The methane-driven interaction network in terrestrial methane hotspots

Background: Biological interaction affects diverse facets of microbial life by modulating the activity, diversity, abundance, and composition of microbial communities. Aerobic methane oxidation is a community function, with emergent community traits arising from the interaction of the methane-oxidizers (methanotrophs) and non-methanotrophs. Yet little is known of the spatial and temporal organization of these interaction networks in naturally-occurring complex communities. We hypothesized that the assembled bacterial community of the interaction network in methane hotspots would converge, driven by high substrate availability that favors specific methanotrophs, and in turn influences the recruitment of non-methanotrophs. These environments would also share more co-occurring than site-specific taxa. Results: We applied stable isotope probing (SIP) using 13C-CH4 coupled to a co-occurrence network analysis to probe trophic interactions in widespread methane-emitting environments, and over time. Network analysis revealed predominantly unique co-occurring taxa from different environments, indicating distinctly co-evolved communities more strongly influenced by other parameters than high methane availability. Also, results showed a narrower network topology range over time than between environments. Co-occurrence pattern points to Chthoniobacter as a relevant yet-unrecognized interacting partner particularly of the gammaproteobacterial methanotrophs, deserving future attention. In almost all instances, the networks derived from the 13C-CH4 incubation exhibited a less connected and complex topology than the networks derived from the unlabelledC-CH4 incubations, likely attributable to the exclusion of the inactive microbial population and spurious connections; DNA-based networks (without SIP) may thus overestimate the methane-dependent network complexity. Conclusion: We demonstrated that site-specific environmental parameters more strongly shaped the co-occurrence of bacterial taxa than substrate availability. Given that members of the interactome without the capacity to oxidize methane can exert interaction-induced effects on community function, understanding the co-occurrence pattern of the methane-driven interaction network is key to elucidating community function, which goes beyond relating activity to community composition, abundances, and diversity. More generally, we provide a methodological strategy that substantiates the ecological linkages between potentially interacting microorganisms with broad applications to elucidate the role of microbial interaction in community function. © 2022, The Author(s)

Using Language to Extend to Unseen Domains

It is expensive to collect training data for every possible domain that a vision model may encounter when deployed. We instead consider how simply verbalizing the training domain (e.g. "photos of birds") as well as domains we want to extend to but do not have data for (e.g. "paintings of birds") can improve robustness. Using a multimodal model with a joint image and language embedding space, our method LADS learns a transformation of the image embeddings from the training domain to each unseen test domain, while preserving task relevant information. Without using any images from the unseen test domain, we show that over the extended domain containing both training and unseen test domains, LADS outperforms standard fine-tuning and ensemble approaches over a suite of four benchmarks targeting domain adaptation and dataset bias

Evaluation of Analysis Methods for Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, and Furfural from Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil

Fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO), a second-generation liquid bioenergy carrier, is currently entering the market. FPBO is produced from biomass through the fast pyrolysis process and contains a large number of constituents, of which a significant part is still unknown. Various analytical methods have been systematically developed and validated for FPBO in the past; however, reliable methods for characterization of acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and furfural are still lacking. In this work, different analysis methods with (HS-GC/ECD, HPLC, UV/Vis) and without derivatization (GC/MSD, HPLC) for the characterization of these components were evaluated. Five FPBO samples were used, covering a range of biomass materials (pine wood, miscanthus, and bark), storage conditions (freezer and room temperature), and after treatments (none, filtration, and vacuum evaporation). There was no difference among the methods for the acetaldehyde analysis. A significant difference among the methods for the determination of formaldehyde and furfural was observed. Thus, more data on the accuracy of the methods are required. The precision of all methods was below 10% with the exception of the HPLC analysis of acetaldehyde with an RSD of 14%. The concentration of acetaldehyde in the FPBO produced from the three different biomasses and stored in a freezer after production ranged from 0.24 to 0.60 wt %. Storage at room temperature and vacuum evaporation both decreased significantly the acetaldehyde concentration. Furfural concentrations ranged from 0.11 to 0.36 wt % for the five samples. Storage and after treatment affected the furfural concentration but to a lesser extent than for acetaldehyde. Storage at room temperature decreased formaldehyde similarly to acetaldehyde; however, after vacuum-evaporation the concentration of formaldehyde did not change. Thus, the analysis results indicated that in FPBO the equilibrium of formaldehyde and methylene glycol is almost completely on the methylene glycol side, as in aqueous solutions. All three methods employed here actually measure the sum of free formaldehyde and methylene glycol (FAMG)

Subjective evaluation of experimental dyspnoea: effects of isocapnia and repeated exposure

Resistive respiratory loading is an established stimulus for the induction of experimental dyspnoea. In comparison to unloaded breathing, resistive loaded breathing alters end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2), which has independent physiological effects (e.g. upon cerebral blood flow). We investigated the subjective effects of resistive loaded breathing with stabilized PETCO2 (isocapnia) during manual control of inspired gases on varying baseline levels of mild hypercapnia increased PETCO2). Furthermore, to investigate whether perceptual habituation to dyspnoea stimuli occurs, the study was repeated over four experimental sessions. Isocapnic hypercapnia did not affect dyspnoea unpleasantness during resistive loading. A post hoc analysis revealed a small increase of respiratory unpleasantness during unloaded breathing at +0.6 kPa, the level that reliably induced isocapnia. We didnot observe perceptual habituation over the four sessions. We conclude that isocapnic respiratory loading allows stable induction of respiratory unpleasantness, making it a good stimulus for multi-session studies of dyspnoea

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

BIBB/BAuA-Employment Survey 2018

The BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2018, conducted in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), on the topics of "Work and Occupation in Transition" and "Acquisition and Utilisation of Vocational Qualifications" is a representative survey of core workers in Germany. Core workers are people who are at least 15 years old and have a paid job of at least ten hours per week. The focus of the survey is on employment and the workplace at the time of the survey, such as activities performed and skills required, information on the job holders, for example their job satisfaction or their workloads, as well as longitudinal variables on the respondents´ educational and professional history. Data collection was conducted by Kantar Public between October 2017 and April 2018. Seven employment surveys have now been completed, covering a period from 1979 (via surveys in 1986, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2012) to 2018.The data set includes information on the following topics: 1. Current occupation 2. Working hours and place of work 3. Activities performed (19 indicators), key qualifications (6 indicators) 4. Occupational requirements (level of demands, over-demand, under-demand, professional skills (9 indicators), work requirements (13 indicators)) 5. Employment relationship (company characteristics) 6. Physical working conditions and stresses (12 indicators) 7. Psychological working conditions and stresses (11 indicators) 8. Career and life goals (in ETB 2018: career orientation) 9. Changes in the work environment in the last two years 10. Highest general school leaving certificate 11. Vocational training (in up to 5 loops) 12. Connection between (last) education and current job 13. Further training in the last 2 years 14. First job held, career history (periods of interruption, unemployment, career advancement) 15. Job satisfaction (11 indicators) 16. Health complaints related to current work (24 indicators) Demography: sex; age (month and year of birth); highest general school-leaving qualification; German school-leaving qualification equivalent to foreign school-leaving qualification; marital status; living with a partner; partner´s occupation; children; number of children; children under 18 in the household; number of children under 18 in the household; age of the youngest child and the oldest child in the household if there are several children; trade-offs in reconciling family and work due to the children; trade-offs mainly in the occupational or private sphere; extent of trade-offs made; language(s) learned as mother tongue in childhood; nationality (migration background); living with father until age 15; occupation and occupational position of father and mother as respondents. Language(s) learned as mother tongue in childhood; nationality (migration background); living with father until age 15; occupation and occupational position of father and mother when respondent was 15 years old (social origin); number of employees for whom father or mother had a supervisory function; household size; number of employed persons aged 15 and over in the household; willingness to be interviewed again. In addition to the directly collected variables, a number of variables were additionally generated. These include automatically generated variables and weighting variables (Unique identification number (internally generated); year and month of interview (internally generated); mobile phone interview; occupational status; actual hours worked; secondary job; age of target person; state of residence (generated on the basis of telephone number, in mobile phone: by postcode, for this and other regional information); municipality code residence (generated on the basis of the telephone number, in mobile telephony: by postcode); district code residence (generated on the basis of the telephone number, in mobile telephony: by postcode); BIK municipality type 10 system; municipality code political; federal state establishment (postcode or place/ municipality code)), coding of open occupational and sectoral information in occupational and/or (The current occupation, the first occupation, the training occupations and the parents´ occupations were each coded with occupation codes for the two current classification systems and, in order to be able to conduct trend analyses with older employment surveys, also for the two old classification systems: Classification of Occupations 2010 (KldB 2010), Classification of Occupations 1992 (KldB 1992), International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO 08), International Standard Classification of Occupations 1988 (ISCO 88)), processed variables based on plausibility checks (adjusted variables on educational attainment, training loops and economic sector) and processed variables on income and regional information. In addition, a number of social science classifications were created using standardised syntax routines.Die in Kooperation mit der Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (BAuA) durchgeführte BIBB/BAuA-Erwerbstätigenbefragung 2018 zu den Themen „Arbeit und Beruf im Wandel“ und „Erwerb und Verwertung beruflicher Qualifikationen“ ist eine repräsentative Erhebung unter Kernerwerbstätigen in Deutschland. Kernerwerbstätige sind Personen, die mindestens 15 Jahre alt sind und einer bezahlten Arbeit von mindestens zehn Stunden pro Woche nachgehen. Im Fokus der Befragung stehen dabei die Erwerbstätigkeit und der Arbeitsplatz zum Befragungszeitpunkt, etwa ausgeübte Tätigkeiten und benötigte Kenntnisse, Informationen über die Arbeitsplatzinhaber, beispielsweise deren Arbeitszufriedenheit oder deren Arbeitsbelastungen, sowie Längsschnittvariablen zum Bildungs- und Berufsverlauf der Befragten. Die Datenerhebung erfolgte zwischen Oktober 2017 und April 2018 durch Kantar Public. Mittlerweile wurden sieben Erwerbstätigenbefragungen abgeschlossen, so dass ein Zeitraum von 1979 (über die Erhebungen in 1986, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2012) bis 2018 abgedeckt werden kann.Der Datensatz umfasst Angaben zu folgenden Themen: 1. Aktuelle Berufstätigkeit 2. Arbeitszeit und Arbeitsort 3. Ausgeübte Tätigkeiten (19 Indikatoren), Schlüsselqualifikationen (6 Indikatoren) 4. Berufliche Anforderungen (Anforderungsniveau, Über-, Unterforderung, Fachkenntnisse (9 Indikatoren), Arbeitsanforderungen (13 Indikatoren)) 5. Beschäftigungsverhältnis (Betriebliche Merkmale) 6. Körperliche Arbeitsbedingungen und -belastungen (12 Indikatoren) 7. Psychische Arbeitsbedingungen und -belastungen (11 Indikatoren) 8. Berufs- und Lebensziele (in ETB 2018: berufliche Karriereorientierung) 9. Veränderungen im Arbeitsumfeld in den letzten zwei Jahren 10. Höchster allgemeinbildender Schulabschluss 11. Berufsausbildung (in bis zu 5 Schleifen) 12. Zusammenhang (letzte) Ausbildung und aktuelle Tätigkeit 13. Weiterbildung in den letzten 2 Jahren 14. Erster ausgeübter Beruf, Berufsverlauf (Unterbrechungszeiten, Arbeitslosigkeit, beruflicher Aufstieg) 15. Arbeitszufriedenheit (11 Indikatoren) 16. Gesundheitliche Beschwerden im Zusammenhang mit der derzeitigen Arbeit (24 Indikatoren) Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter (Geburtsmonat und Geburtsjahr); höchster allgemeiner Schulabschluss; deutscher Schulabschluss, der dem ausländischen Schulabschluss entspricht; Familienstand; Zusammenleben mit einem Partner/ einer Partnerin; Berufsstätigkeit des Partners/ der Partnerin; Kinder; Anzahl der Kinder; Kinder unter 18 Jahren im Haushalt; Anzahl der Kinder unter 18 Jahren im Haushalt; Alter des jüngsten Kindes und des ältesten Kindes im Haushalt bei mehreren Kindern; aufgrund der Kinder Abstriche bei der Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf; Abstriche hauptsächlich im beruflichen oder im privaten Bereich; Umfang der gemachten Abstriche; Sprache, bzw. Sprachen, die im Kindesalter als Muttersprache erlernt wurden; Staatsangehörigkeit (Migrationshintergrund); Zusammenleben mit dem Vater bis zum 15. Lebensjahr; berufliche Tätigkeit und berufliche Stellung des Vaters und der Mutter als der Befragte 15 Jahre alt war (soziale Herkunft); Anzahl der Mitarbeiter für die Vater bzw. Mutter Vorgesetztenfunktion hatte; Haushaltsgröße; Anzahl der erwerbstätigen Personen ab 15 Jahren im Haushalt; Wiederbefragungsbereitschaft. Neben den direkt erhobenen Variablen wurden eine Reihe von Variablen zusätzlich generiert. Diese umfassen automatisch generierte Variablen und Gewichtungsvariablen (Eindeutige Identifikationsnummer (intern generiert); Jahr und Monat des Interviews (intern generiert); Mobilfunkinterview; Berufliche Stellung; tatsächlich geleistete Arbeitszeit; Nebentätigkeit; Alter der Zielperson; Bundesland Wohnort (generiert auf Basis der Telefonnummer, im Mobilfunk: durch PLZ, für diese und weitere Regionalinformationen); Gemeindekennziffer Wohnort (generiert auf Basis der Telefonnummer, im Mobilfunk: durch PLZ); Kreiskennziffer Wohnort (generiert auf Basis der Telefonnummer, im Mobilfunk: durch PLZ); BIK-Gemeindetyp 10er-Systematik; Gemeindekennziffer politisch; Bundesland Betriebsstätte (PLZ oder Orts-/Gemeindeangabe)), Vercodungen offener Berufs- und Branchenangaben in Berufs- bzw. Wirtschaftszweigkennziffern (Der aktuelle Beruf, der erste Beruf, die Ausbildungsberufe und die Berufe der Eltern wurden jeweils mit Berufskennziffern für die zwei aktuellen und, um Trendanalysen mit älteren Erwerbstätigenbefragungen durchführen zu können, auch für die zwei alten Klassifikationssysteme vercodet: Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 (KldB 2010), Klassifikation der Berufe 1992 (KldB 1992), International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO 08), International Standard Classification of Occupations 1988 (ISCO 88)), aufbereitete Variablen aufgrund von Plausibilitätsprüfungen (bereinigte Variablen zum Ausbildungsabschluss, den Ausbildungsschleifen und dem Wirtschaftsbereich) sowie aufbereitete Variablen zum Einkommen und zu den Regionalinformationen. Darüber hinaus wurden eine Reihe von sozialwissenschaftlichen Klassifikationen anhand standardisierter Syntaxroutinen erstellt

Fentanyl Plasma Concentrations after Application of a Transdermal Patch in Three Different Locations to Refine Postoperative Pain Management in Rabbits

Transdermal patches allow a noninvasive and “stress free” analgesia in rabbits. As fentanyl uptake is dependent on exogenous and endogenous factors of the area where the patch is applied, this study investigated three different locations (neck, inner and outer surfaces of the ear) for fentanyl patch application to provide adequate and reliable fentanyl plasma concentrations above those previously shown to be analgesic. Fentanyl plasma concentration was measured at different time points (3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120 h) and rabbits were assessed for their general conditions and treatment-related side effects. Practicability of the proposed methods was evaluated. Following patch application on the neck, fentanyl plasma concentrations equal to or above the analgesic value were measured in all rabbits between 6 and 72 h. Comparable concentrations were reached between 9 and 48 h in all animals for the outer ear surface. However, for the inner ear surface, analgesic concentrations were not reached, even if practicability was considered the best for this location. Preparation of the neck skin was judged as the most cumbersome due to the clipping of the dense fur and patch removal resulted in erythema. In summary, the application of the fentanyl patch on the neck and outer ear surface allowed the reach of reliable plasma concentrations above the analgesic threshold in rabbits. When applied on the neck, fentanyl patches provided the longest duration of analgesic plasma concentrations, whereas patch application and removal were easier on the outer ear surface

Effects of 6-months' Exercise on Cardiac Function, Structure and Metabolism in Female Hypertensive Rats–The Decisive Role of Lysyl Oxidase and Collagen III

Purpose: According to the current therapeutic guidelines of the WHO physical activity and exercise are recommended as first-line therapy of arterial hypertension. Previous results lead to the conclusion, however, that hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with established hypertension cannot compensate for the haemodynamic stresses caused by long-term exercise. The current study was initiated to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on the cardiac remodeling as the sole therapeutic measure before and during hypertension became established.Methods: Beginning at their 6th week of life, six SHR were provided with a running wheel over a period of 6 months. Normotensive Wistar rats served as non-hypertensive controls.Results: In Wistar rats and SHR, voluntary exercise led to cardioprotective adaptation reactions that were reflected in increased mitochondrial respiration, reduced heart rate and improved systolic function. Exercise also had antioxidant effects and reduced the expression of maladaptive genes (TGF-β1, CTGF, and FGF2). However, at the end of the 6-months' training, the echocardiograms revealed that SHR runners developed a restrictive cardiomyopathy. The induction of lysyl oxidase (LOX), which led to an increased network of matrix proteins and a massive elevation in collagen III expression, was identified as the underlying cause.Conclusions: Running-induced adaptive mechanisms effectively counteract the classic remodeling of hearts subject to chronic pressure loads. However, with sustained running stress, signaling pathways are activated that have a negative effect on left ventricular relaxation. Our data suggest that the induction of LOX may play a causative role in the diagnosed filling disorder in trained SHR