Functional Diversity of Microbial Communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

In dryland ecosystems species richness for all domains decreases with increasing aridity. Several environmental stressors (desiccation, thermal and radiation stress) in hyper-arid drylands limit the complex life forms, thus microorganisms comprise most of the standing biomass and diversity in this particular ecosystem. Interestingly, these microorganisms colonize cryptic habitats that provide shelter from harsh environmental conditions. They form unique hypolithic, cryptoendolithic and chasmoendolithic communities beneath and within rocks and soil. The microbial diversity and community structure in refugia of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, the coldest and driest dryland on Earth, has been extensively studied using 16S rRNA gene surveys. These have revealed photoautotrophic cyanobacteria dominate hypoliths and endoliths whereas Actinobacteria dominate soil communities. Despite this, very little is known about the functionality of these communities and how they respond to environmental stress. In the first part of this study, the GeoChip DNA microarray was used to interrogate carbon and nitrogen transformation pathways of asmoendoliths, hypoliths and soil communities in a maritime-influenced location, Miers Valley. The chasmoendoliths, and hypoliths were identified as the potential primary production sites since cyanobacterial rubisco signatures were not commonly recovered from soils. Other forms of rubisco originated from Proteobacteria and archaea were identified, suggesting that chemoautotrophic pathways also contributed to carbon fixation. All communities supported diverse carbohydrate transformation pathways. However, soil communities supported significantly greater aromatic carbon utilization genes than hypoliths and chasmoendoliths, and this was related to the recalcitrant ‘legacy’ carbon stored in Antarctic soils. For nitrogen fixation, all communities displayed the full suite of genes involved in nitrogen transformations. Soil communities generally supported slightly higher abundance of proteobacterial nitrogenase than chasmoendoliths and hypoliths, and so soil may be more important than rock as a site for microbial nitrogen fixation. Stress response pathways were also identified, and soil communities displayed higher diversity and abundance of environmental stress response pathways compared to more cryptic rock communities. The high throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed Cyanobacteria (46%), Actinobacteria (31%), Proteobacteria (25%) and were relatively dominant in hypolithic and soil communities, and these phyla also displayed the greatest functional diversity. This suggests that the metabolic plasticity for these taxa may be an important factor in their role as keystone species in these communities. In addition, GeoChip analyses also identified possible sources of community regulation in the Dry Valleys where grazing and predation are minimal or non-existent. Widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes indicated that inter-specific competition may be important among these diverse communities, and phage signatures indicated a potential bottom-up control via phage lysis of microbial cells. In a metagenomic study, protein sequences involved in extracellular polymer substances (EPS) synthesis (Wzy-dependent pathway) of dryland cyanobacteria were identified by de novo sequencing on the Miseq platform, since EPS played important roles in bio-weathering, nutrient repositories and stress response. Together with other cyanobacterial EPS synthesis protein sequences, phylogenetic analyses showed that these proteins derived different environments were not correlated to their habitats, indicating these genes were highly conserved and that EPS production might be induced and regulated under specific conditions and mechanisms

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Bose-Einstein correlations of charged hadrons in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt s = 13 TeV

Bose-Einstein correlations of charged hadrons are measured over a broad multiplicity range, from a few particles up to about 250 reconstructed charged hadrons in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. The results are based on data collected using the CMS detector at the LHC during runs with a special low-pileup configuration. Three analysis techniques with different degrees of dependence on simulations are used to remove the non-Bose-Einstein background from the correlation functions. All three methods give consistent results. The measured lengths of homogeneity are studied as functions of particle multiplicity as well as average pair transverse momentum and mass. The results are compared with data from both CMS and ATLAS at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV, as well as with theoretical predictions.[graphic not available: see fulltext]Bose-Einstein correlations of charged hadrons are measured over a broad multiplicity range, from a few particles up to about 250 reconstructed charged hadrons in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV. The results are based on data collected using the CMS detector at the LHC during runs with a special low-pileup configuration. Three analysis techniques with different degrees of dependence on simulations are used to remove the non-Bose-Einstein background from the correlation functions. All three methods give consistent results. The measured lengths of homogeneity are studied as functions of particle multiplicity as well as average pair transverse momentum and mass. The results are compared with data from both CMS and ATLAS at $\sqrt{s} =$ 7 TeV, as well as with theoretical predictions

Search for dark matter in events with a leptoquark and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV

A search is presented for dark matter in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s= 13 TeV using events with at least one high transverse momentum (p(T)) muon, at least one high-p(T) jet, and large missing transverse momentum. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2016 and 2017, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 77.4 fb(-1). In the examined scenario, a pair of scalar leptoquarks is assumed to be produced. One leptoquark decays to a muon and a jet while the other decays to dark matter and low-p(T) standard model particles. The signature for signal events would be significant missing transverse momentum from the dark matter in conjunction with a peak at the leptoquark mass in the invariant mass distribution of the highest p(T) muon and jet. The data are observed to be consistent with the background predicted by the standard model. For the first benchmark scenario considered, dark matter masses up to 500 GeV are excluded for leptoquark masses m(LQ) approximate to 1400 GeV, and up to 300 GeV for m(LQ) approximate to 1500 GeV. For the second benchmark scenario, dark matter masses up to 600 GeV are excluded for m(LQ) approximate to 1400 GeV. (C) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Search for an L-mu - L-tau gauge boson using Z -> 4 mu events in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for a narrow Z' gauge boson with a mass between 5 and 70 GeV resulting from an L-mu - L-tau U (1) local gauge symmetry is reported. Theories that predict such a particle have been proposed as an explanation of various experimental discrepancies, including the lack of a dark matter signal in direct-detection experiments, tension in the measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and reports of possible lepton flavor universality violation in B meson decays. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 77.3 fb(-1) recorded in 2016 and 2017 by the CMS detector at the LHC. Events containing four muons with an invariant mass near the standard model Z boson mass are analyzed, and the selection is further optimized to be sensitive to the events that may contain Z -> Z'mu mu -> 4 mu decays. The event yields are consistent with the standard model predictions. Upper limits of 10(-8)-10(-7) at 95% confidence level are set on the product of branching fractions B(Z -> Z'mu mu)B(Z' -> mu mu), depending on the Z' mass, which excludes a Z' boson coupling strength to muons above 0.004-0.3. These are the first dedicated limits on L-mu - L-tau models at the LHC and result in a significant increase in the excluded model parameter space. The results of this search may also be used to constrain the coupling strength of any light Z' gauge boson to muons. (C) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Measurement of t(t)over-bar normalised multi-differential cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV, and simultaneous determination of the strong coupling strength, top quark pole mass, and parton distribution functions

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Measurement of the top quark mass using charged particles in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

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Measurement of electroweak WZ boson production and search for new physics in WZ + two jets events in pp collisions at √s=13TeV

A measurement of WZ electroweak (EW) vector boson scattering is presented. The measurement is performed in the leptonic decay modes WZ→ℓνℓ′ℓ′, where ℓ,ℓ′=e,μ. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV at the LHC collected with the CMS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The WZ plus two jet production cross section is measured in fiducial regions with enhanced contributions from EW production and found to be consistent with standard model predictions. The EW WZ production in association with two jets is measured with an observed (expected) significance of 2.2 (2.5) standard deviations. Constraints on charged Higgs boson production and on anomalous quartic gauge couplings in terms of dimension-eight effective field theory operators are also presented

Azimuthal separation in nearly back-to-back jet topologies in inclusive 2-and 3-jet events in pp collisions at root s=13TeV

A measurement for inclusive 2- and 3-jet events of the azimuthal correlation between the two jets with the largest transverse momenta, Delta phi(12), is presented. The measurement considers events where the two leading jets are nearly collinear ("back-to-back") in the transverse plane and is performed for several ranges of the leading jet transverse momentum. Proton-proton collision data collected with the CMS experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1) are used. Predictions based on calculations using matrix elements at leading-order and next-to-leading-order accuracy in perturbative quantum chromodynamics supplemented with leading-log parton showers and hadronization are generally in agreement with themeasurements. Discrepancies between the measurement and theoretical predictions are as large as 15%, mainly in the region 177 degrees <Delta phi(12) <180 degrees. The 2- and 3-jet measurements are not simultaneously described by any of models.Peer reviewe