Preparing for the worst: Utilizing stress-tolerant soil microbial communities to aid ecological restoration in the Anthropocene

1. Multiple drivers of environmental change pose a significant challenge for ecological restoration, including climate change, soil salinization and environmental pollution. Due to the important role that soil biota play in enabling plants to cope with a variety of abiotic stressors, there is growing interest in the use of microbial inoculations to facilitate native plant restoration in the face of such change. 2. Recently, novel methods have begun being explored in agriculture to harness stress-conditioned soil biota for improving abiotic stress tolerance in crop species. Similar applications in ecological restoration – where plants are inoculated with indigenous soil microbial communities that are preconditioned to various abiotic stressors – could potentially increase our capacity to restore degraded ecosystems under global change. 3. In this paper, we aim to (1) outline the ways in which soil microbial communities might be conditioned in order to confer greater stress tolerance to plants that are targets for restoration; (2) highlight successful (and unsuccessful) examples where stress-tolerant soil microbial communities were utilized to improve plant performance; (3) describe the ways in which stress-conditioned soil biota could be deployed in order to assist ecological restoration; and (4) discuss the potential risks and outstanding questions associated with such an approach. 4. If restoration practitioners are able to harness the soil microbiome to improve plant stress tolerance as is currently being explored in agriculture, this could revolutionize methods for the restoration of degraded lands in the Anthropocene

Step Counts of Non-White Minority Youth by Gender, Grade Level, and Mode of School Transportation

Background: The purposes of this study were to describe and analyze the steps/d of nonwhite minority children and youth by gender, grade level, race/ethnicity, and mode of school transportation. A secondary purpose was to compare the steps/d of minority children and youth to their Caucasian grade-level counterparts. Methods: Participants were 547 minority youth grades 5 to 8 from 4 urban schools. Participants wore sealed pedometers for 6 consecutive week/school days. Three hundred and ten participants responded to a questionnaire concerning their mode of transportation to and from school. Results: Statistical analyses indicated a main effect for gender (F(3, 546) = 13.50, P \u3c .001) with no interaction. Boys (12,589 ± 3921) accumulated significantly more steps/d than girls (9,539 ± 3,135). Further analyses also revealed a significant main effect for mode of school transportation (F(2, 309) = 15.97, P ≤ .001). Walkers (12,614 ± 4169) obtained significantly more steps/d than car (10,021 ± 2856) or bus (10,230 ± 3666) transit users. Conclusions: Minority boys obtain similar steps/d as their Caucasian grade-level counterparts; minority girls obtain less steps/d than their Caucasian grade-level counterparts. Minority youth who actively commute are more likely to meet PA recommendations than nonactive commuters

Hexagons, Kinks and Disorder in Oscillated Granular Layers

Experiments on vertically oscillated granular layers in an evacuated container reveal a sequence of well-defined pattern bifurcations as the container acceleration is increased. Period doublings of the layer center of mass motion and a parametric wave instability interact to produce hexagons and more complicated patterns composed of distinct spatial domains of different relative phase separated by kinks (phase discontinuities). Above a critical acceleration, the layer becomes disordered in both space and time.Comment: 4 pages. The RevTeX file has a macro allowing various styles. The appropriate style is "myprint" which is the defaul

Childrenʹs Step Counts on Weekend, Physical Education, and Non‐Physical Education Days

There have been well‐documented increases in overweight and obese children, sedentary lifestyles, and increased prevalence of a hypokinetic disease over the past 20 years. Thus understanding the physical activity patterns of children is essential for developing effective interventions. Little evidence exists that illustrates the contribution of weekend, physical education, and non‐physical education days to overall physical activity patterns of children. The purpose of the study was to examine differences in pedometer‐determined physical activity patterns of fourth and fifth grade children during weekend, physical education and non–physical education days. Three hundred and sixty‐three children (8‐11 years old) from six Southwestern USA elementary schools participated by wearing pedometers (Yamax Digiwalker SW‐200) for seven consecutive days. Children recorded their steps at arrival to school and when they woke up and went to bed on weekend days. During weekdays, the fourth and fifth grade children averaged 13,196 ± 3,334 and 11,295 ± 3,168 steps/day for boys and girls, respectively. This is compared to a weekend average of 7,660 ± 4,647steps/day (boys) and 7,317 ± 4,062 steps/day (girls). Children were significantly more active on physical education days, averaging 12,979 steps/day (14,197 ± 4,697 steps/day for boys and 12,058 ± 3,772 steps/day for girls),compared to non‐physical education school days, when they accumulated 11,809 steps/day (12,788 ± 3,600 steps/day for boys and 11,047 ± 3,382 steps/day for girls). Based on the findings in this study, children and youth are more active during school days than on weekend days. Furthermore, children are more active on physical education days than non‐physical education days. These findings suggest that increased physical activity programming and interventions during weekend days may be needed to increase physical activity. The expansion of school‐based physical education across more school days may also serve to increase children’s physical activity during the school week

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the subjective happiness scale: Evidence from the Hong Kong FAMILY cohort

BACKGROUND: With China's rapid economic growth in the past few decades, there is currently an emerging focus on happiness. Cross-cultural validity studies have indicated that the four-item Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) has high internal consistency and stable reliability. However, the psychometric characteristics of the SHS in broader Chinese community samples are unknown. PURPOSE: We evaluated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the SHS in the Hong Kong general population. METHODS: The Chinese SHS was derived using forward-backward translation. Of the Cantonese-speaking participants aged >/=15 years, 2,635 were randomly selected from the random sample component of the FAMILY Cohort, a territory-wide cohort study in Hong Kong. In addition to the SHS, a single-item overall happiness scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Family Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, Resolve (APGAR) scale, and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item short-form version 2 (SF-12) mental and physical health scales were administered. RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a single factor with high loadings for the four SHS items. Multiple group analyses indicated factor invariance across sex and age groups. Cronbach's alpha was 0.82, and 2-week test-retest reliability (n = 191) was 0.70. The SHS correlated significantly with single-item overall happiness (Spearman's rho [rho] = 0.57), Family APGAR (rho = 0.26), PHQ-9 (rho = -0.34), and mental health-related quality of life (rho = 0.40) but showed a lower correlation with physical health (rho = 0.15). A regression model that included the PHQ-9 and Family APGAR scores explained 37 % of the variance in SF-12 mental health scores; adding the SHS raised the variance explained to 41 %. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the reliability and validity of the SHS as a relevant component in the measurement battery for mental well-being in a Chinese general population.published_or_final_versio

Compound formation and cydrogen activity at sulfided catalysts: A combined surface science and quantum chemical approach

This paper discusses the hydrogen activity of sulfided metal catalysts supported on modified carriers. Surface characterization and theoretical modeling are combined with published studies of planar models to deduce a conceptual model for hydrogen dissociation and mobility on industrial hydrogenation catalysts. The hydrogen activity of metalsulfides is compared with that of the corresponding transition metals. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

A speed-of-play limit reduces gambling expenditure in an online roulette game : results of an online experiment

UK online casino games are presently not subject to any limitations on speed-of-play or stakes. One recent policy proposal is to ensure that no online casino game can be played faster than its in-person equivalent. Another policy proposal is to limit the maximum stakes on online casino games to £2, to match the current stake limit on electronic gambling machines. This research experimentally investigated the speed-of-play proposal subject to a £2 stake limit, in an online experiment using incentivized payouts based on £4 endowments and a commercial online roulette game, which was slowed-down in one condition to enforce a speed-of-play limit of one spin every 60 seconds. UK residents, aged 18 years and over and with experience in playing online roulette (N = 1,002), were recruited from an online crowdsourcing panel. In the slowed-down condition there was a credible reduction in the amount gambled. This effect occurred via a credible reduction in the mean number of spins which outweighed any potential increases in bet sizes. Speed-of-play limits may be effective in reducing gambling expenditure for online roulette. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Development and implementation of natural killer cell simultaneous ADCC and direct killing assay

Assays to quantify natural killer (NK) cell killing efficacy have traditionally focused on assessing either direct killing or antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) independently. Due to the probability that immunotherapeutic interventions affect NK cell-mediated direct killing and NK cell-mediated ADCC differently, we developed an assay with the capacity to measure NK cell-mediated direct killing and ADCC simultaneously with cells from the same human donor. Specifically, this design allows for a single NK cell population to be split into several experimental conditions (e.g., direct killing, ADCC), thus controlling for potential confounders associated with human-to-human variation when assessing immunotherapy impacts. Our Natural Killer cell Simultaneous ADCC and Direct Killing Assay (NK-SADKA) allows researchers to reproducibly quantify both direct killing and ADCC by human NK cells. Furthermore, this optimized experimental design allows for concurrent analysis of the NK cells via flow cytometric immunophenotyping of NK cell populations which will facilitate the identification of relationships between NK cell phenotype and the subsequent killing potential. This assay will be valuable for assessing the broader impact(s) of immunotherapy strategies on both modes of NK cell killing

Fibrin(ogen) engagement of S. aureus promotes the host antimicrobial response and suppression of microbe dissemination following peritoneal infection

The blood-clotting protein fibrin(ogen) plays a critical role in host defense against invading pathogens, particularly against peritoneal infection by the Gram-positive microbe Staphylococcus aureus. Here, we tested the hypothesis that direct binding between fibrin(ogen) and S. aureus is a component of the primary host antimicrobial response mechanism and prevention of secondary microbe dissemination from the peritoneal cavity. To establish a model system, we showed that fibrinogen isolated from FibγΔ5 mice, which express a mutant form lacking the final 5 amino acids of the fibrinogen γ chain (termed fibrinogenγΔ5), did not support S. aureus adherence when immobilized and clumping when in suspension. In contrast, purified wildtype fibrinogen supported robust adhesion and clumping that was largely dependent on S. aureus expression of the receptor clumping factor A (ClfA). Following peritoneal infection with S. aureus USA300, FibγΔ5 mice displayed worse survival compared to WT mice coupled to reduced bacterial killing within the peritoneal cavity and increased dissemination of the microbes into circulation and distant organs. The failure of acute bacterial killing, but not enhanced dissemination, was partially recapitulated by mice infected with S. aureus USA300 lacking ClfA. Fibrin polymer formation and coagulation transglutaminase Factor XIII each contributed to killing of the microbes within the peritoneal cavity, but only elimination of polymer formation enhanced systemic dissemination. Host macrophage depletion or selective elimination of the fibrin(ogen) β2-integrin binding motif both compromised local bacterial killing and enhanced S. aureus systemic dissemination, suggesting fibrin polymer formation in and of itself was not sufficient to retain S. aureus within the peritoneal cavity. Collectively, these findings suggest that following peritoneal infection, the binding of S. aureus to stabilized fibrin matrices promotes a local, macrophage-mediated antimicrobial response essential for prevention of microbe dissemination and downstream host mortality