species within this guild exploited different niches in the same microenvironment. Furthermore, the methanotrophs resistance to desciccation (up to 18 years) was tested. Longer-lasting droughts reduced methanotrophic diversity, and adversely affected methane oxidation upon rewetting. Type I methanotrophs showed relatively higher pmoA gene expression, while type II were more resistant to desiccation. Finally, we showed that high methane source strength aids the ability of the methanotroph community to recover from the effect of a strong disturbance. However, recovery of the type II community was independent of pmoA gene expression and source strength indicating facultative growth. Overall, the methanotroph community in the soil surface layer is highly diverse. This work contributed to understand the high and apparently redundant diversity by unravelling niche differentiation at the fine spatial resolution and evaluating the effect of different source strength. Moreover, the range of alternative substrates used for growth seems to be another important factor in the environment

Deciphering the Mechanism of Tolerance to Apple Replant Disease Using a Genetic Mapping Approach in a Malling 9 × <i>M. × robusta</i> 5 Population Identifies SNP Markers Linked to Candidate Genes

Apple replant disease (ARD) is a worldwide economic risk in apple production. Although several studies have shown that the wild apple accession Malus × robusta 5 (Mr5) is ARD-tolerant, the genetics of this tolerance have not yet been elucidated. A genetic mapping approach with a biparental population derived from contrasting parents involving molecular markers provides a means for marker-assisted selection of genetically complex traits and for determining candidate genes. In this study, we crossed the ARD-tolerant wild apple accession Mr5 and the ARD-susceptible rootstock ‘M9’ and analyzed the resultant progeny for ARD tolerance. Hence, a high-density genetic map using a tunable genotyping-by-sequencing (tGBS) approach was established. A total of 4804 SNPs together with 77 SSR markers were included in the parental maps comprising 17 linkage groups. The phenotypic responses to ARD were evaluated for 106 offspring and classified by an ARD-susceptibility index (ASI). A Kruskal–Wallis test identified SNP markers and one SSR marker on linkage groups (LG) 6 and 2 that correlated with ARD tolerance. We found nine candidate genes linked with these markers, which may be associated with plant response to ARD. These candidate genes provide some insight into the defense mechanisms against ARD and should be studied in more detail