Effects of remediation amendments on vadose zone microorganisms

Surfactant-based foam delivery technology has been studied to remediate Hanford 200 area deep vadose zone sediment. However, the surfactants and remediation amendments have an unknown effect on indigenous subsurface microorganisms. Microbial populations are important factors to consider in remediation efforts due to their potential to alter soil geochemistry. This project focuses on measuring microbial metabolic responses to remediation amendments in batch and column studies using Deep Vadose Zone Sediments. Initial studies of the microbes from Hanford 200 area deep vadose zone sediment showed surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) and remediation amendment calcium polysulfide (CPS) had no affect on microbial growth using BiologTM Ecoplates. To move towards a more realistic field analog, soil columns were packed with Hanford 200 Area sediment. Once microbial growth in the column was verified by observing growth of the effluent solution on tryptic soy agar plates, remedial surfactants were injected into the columns, and the resulting metabolic diversity was measured. Results suggest surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) stimulates microbial growth. The soil columns were also visualized using X-ray microtomography to inspect soil packing and possibly probe for evidence of biofilms. Overall, BiologTM Ecoplates provide a rapid assay to predict effects of remediation amendments on Hanford 200 area deep vadose zone microorganisms

Characterization of Material from Wells 299-W10-35 (C7573) and 299-W14-74 (C7024)

The objective of this work was to characterize material accumulating on wells 299-W10-35 (C7573) and 299-W14-74 (C7024) to determine the type of material (i.e., chemical or biological) and, if the material is biological, to identify the microorganisms present

Weltrohstoffversorgung: Konflikt oder Kooperation?

Unter dem Eindruck der jüngsten Preishausse auf den internationalen Rohstoffmärkten wird nunmehr in vielen Ländern befürchtet, daß die Welt an der Schwelle zunehmender Schwierigkeiten bei der Versorgung mit mineralischen und landwirtschaftlichen Rohstoffen einschließlich Nahrungsmitteln steht. Der kräftige Preisanstieg bei diesen Rohstoffen war jedoch überwiegend konjunkturell bedingt. Bei Getreide verursachten Mißernten unerwartete Produktionsausfälle größeren Ausmaßes. Wirksame Preisabsprachen zwischen Produzentenländern hat es, anders als bei Erdöl, entgegen einer verbreiteten Meinung nicht gegeben. Längerfristig wird sich das Preisniveau auf den Rohstoffmärkten, wenn auch nicht drastisch, so doch kontinuierlich erhöhen. Preisfluktuationen um den Trend werden weiterhin diese Märkte kennzeichnen. Ernsthafte Rohstoffverknappungen brauchen für den Rest dieses Jahrhunderts nicht erwartet zu werden. So übersteigen z. B. im Falle zahlreicher nicht-regenerierbarer NE-Metalle die bekannten Weltreserven deutlich den Weltbedarf; bei tropischen Ernährungsgütern und bei Getreide ist der Spielraum für eine nachhaltige Erhöhung der Flächenerträge noch sehr groß, vor allem in Entwicklungsländern. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit für die Bildung von Produzentenkartellen in der Zukunft ist gering. Käme es dennoch zu Kartellabsprachen, so wären diese bestenfalls kurzfristig erfolgreich. Das gleiche gilt für Exportbeschränkungen, die in Zeiten knappen Angebots sensibler Produkte (z. B. Getreide) den internen Preisanstieg dämpfen sollen. Angesichts der verbreiteten Knappheitspsychose kann nicht ausgeschlossen werden, daß es im Falle von temporären Angebotsdefiziten zu Überreaktionen kommt, die erhebliche Gefahren für den freien und multilateralen Welthandel in sich bergen. Solchen Gefahren kann nur erfolgreich durch partnerschaftliche Zusammenarbeit, nicht jedoch durch nationale Alleingänge, begegnet werden. Erforderlich sind ein international vereinbartes System von Verhaltensregeln zur Sicherung des undiskriminierten Zugangs zu Rohstoffmärkten bei angemessenen Preisen, die koordinierte Bildung von Rohstoffvorräten, internationale Rohstoffabkommen zwischen Produzenten- und Verbraucherländern, Regelungen zur Verbesserung des allgemeinen Investitionsklimas im Rohstoffbereich und der Abbau der Handelsschranken der Industrieländer gegenüber Exporten landwirtschaftlicher Produkte sowie rohstoff- und/oder arbeitsintensiver Halb- und Fertigwaren aus Entwicklungsländern. --

Welthandel und Strukturanpassung in den Industrieländern

Ziel der sechsten GATT-Runde ist es, die Schranken im Welthandel weiter abzubauen. Anders als bei den fünf früheren GATT-Runden herrscht dieses Mal in vielen Ländern Skepsis gegenüber einer weiteren Liberalisierung, weil man die Risiken, die mit zunehmendem Importwettbewerb verbunden sein können, höher bewertet als die möglichen Vorteile der Liberalisierung. Das Aufrechterhalten von Handelsschranken kostet Ressourcen. Die Protektion wenig effizienter Industrien in den wohlhabenden Ländern hält deren Einkommen unter dem Niveau, das sie sonst erreichen könnten und verzögert das Tempo der Industrialisierung in den Entwicklungsländern. Die ökonomischen Argumente zugunsten eines freieren Handels sind stark und weitgehend unanfechtbar. Handelsbeschränkungen sind zudem politisch belastend. Es gibt eine Reihe staatlicher Maßnahmen, die geeignet sind, die Schocks einer Anpassung an wirtschaftliche Veränderungen zu mindern. Interne Anpassungmaßnahmen spielen daher eine bedeutende Rolle in der künftigen Handelspolitik. Sehr zweifelhaft ist, ob alle Möglichkeiten für wirksame Anpassungsmaßnahmen bereits ausgeschöpft sind. In der Textilindustrie, der Stahlindustrie und im Kohlenbergbau existieren nach allgemeiner Meinung hartnäckige Anpassungsprobleme, die besondere und permanente Schutzmaßnahmen gegen den Importwettbewerb verlangen. Obwohl es viele Anstrengungen gegeben hat, den Status quo aufrechtzuerhalten, hat in allen drei Fällen die Dynamik des Strukturwandels die Lage grundlegend verändert. Diese Entwicklungstendenzen erlauben den Schluß, daß weitere Schritte zur Liberalisierung auch in den schwierigsten Fällen nicht nur wünschenswert wären, sondern wahrscheinlich durch den immanenten Strukturwandel in der Wirtschaft erleichtert werden. Eine Veränderung ist selten bequem, selbst dann nicht, wenn sie zu Verbesserungen führt. Für die Politik darf die relevante Frage nicht sein, wie man eine Anpassung an veränderte Umstände verlangsamen oder verhindern könnte. Sie lautet vielmehr, wie man die Chancen, die ein freierer Handel bietet, dadurch nutzen kann, daß man die Anpassung erleichtert und ihre Kosten minimiert. --

Forum on immune digital twins: a meeting report

Medical digital twins are computational models of human biology relevant to a given medical condition, which can be tailored to an individual patient, thereby predicting the course of disease and individualized treatments, an important goal of personalized medicine. The immune system, which has a central role in many diseases, is highly heterogeneous between individuals, and thus poses a major challenge for this technology. If medical digital twins are to faithfully capture the characteristics of a patient's immune system, we need to answer many questions, such as: What do we need to know about the immune system to build mathematical models that reflect features of an individual? What data do we need to collect across the different scales of immune system action? What are the right modeling paradigms to properly capture immune system complexity? In February 2023, an international group of experts convened in Lake Nona, FL for two days to discuss these and other questions related to digital twins of the immune system. The group consisted of clinicians, immunologists, biologists, and mathematical modelers, representative of the interdisciplinary nature of medical digital twin development. A video recording of the entire event is available. This paper presents a synopsis of the discussions, brief descriptions of ongoing digital twin projects at different stages of progress. It also proposes a 5-year action plan for further developing this technology. The main recommendations are to identify and pursue a small number of promising use cases, to develop stimulation-specific assays of immune function in a clinical setting, and to develop a database of existing computational immune models, as well as advanced modeling technology and infrastructure

Involvement of mTOR in CXCL12 Mediated T Cell Signaling and Migration

CXCL12 is a pleiotropic chemokine involved in multiple different processes such as immune regulation, inflammatory responses, and cancer development. CXCL12 is also a potent chemokine involved in chemoattraction of T cells to the site of infection or inflammation. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine-threonine kinase that modulates different cellular processes, such as metabolism, nutrient sensing, protein translation, and cell growth. The role of mTOR in CXCL12-mediated resting T cell migration has yet to be elucidated.Rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR, significantly inhibits CXCL12 mediated migration of both primary human resting T cells and human T cell leukemia cell line CEM. p70(S6K1), an effector molecule of mTOR signaling pathway, was knocked down by shRNA in CEM cells using a lentiviral gene transfer system. Using p70(S6K1) knock down cells, we demonstrate the role of mTOR signaling in T cell migration both in vitro and in vivo.Our data demonstrate a new role for mTOR in CXCL12-induced T cell migration, and enrich the current knowledge regarding the clinical use of rapamycin

Final report : environmental stresses and skeletal deformities in fish from the Willamette River, Oregon, USA

The Willamette River, one of only 14 American Heritage Rivers, flows through the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of Oregon. Previous biological monitoring of Willamette River fish detected elevated frequencies of skeletal deformities in fish from certain areas of the lower (NP [NP], rivermile [RM] 26-55) and middle (near Wheatland Ferry [WF], RM 72-74) Willamette River, relative to those in the upper Willamette (i.e. near Corvallis [CV], RM 125-138). The objective of this study was to determine the likely cause of skeletal deformities in populations of Willamette River fish. Characterization of deformity loads in Willamette River fish collected in 2002 and 2003 demonstrated that deformity loads remained 2-3 times greater at the NPPool (NP) and WF locations than those observed at the CV location. There were some differences in water quality parameters between the NP and CV sites, but they did not readily explain the difference in deformity loads. Concentrations of bioavailable metals were below detection limits (≈1-5 µg/L). Concentrations of bioavailable polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides were generally below 0.25 ng/L. Concentrations of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were generally less than 5 ng/L. Chlorpyrifos (averaged less than 1.5 ng/L) was the only organophosphate pesticide detected as bioavailable in water. Concentrations of most persistent organic pollutants were below detection limits in ovary/oocyte tissue samples and sediments and those that were detected were not significantly different among sites. Bioassay of Willamette River water extracts provided no evidence that unidentified compounds or the complex mixture of compounds present in the extracts induced skeletal deformities in cyprinid fish. However, metacercariae of a digenean trematode were directly associated with a large portion of the lesions detected in fish collected from the Willamette River and the lesions were reproduced in fathead minnows exposed to cercariae extracted from field collected snails. As a whole, there was very little evidence to suggest that chemical contaminants were responsible for the greater deformity loads observed at NP and WF. Instead, the weight of evidence suggests that parasitic infection was the primary cause of skeletal deformities observed in Willamette River fish.Keywords: Willamette River, Infection, Chlorpyrifos, Polychorinated biphenyls, Chlorinated pesticides, Water, Parasite, Fish, Quality, Environment and Conservation, Skeleton, Deformity, Orego

Exposure to Sodium Metam during Zebrafish Somitogenesis Results in Early Transcriptional Indicators of the Ensuing Neuronal and Muscular Dysfunction

Exposures to sodium metam (NaM) within the developmental period of somitogenesis (10- to 18-h postfertilization [hpf]) results in easily detectable distortions of the notochord by 24 hpf in the developing zebrafish. We hypothesized that NaM-induced transcriptional changes during somitogenesis would reveal the major molecular targets in the zebrafish embryo. Embryos were exposed to NaM beginning at 4 hpf (1000 cells) and total RNA was isolated from embryos at the 3 somite (11 hpf), 10 somite (14 hpf), 18 somite (18 hpf), and larval (24 hpf) stages of development. Using the Affymetrix zebrafish gene array we observed relatively few mRNAs differentially regulated at least twofold at each time point (11 hpf, 101 genes; 14 hpf, 151; 18 hpf, 154; 24 hpf, 33). The transcriptional profiles reveal neurodevelopment and myogenesis as the two primary targets of NaM developmental exposure. Quantitative PCR of several muscle and neuronal genes confirmed the array response. We also followed the structural development of the peripheral nervous system under NaM exposure using antibodies against neuronal structural proteins. Although there was no change in the onset of antibody staining, profound alterations became apparent during the period in which the notochord becomes distorted (> 18 hpf). Motor neuron development observed with the Tg(NBT:MAPT-GFP)zc1 transgenic zebrafish and a primary motor neuron specific antibody showed similar timing in the structural alterations observed in these cell types. Further study of the interactions of dithiocarbamates with the regulatory elements of fast muscle development and neurodevelopment is warranted

Effects of remediation amendments on vadose zone microorganisms

Surfactant-based foam delivery technology has been studied to remediate Hanford 200 area deep vadose zone sediment. However, the surfactants and remediation amendments have an unknown effect on indigenous subsurface microorganisms. Microbial populations are important factors to consider in remediation efforts due to their potential to alter soil geochemistry. This project focuses on measuring microbial metabolic responses to remediation amendments in batch and column studies using Deep Vadose Zone Sediments. Initial studies of the microbes from Hanford 200 area deep vadose zone sediment showed surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) and remediation amendment calcium polysulfide (CPS) had no affect on microbial growth using BiologTM Ecoplates. To move towards a more realistic field analog, soil columns were packed with Hanford 200 Area sediment. Once microbial growth in the column was verified by observing growth of the effluent solution on tryptic soy agar plates, remedial surfactants were injected into the columns, and the resulting metabolic diversity was measured. Results suggest surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) stimulates microbial growth. The soil columns were also visualized using X-ray microtomography to inspect soil packing and possibly probe for evidence of biofilms. Overall, BiologTM Ecoplates provide a rapid assay to predict effects of remediation amendments on Hanford 200 area deep vadose zone microorganisms