Fracture network characterisation of a landslide by electrical resistivity tomography

Abstract. In contrary to most of the landslide studies which concentrate to the sliding surface in this paper the fracture system of a loess landslide is investigated. The continuity and geometry, orientation and dip of the major fractures are crucial parameters for assessing rock stability and landslide evolution. Rain infiltrating moreover easily into the rock mass through fractures providing lubrication for the material to slide, and increases the self-mass of the material increasing the slumping rate. Fracture maps enable beside of the characterisation of the fractured area the delineation of the endangered area of slow-moving landslides in due time and getting information about its inner structure. For constructing such maps Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) measurements have been carried out using different geoelectric configurations. In spite of the high density of the fractures and their changing physical parameters in function of their water content – which make the interpretation rather difficult – a number of fractures have been detected and more or less well localised. On the basis of the present research the application of the Schlumberger and the Pole-Dipole arrays is recommended to fulfil the aim of the study. The optimised Stummer array is at the same time the only array which presents conductive anomalies (supposedly water filled fractures), as well, and indicates that fractures elongate deep downwards. Because these features seem to be realistic based on field observations or theoretical considerations the Stummer array may be a very good tool for completing e.g. P-Dp measurements. The study area could have been divided by all arrays into differently fractured zones, which assists a lot in understanding the landslide structure and evolution. It was shown, moreover, that in the still passive area there are thick fractures, too, verifying its dangerousness, as well. The ERT results enabled localising the rupture surfaces of future slumps which proved to be distributed uniformly with about 10 m distance between them and predicting mass movements which may prevent the slump along the visible fracture. Similar unidirectional fracture systems could be investigated by the ERT method for any hydrogeological or engineering geological aim. </jats:p

Host and symbiont intraspecific variability: The case of Paramecium calkinsi and "Candidatus Trichorickettsia mobilis"

Newly isolated strains of the ciliate Paramecium calkinsi and their cytoplasmic bacterial endosymbionts were characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, including live observation, ultrastructural investigation, and molecular analysis. Despite morphological resemblance, the characterized P. calkinsi strains showed a significant molecular divergence compared to conspecifics, possibly hinting for a cryptic speciation. The endosymbionts were clearly found to be affiliated to the species â\u80\u9cCandidatus Trichorickettsia mobilisâ\u80\u9d (Rickettsiales, Rickettsiaceae), currently encompassing only bacteria retrieved in an obligate intracellular association with other ciliates. However, a relatively high degree of intraspecific divergence was observed as well, thus it was possible to split â\u80\u9cCandidatus Trichorickettsiaâ\u80\u9d into three subspecies, one of which represented so far only by the newly characterized endosymbionts of P. calkinsi. Other features distinguished the members of each different subspecies. In particular, the endosymbionts of P. calkinsi resided in the cytoplasm and possessed numerous peritrichous flagella, although no motility was evidenced, whereas their conspecifics in other hosts were either cytoplasmic and devoid of flagella, or macronuclear, displaying flagellar-driven motility. Moreover, contrarily to previously analyzed â\u80\u9cCandidatus Trichorickettsiaâ\u80\u9d hosts, infected P. calkinsi cells frequently became amicronucleate and demonstrated abnormal cell division, eventually leading to decline of the laboratory culture

The Hidden World of Rickettsiales Symbionts: “Candidatus Spectririckettsia obscura,” a Novel Bacterium Found in Brazilian and Indian Paramecium caudatum

Symbioses between bacteria and eukaryotes are widespread and may have significant impact on the evolutionary history of symbiotic partners. The order Rickettsiales is a lineage of intracellular Alphaproteobacteria characterized by an obligate association with a wide range of eukaryotic hosts, including several unicellular organisms, such as ciliates and amoebas. In this work, we characterized the Rickettsiales symbionts associated with two different genotypes of the freshwater ciliate Paramecium caudatum originated from freshwater environments in distant geographical areas. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene showed that the two symbionts are closely related to each other (99.4% identity), belong to the family Rickettsiaceae, but are far-related with respect to previously characterized Rickettsiales. Consequently, they were assigned to a new species of a novel genus, namely “Candidatus Spectririckettsia obscura.” Screening on a database of short reads from 16S rRNA gene amplicon-based profiling studies confirmed that bacterial sequences related to the new symbiont are preferentially retrieved from freshwater environments, apparently with extremely scarce occurrence (&lt; 0.1% positive samples). The present work provides new information on the still under-explored biodiversity of Rickettsiales, in particular those associated to ciliate host cells