A tale of three kingdoms: Members of the Phylum Nematoda independently acquired the detoxifying enzyme cyanase through horizontal gene transfer from plants and bacteria

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has played an important role in the evolution of nematodes. Among candidate genes, cyanase, which is typically found only in plants, bacteria and fungi, is present in more than 35 members of the Phylum Nematoda, but absent from free-living and clade V organisms. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the cyanases of clade I organisms Trichinella spp., Trichuris spp. and Soboliphyme baturini (Subclass: Dorylaimia) represent a well-supported monophyletic clade with plant cyanases. In contrast, all cyanases found within the Subclass Chromadoria which encompasses filarioids, ascaridoids and strongyloids are homologous to those of bacteria. Western blots exhibited typical multimeric forms of the native molecule in protein extracts of Trichinella spiralis muscle larvae, where immunohisto- chemical staining localized the protein to the worm hypodermis and underlying muscle. Recombinant Trichinella cyanase was bioactive where gene transcription profiles support functional activity in vivo. Results suggest that: (1) independent HGT in parasitic nematodes originated from different Kingdoms; (2) cyanase acquired an active role in the biology of extant Trichinella; (3) acquisition occurred more than 400 million years ago (MYA), prior to the divergence of the Trichinellida and Dioctophymatida, and (4) early, free-living ances- tors of the genus Trichinella had an association with terrestrial plants

Biolixiviation des métaux lourds et stabilisation des boues municipales: effet de la forme du souffre élémentaire utilisé comme substrat

La présence de concentrations élevées en métaux lourds retrouvés dans les boues de stations d'épuration est un facteur important limitant ainsi leurs différents modes de dispositions (rejet en mer, enfouissement, incinération, ou même recyclage comme fertilisant agricole ou forestier) par crainte de dégâts considérables qui pourraient être causés à l'environnement. L'objectif de ce travail consistait à mettre au point un procédé qui permettrait conjointement la stabilisation des boues municipales et l'enlèvement des métaux lourds qui y sont associés. L'approche poursuivie dans cette étude était de vérifier si ce procédé microbien, conçu pour enlever les métaux lourds associés aux boues municipales, pourrait éventuellement remplacer les procédés conventionnels de stabilisation des boues municipales, ce qui réduirait considérablement les temps et coûts de traitement. Ce procédé microbien consiste à utiliser des souches de thiobacilles qui oxydent le soufre élémentaire, produisant ainsi de l'acide sulfurique, et par la même occasion une forte baisse de pH (1.5). Les résultats obtenus en cultures discontinues, en bioréacteurs, avec des boues primaires provenant de la station d'épuration de la Communauté Urbaine de Québec (C.U.Q.- Est) montrent que cette chute de pH entraîne une solubilisation importante des métaux (Cr: 56 %, Cu: 97 %, Fe: 30 à 40 %, Pb: 69 %, Zn: 98 % ), du phosphore (52 %), ainsi qu'une réduction appréciable des matières volatiles en suspension (40 à 50 % ), et ce, après seulement 7 jours de traitement. Le soufre nécessaire à la biolixiviation- stabilisation est introduit, dans le cas de notre étude, sous forme de granules ou de blocs. Ce choix de la forme de soufre influe beaucoup sur la qualité de la boue produite, ainsi que sur son pouvoir acidophile après neutralisation. Le soufre en blocs s'avère plus efficace et aussi préférable au soufre en granules quant au pouvoir acidophile, après neutralisation, de la boue produite.Given the potential geochemical mobility and recognizd toxicity of heavy metals, their presence at high concentrations in sewage sludges imposes serious limitations on various sludge disposal practices (ocean disposal, landfill, incineration, or use as a fertilizer in agriculture or forestry), The objectve of this work was to develop a process that would permit the simultaneous stabilization of sewage sludges and the removal of heavy metals associated with them. The approach followed was to verify if this microbial leaching procedure could eventually replace conventional sludge stabilization processes and hence considerably reduce the time and cost of treatment. The microbial process consists of using thiobacillus strains which, in the presence of air, oxidize elemental sulfur to sulfuric acid, thus reducing the pH to very acidic levels (pH 1.5). This biological oxidation of elemental sulfur is brought about by two groups of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, the less-acidophilic and the acidophilic thiobacilli. The initial acid production and pH reduction is due to the less-acidophilic bactena (Thiobacillus thioparus) which lower the pH to about 4.0. This is followed by the growth of acidophilic bacteria (Thiobacillus thiooxidans) and fruther pH reduction.Batch culture experiments were carried out in 30 L and 8 L reactors with primary sludges obtained from the Quebec urban community's wastewater treatment centre. Elemental sulfur and inoculum were added at the beginning of each experiment The inoculum was prepared by adding 1 % tyndalized sulfur powder to fresh secondary sludge and incubating for 8 days (final pH 1.5 to 2.0). A small portion (5 %) of this acidified sludge was then used as an inoculum for another batch of fresh sludge and this process was repeated several times until an acclimatized inoculum was obtained which could oxidize elemental sulfur rapidly, without an appreciable lag phase. The elemental sulfur necessary as substrate for the simultaneous bioleaching and sludge stabilization was introduced in the form of granules (2.4 to 4 mm diameter) or blocks (25 mm diameter).Sludge pH and ORP were measured at 24 hour intervals and all other measurements were carried out at 48 hour intervals. The results demonstrate that the addition of elemental sulfur and inoculum resulted in a considerable lowering of the sludge pH during the incubation period. Such pH lowering was not observed in cultures to which sulfur and inoculum were not added. This lowering of pH (2.1) was related to the quantity of substrate (sulfur) and inoculum present in the medium. An increase in the medium ORP (from -50 to about 500 mV) was also observed. Acidification of the medium along with the elevated ORP levels resulted in the solubilization of metals initially present in the sludge. This pH reduction, after only 7 days of treatment, effected an important metal solubilization (Cr: 56 %, Cu: 97 %, Be: 30-40 %, Pb: 69 %, Zn: 98 %), as well as an appreciable reduction in phosphorus (52 %) and in the volatile suspended solids concentration (40-50 %). In addition, the sludge which initially had a highly repulsive odour was rendered odourless.In a previous study we had showm that for an optimum rate of acidification of the sludge a minimum concentration of elemental sulfur (2 g/L) was necessary, even though only 40 % of this sulfur was oxidized. In the present experiment the physical form of the sulfur was shown to influence both the quality of sludge produced and its acid-generating capacity after neutralization. Sulfur in the form of blocks was more efficient than granules in that the elemental sulfur could be readily separated from the sludge at the end of the treatment, yielding a sludge after neutralization that had a low acid-generating capacity. In the case of granules, the unused sulfur was broken down into a fine powder during the course of the bioleaching experiment and could not be separated from the leached sludge - even after neutralization, the leached sludge exhibited a high acid-generating capacity, which would limit its use as a fertilizer on agricultural land

Triplication of Deciduous Teeth: A Rare Dental Anomaly

Fusion of teeth is the union of two or more tooth germs, which are usually separated. Depending upon the stage of odontogenesis, it can be complete or incomplete. The present case describes fusion between the maxillary  primary right central and lateral incisor with a supernumerary tooth. Clinical and radiographic examination revealed the presence of fused triple teeth. The fused teeth were extracted, sectioned and were visualized under  stereomicroscope at three levels and the diagnosis of fusion of three teeth was confirmed histologically.Keywords: Fusion, primary teeth, supernumerary tooth, triple teet

Magnetotelluric investigations for imaging electrical structure of Garhwal Himalayan corridor, Uttarakhand, India

Magnetotelluric investigations have been carried out in the Garhwal Himalayan corridor to delineate the electrical structure of the crust along a profile extending from Indo-Gangetic Plain to Higher Himalayan region in Uttarakhand, India. The profile passing through major Himalayan thrusts: Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFF), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT), is nearly perpendicular to the regional geological strike. Data processing and impedance analysis indicate that out of 44 stations MT data recorded, only 27 stations data show in general, the validity of 2D assumption. The average geoelectric strike, N700W, was estimated for the profile using tensor decomposition. 2D smooth geoelectrical model has been presented, which provides the electrical image of the shallow and deeper crustal structure. The major features of the model are (i) a low resistivity (<50Ωm), shallow feature interpreted as sediments of Siwalik and Indo-Gangetic Plain, (ii) highly resistive (> 1000Ωm) zone below the sediments at a depth of 6 km, interpreted as the top surface of the Indian plate, (iii) a low resistivity (< 10Ωm) below the depth of 6 km near MCT zone coincides with the intense micro-seismic activity in the region. The zone is interpreted as the partial melting or fluid phase at mid crustal depth. Sensitivity test indicates that the major features of the geoelectrical model are relevant and desired by the MT data

Baller-Gerold Syndrome a Rare Cause of Heart-Hand Syndrome

Heart hand syndromes are characterized by radial abnormalities and associated defects in the heart. We here describe an extremely rare heart hand syndrome known as Baller-Gerold syndrome

Phonons and Colossal Thermal Expansion Behavior of Ag3Co(CN)6 and Ag3Fe(CN)6

Recently colossal positive volume thermal expansion has been found in the framework compounds Ag3Co(CN)6 and Ag3Fe(CN)6. Phonon spectra have been measured using the inelastic neutron scattering technique as a function of temperature and pressure. The data has been analyzed using ab-initio calculations. We find that the bonding is very similar in both compounds. At ambient pressure modes in the intermediate frequency part of the vibrational spectra in the Co compound are shifted to slightly higher energies as compared to the Fe compound. The temperature dependence of the phonon spectra gives evidence for large explicit anharmonic contribution to the total anharmonicity for low-energy modes below 5 meV. We found that modes are mainly affected by the change in the size of unit cell, which in turn changes the bond lengths and vibrational frequencies. Thermal expansion has been calculated via the volume dependence of phonon spectra. Our analysis indicates that Ag phonon modes in the energy range from 2 to 5 meV are strongly anharmonic and major contributors to thermal expansion in both compounds. The application of pressure hardens the low-energy part of the phonon spectra involving Ag vibrations and confirms the highly anharmonic nature of these modes.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures and one tabl

Utilization of various forms of nitrogen by Drechslera sorokiniana, the pathogen causing foot rot disease in wheat

Detailed study was made of the effect of (i) various inorganic and organic sources (potassium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, asparagine, urea) and (ii) various levels of nitrogen (280, 700, 1,400 and 2,100 mg. N per litre) on growth and metabolism of D. sorokiniana. Observations on mat weight, spore numbers, shift in pH of the medium, nitrogen accumulated in the mat, residual nitrogen (total, nitrate and ammoniacal nitrogen) and residual sugar in the medium were made after incubation for varying periods. The results are presented in detail and discussed

Practical long-distance quantum key distribution system using decoy levels

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has the potential for widespread real-world applications. To date no secure long-distance experiment has demonstrated the truly practical operation needed to move QKD from the laboratory to the real world due largely to limitations in synchronization and poor detector performance. Here we report results obtained using a fully automated, robust QKD system based on the Bennett Brassard 1984 protocol (BB84) with low-noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and decoy levels. Secret key is produced with unconditional security over a record 144.3 km of optical fibre, an increase of more than a factor of five compared to the previous record for unconditionally secure key generation in a practical QKD system.Comment: 9 page

Cloning and sequencing of the depolymerase-like gene from Bacteriophage J25

Bacteriophage are viruses that infect, replicate and kill bacteria. Salmonella and EHEC food poisoning are caused by Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Bacteriophage can be used to prevent food poisoning by application to food products or processing machinery. Bacteriophage J25 specifically infects Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. We cloned fragments of the J25 genome, sequence the DNA and used bioinformatics to identify J25. We used genome data from similar bacteriophage in Genbank to design primers to amplify the depolymerase-like gene. We amplified and cloned this gene. When expressed, the gene product will be test with bacteriophage food treatment where it should augment bacteriophage killing

Cloning, sequencing, and identification of Phage 16, an unknown salmonella or EHEC (enterohemorrhagic E. coli) bacteriophage

Bacteriophage are viruses that infect, replicate and kill bacteria. Salmonella and EHEC food poisoning are caused by Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Bacteriophage can be used to prevent food poisoning by application to food products or processing machinery. Bacteriophage P16 specifically infects Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. We cloned fragments of the P16 genome, sequence the DNA and used bioinformatics to identify P16. Phage P16 is a Salmonella phage similar to Stitch. A phylogenetic tree inferring relationships of P16 and other bacteriophage was created