Stability of ammonia oxidizer communities upon nitrogen fertilizer pulse disturbances is dependent on diversity

Diversity of the soil microbial community is an important factor affecting its stability against disturbance. However, the impact of the decline in soil microbial diversity on the stability of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) is not known, particularly considering the repeated soil nutrient disturbances occurring in modern agricultural systems. Here, we conducted a microcosm experiment and modified the soil microbial diversity using the dilution-to-extinction approach to determine the stability and population dynamics of AOB and AOA communities with repeated nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. Our results demonstrated that the AOB community became more abundant and stable against repeated disturbances by N in the treatments with the highest microbial diversity. In contrast, the abundance of AOA decreased following repeated N fertilizer application, regardless of the microbial diversity. Notably, during the initial application phase, AOA displayed a potential for increased abundance in treatments with high soil microbial diversity. These findings highlight that the soil microbial diversity controls the stability of ammonia oxidizers during short- interval repeated N disturbances

Silent cerebral infarction predicts vascular events in hemodialysis patients

Silent cerebral infarction predicts vascular events in hemodialysis patients.BackgroundCardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We have previously reported a higher incidence of silent cerebral infarction (SCI) in HD patients compared with the control group using MRI studies. In the present study, we examined whether or not SCI could predict vascular events in HD patients.MethodsCranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 119 HD patients without symptomatic cerebrovascular disease. SCI was detected by MRI, and the patients were prospectively followed up. The end points of the study were the incidence of major events related to vascular events (cerebral events, cardiac events, and sudden deaths). We investigated the prognostic role of SCI in cerebral, cardiac, and vascular events by using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of SCI was 49.6% in HD patients. During a follow-up period of maximum 60 months, vascular events, which included 13 cerebral events, 5 cardiac events, and 3 sudden deaths, occurred in 21 patients. The presence of SCI was predictive for a higher cerebral and vascular morbidity compared to the absence of SCI [18.6% (N = 11) vs. 3.3% (N = 2), P = 0.0169, and 30.5% (N = 18) vs. 5.0% (N = 3), P = 0.0006, respectively]. By multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, SCI remained a powerful independent predictor of cerebral and vascular events (hazard ratio for cerebral events 7.33, 95% CI 1.27–42.25: for vascular events 4.48, 95% CI 1.09–18.41).ConclusionThe findings of the present study indicate that the presence of SCI is a new risk factor for vascular events in HD patients

Learning Health System In A Senior Retirement Community: A Platform To Promote Implementation Research

Introduction: In an effort to develop a Learning Health System (LHS) for a healthy ageing society, this study launched an Internet of Things (IoT) platform in a senior residential community to continuously generate behavior logs. Methods: Considering that older adults experience difficulties in technology adaptation and declined information processing abilities, senior residents only needed to carry around a card sized beacon which was the tracking device. Participant recruitment took place in a continuing care retirement community. Individual feedback was obtained quarterly. Results: During the first 16 months, 111 residents, aged 67 to 97 years, joined the program, and nearly 90% of them were consistently monitored in their everyday lives. Participants’ average daily walking distance was slightly less than 1 km. The average time spent socializing was between 1 to 1.5 hours per day. Conclusion: The IoT platform offers the possibility of extending the target population and scope of data, as well as incorporating experimental study designs. It is expected that factors affecting older people’s everyday lives and their consequences on health outcomes are continuously studied, learned from and improved

Stability of ammonia oxidizer communities upon nitrogen fertilizer pulse disturbances is dependent on diversity

Diversity of the soil microbial community is an important factor affecting its stability against disturbance. However, the impact of the decline in soil microbial diversity on the stability of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) is not known, particularly considering the repeated soil nutrient disturbances occurring in modern agricultural systems. Here, we conducted a microcosm experiment and modified the soil microbial diversity using the dilution-to-extinction approach to determine the stability and population dynamics of AOB and AOA communities with repeated nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. Our results demonstrated that the AOB community became more abundant and stable against repeated disturbances by N in the treatments with the highest microbial diversity. In contrast, the abundance of AOA decreased following repeated N fertilizer application, regardless of the microbial diversity. Notably, during the initial application phase, AOA displayed a potential for increased abundance in treatments with high soil microbial diversity. These findings highlight that the soil microbial diversity controls the stability of ammonia oxidizers during shortinterval repeated N disturbances

Spleen-Resident CD4+ and CD4− CD8α− Dendritic Cell Subsets Differ in Their Ability to Prime Invariant Natural Killer T Lymphocytes

One important function of conventional dendritic cells (cDC) is their high capacity to capture, process and present Ag to T lymphocytes. Mouse splenic cDC subtypes, including CD8α+ and CD8α− cDC, are not identical in their Ag presenting and T cell priming functions. Surprisingly, few studies have reported functional differences between CD4− and CD4+ CD8α− cDC subsets. We show that, when loaded in vitro with OVA peptide or whole protein, and in steady-state conditions, splenic CD4− and CD4+ cDC are equivalent in their capacity to prime and direct CD4+ and CD8+ T cell differentiation. In contrast, in response to α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), CD4− and CD4+ cDC differentially activate invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells, a population of lipid-reactive non-conventional T lymphocytes. Both cDC subsets equally take up α-GalCer in vitro and in vivo to stimulate the iNKT hybridoma DN32.D3, the activation of which depends solely on TCR triggering. On the other hand, and relative to their CD4+ counterparts, CD4− cDC more efficiently stimulate primary iNKT cells, a phenomenon likely due to differential production of co-factors (including IL-12) by cDC. Our data reveal a novel functional difference between splenic CD4+ and CD4− cDC subsets that may be important in immune responses

マッショウケツニオケルハッケッキュウカイテンニカンスルケンキュウ

京都大学0048新制・課程博士医学博士甲第1348号医博第439号新制||医||178(附属図書館)3638UT51-48-E565京都大学大学院医学研究科内科系専攻(主査)教授 高安 正夫, 教授 尾曽 越文亮, 教授 脇坂 行一学位規則第5条第1項該当Kyoto UniversityDA

Metal Sensing by a Glycine-Histidine Repeat Sequence Regulates the Heme Degradation Activity of PM0042 from Pasteurella multocida

PM0042 protein from the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Pasteurella multocida is homologous to the heme-degrading enzyme HutZ belonging to the pyridoxine-5-phosphate oxidase-like family. A characteristic feature of PM0042 is possession of a glycine-histidine (GH) repeat sequence at the C-terminal region. In this study, we examined the heme degradation ability of PM0042, with a particular focus on the role of the GH repeat sequence. PM0042 was expressed in Escherichia coli and successfully purified using a nickel (Ni2+)-affinity column without a histidine tag, suggesting that its GH motif facilitates binding to Ni2+. Reaction with ascorbic acid induced a significant decrease in the Soret band, suggesting the breakage of heme. While a Fe2+-ferrozine complex was not formed upon addition of ferrozine to the solution after the reaction, prior addition of metal ions to fill the metal binding site in the GH repeat sequence led to increased complex formation. In the presence of Fe2+, the heme degradation rate was accelerated-threefold, supporting the theory that Fe2+ binds the PM0042 protein (possibly at the GH repeat sequence) and enhances its heme degradation activity. In contrast to HutZ from Vibrio cholerae in which enzymatic activity is regulated by the protonation status of the heme proximal ligand, heme reduction is not the rate-determining step for PM0042. Rather, proton transfer to reduced oxyheme is affected, as established with the H2O/D2O isotope experiment. Based on the collective findings, the GH repeat sequence of PM0042 is proposed to function as a metal sensor that modulates iron uptake via the heme-degrading process in P. multocida