290 research outputs found
Enrichment of Fusobacteria in Sea Surface Oil Slicks from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill led to rapid microbial community shifts in the Gulf of Mexico, including the formation of unprecedented quantities of marine oil snow (MOS) and of a massive subsurface oil plume. The major taxa that bloomed in sea surface oil slicks during the spill included Cycloclasticus, and to a lesser extent Halomonas, Alteromonas, and Pseudoalteromonas—organisms that grow and degrade oil hydrocarbons aerobically. Here, we show that sea surface oil slicks at DWH contained obligate and facultative anaerobic taxa, including members of the obligate anaerobic phylum Fusobacteria that are commonly found in marine sediment environments. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that Fusobacteria were strongly selected for when sea surface oil slicks were allowed to develop anaerobically. These organisms have been found in oil-contaminated sediments in the Gulf of Mexico, in deep marine oil reservoirs, and other oil-contaminated sites, suggesting they have putative hydrocarbon-degrading qualities. The occurrence and strong selection for Fusobacteria in a lab-based incubation of a sea surface oil slick sample collected during the spill suggests that these organisms may have become enriched in anaerobic zones of suspended particulates, such as MOS. Whilst the formation and rapid sinking of MOS is recognised as an important mechanism by which a proportion of the Macondo oil had been transported to the sea floor, its role in potentially transporting microorganisms, including oil-degraders, from the upper reaches of the water column to the seafloor should be considered. The presence of Fusobacteria on the sea surface—a highly oxygenated environment—is intriguing, and may be explained by the vertical upsurge of oil that provided a carrier to transport these organisms from anaerobic/micro-aerophilic zones in the oil plume or seabed to the upper reaches of the water column. We also propose that the formation of rapidly-sinking MOS may have re-transported these, and other microbial taxa, to the sediment in the Gulf of Mexico
Nass- und plasmachemische Oberflächenmodifizierung biodegradierbarer, polymerer Implantatwerkstoffe unter Immobilisierung von Wirkstoffen zur Optimierung der Zelle-Implantat-Interaktion
Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden Oberflächenmodifikationen der Polyester Poly(epsilon-caprolacton) und Poly(3-hydroxybuttersäure) sowie eines Referenzpolyurethan untersucht, mit dem Ziel der Immobilisierung von Acetylsalicylsäure und Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor unter physiologischen Bedingungen. Die Charakterisierung der Oberflächen erfolgte durch Kontaktwinkelmessungen, FTIR-ATR-Spektroskopie, Fluoreszenzmarkierung, Ninhydrin-Test, XPS-Messungen, HPLC, verschiedene ELISA-Techniken, Vitalitäts- und Hämokompatibilitätsstudien
Cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent characterization of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in Guaymas Basin sediments
Marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria perform a fundamental role in the biodegradation of crude oil and its petrochemical derivatives in coastal and open ocean environments. However, there is a paucity of knowledge on the diversity and function of these organisms in deep-sea sediment. Here we used stable-isotope probing (SIP), a valuable tool to link the phylogeny and function of targeted microbial groups, to investigate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria under aerobic conditions in sediments from Guaymas Basin with uniformly labeled [13C]phenanthrene. The dominant sequences in clone libraries constructed from 13C-enriched bacterial DNA (from phenanthrene enrichments) were identified to belong to the genus Cycloclasticus. We used quantitative PCR primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene of the SIP-identified Cycloclasticus to determine their abundance in sediment incubations amended with unlabeled phenanthrene and showed substantial increases in gene abundance during the experiments. We also isolated a strain, BG-2, representing the SIP-identified Cycloclasticus sequence (99.9% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity), and used this strain to provide direct evidence of phenanthrene degradation and mineralization. In addition, we isolated Halomonas, Thalassospira and Lutibacterium spp. with demonstrable phenanthrene-degrading capacity from Guaymas Basin sediment. This study demonstrates the value of coupling SIP with cultivation methods to identify and expand on the known diversity of PAH-degrading bacteria in the deep-sea
Astro2020 Science White Paper: Toward Finding Earth 2.0: Masses and Orbits of Small Planets with Extreme Radial Velocity Precision
Having discovered that Earth-sized planets are common, we are now embarking
on a journey to determine if Earth-like planets are also common. Finding
Earth-like planets is one of the most compelling endeavors of the 21st century
- leading us toward finally answering the question: Are we alone? To achieve
this forward-looking goal, we must determine the masses of the planets; the
sizes of the planets, by themselves, are not sufficient for the determination
of the bulk and atmospheric compositions. Masses, coupled with the radii, are
crucial constraints on the bulk composition and interior structure of the
planets and the composition of their atmospheres, including the search for
biosignatures. Precision radial velocity is the most viable technique for
providing essential mass and orbit information for spectroscopy of other
Earths. The development of high quality precision radial velocity instruments
coupled to the building of the large telescope facilities like TMT and GMT or
space-based platforms like EarthFinder can enable very high spectral resolution
observations with extremely precise radial velocities on minute timescales to
allow for the modeling and removal of radial velocity jitter. Over the next
decade, the legacy of exoplanet astrophysics can be cemented firmly as part of
humankind's quest in finding the next Earth - but only if we can measure the
masses and orbits of Earth-sized planets in habitable zone orbits around
Sun-like stars.Comment: Science White Paper Submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey (35
co-signers in addition to co-authors
XO-2b: a hot Jupiter with a variable host star that potentially affects its measured transit depth
The transiting hot Jupiter XO-2b is an ideal target for multi-object
photometry and spectroscopy as it has a relatively bright (-mag = 11.25) K0V
host star (XO-2N) and a large planet-to-star contrast ratio
(R/R). It also has a nearby (31.21") binary stellar
companion (XO-2S) of nearly the same brightness (-mag = 11.20) and spectral
type (G9V), allowing for the characterization and removal of shared systematic
errors (e.g., airmass brightness variations). We have therefore conducted a
multiyear (2012--2015) study of XO-2b with the University of Arizona's 61"
(1.55~m) Kuiper Telescope and Mont4k CCD in the Bessel U and Harris B
photometric passbands to measure its Rayleigh scattering slope to place upper
limits on the pressure-dependent radius at, e.g., 10~bar. Such measurements are
needed to constrain its derived molecular abundances from primary transit
observations. We have also been monitoring XO-2N since the 2013--2014 winter
season with Tennessee State University's Celestron-14 (0.36~m) automated
imaging telescope to investigate stellar variability, which could affect
XO-2b's transit depth. Our observations indicate that XO-2N is variable,
potentially due to {cool star} spots, {with a peak-to-peak amplitude of ~R-mag and a period of ~days for the 2013--2014
observing season and a peak-to-peak amplitude of ~R-mag and
~day period for the 2014--2015 observing season. Because of}
the likely influence of XO-2N's variability on the derivation of XO-2b's
transit depth, we cannot bin multiple nights of data to decrease our
uncertainties, preventing us from constraining its gas abundances. This study
demonstrates that long-term monitoring programs of exoplanet host stars are
crucial for understanding host star variability.Comment: published in ApJ, 9 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables; updated figures with
more ground-based monitoring, added more citations to previous work
A taxonomy of pairing-friendly elliptic curves
Elliptic curves with small embedding degree and large prime-order subgroup are key ingredients for implementing pairing-based cryptographic systems. Such pairing-friendly curves are rare and thus require specific constructions. In this paper we give a single coherent framework that encompasses all of the constructions of pairing-friendly elliptic curves currently existing in the literature. We also include new constructions of pairing-friendly curves that improve on the previously known constructions for certain embedding degrees. Finally, for all embedding degrees up to 50, we provide recommendations as to which pairing-friendly curves to choose to best satisfy a variety of performance and security requirements
Elemental Abundances of Kepler Objects of Interest in APOGEE. I. Two Distinct Orbital Period Regimes Inferred from Host Star Iron Abundances
The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has
observed 600 transiting exoplanets and exoplanet candidates from
\textit{Kepler} (Kepler Objects of Interest, KOIs), most with 18 epochs.
The combined multi-epoch spectra are of high signal-to-noise (typically
100) and yield precise stellar parameters and chemical abundances. We
first confirm the ability of the APOGEE abundance pipeline, ASPCAP, to derive
reliable [Fe/H] and effective temperatures for FGK dwarf stars -- the primary
\textit{Kepler} host stellar type -- by comparing the ASPCAP-derived stellar
parameters to those from independent high-resolution spectroscopic
characterizations for 221 dwarf stars in the literature. With a sample of 282
close-in ( days) KOIs observed in the APOGEE KOI goal program, we find a
correlation between orbital period and host star [Fe/H] characterized by a
critical period, = days, below which small
exoplanets orbit statistically more metal-enriched host stars. This effect may
trace a metallicity dependence of the protoplanetary disk inner-radius at the
time of planet formation or may be a result of rocky planet ingestion driven by
inward planetary migration. We also consider that this may trace a metallicity
dependence of the dust sublimation radius, but find no statistically
significant correlation with host and orbital period to
support such a claim.Comment: 18 Pages, Accepted to A
Разработка технологического процесса изготовления штока 2М138И.01.06.030 СБ
Раздел "Объект и методы исследования" содержит служебное назначение изделия, расчет годовой программы выпуска изделия.
Раздел "Расчеты и аналитика" содержит выбор баз, разработку маршрута технологического процесса, выбор оборудования и средств технологического оснащения, расчёт припусков на обработку.
В разделе "Результаты проведённого исследования" приведено описание конструкции и расчёт приспособления.
Раздел "Социальная ответственность" посвящён вопросам безопасной работы на участке и пожарной безопасности.
В разделе "Финансовый менеджмент, ресурсоэффективность и ресурсосбережение" рассчитана себестоимость изготовления детали.The section "Object and methods of research" contains the service purpose of the product, the calculation of the annual production program of the product.
The section "Calculations and Analytics" contains the selection of bases, development of the route of the process.
In the Section "Results of the research contains" the description of design and calculation of the adaptation.
The section "Social responsibility" is devoted to the issues of safe work on the site and fire safety.
In the section "Financial management, resource efficiency and resource saving" calculated the cost of manufacturing parts
Investigating the physical properties of transiting hot Jupiters with the 1.5-m Kuiper Telescope
We present new photometric data of 11 hot Jupiter transiting exoplanets
(CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-33b, HAT-P-37b, WASP-2b, WASP-24b,
WASP-60b, WASP-80b, WASP-103b, XO-3b) in order to update their planetary
parameters and to constrain information about their atmospheres. These
observations of CoRoT-12b, HAT-P-37b and WASP-60b are the first follow-up data
since their discovery. Additionally, the first near-UV transits of WASP-80b and
WASP-103b are presented. We compare the results of our analysis with previous
work to search for transit timing variations (TTVs) and a wavelength dependence
in the transit depth. TTVs may be evidence of a third body in the system and
variations in planetary radius with wavelength can help constrain the
properties of the exoplanet's atmosphere. For WASP-103b and XO-3b, we find a
possible variation in the transit depths that may be evidence of scattering in
their atmospheres. The B-band transit depth of HAT-P-37b is found to be smaller
than its near-IR transit depth and such a variation may indicate TiO/VO
absorption. These variations are detected from 2-4.6, so follow-up
observations are needed to confirm these results. Additionally, a flat spectrum
across optical wavelengths is found for 5 of the planets (HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-12b,
WASP-2b, WASP-24b, WASP-80b), suggestive that clouds may be present in their
atmospheres. We calculate a refined orbital period and ephemeris for all the
targets, which will help with future observations. No TTVs are seen in our
analysis with the exception of WASP-80b and follow-up observations are needed
to confirm this possible detection.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 9 Tables. Light Curves available online.
Accepted to MNRAS (2017 August 25
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