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Stable taxon names for Bacteria and Archaea are essential for capturing and documenting prokaryotic diversity. They are also crucial for scientific communication, effective accumulation of biological data related to the taxon names and for developing a comprehensive understanding of prokaryotic evolution. However, after more than a hundred years, taxonomists have succeeded in valid publication of only around 30 000 species names, based mostly on pure cultures under the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP), out of the millions estimated to reside in the biosphere. The vast majority of prokaryotic species have not been cultured and are becoming increasingly known to us via culture-independent sequence-based approaches. Until recently, such taxa could only be addressed nomenclaturally via provisional names such as Candidatus or alphanumeric identifiers. Here, we present options and considerations to facilitate validation of names for these taxa using the recently established Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data (SeqCode). Community engagement and participation of relevant taxon specialists are critical and encouraged for the success of endeavours to formally name the uncultured majority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Codes of nomenclature that provide well-regulated and stable frameworks for the naming of taxa are a fundamental underpinning of biological research. These Codes themselves require systems that govern their administration, interpretation and emendment. Here we review the provisions that have been made for the governance of the recently introduced Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data (SeqCode), which provides a nomenclatural framework for the valid publication of names of Archaea and Bacteria using isolate genome, metagenome-assembled genome or single-amplified genome sequences as type material. The administrative structures supporting the SeqCode are designed to be open and inclusive. Direction is provided by the SeqCode Community, which we encourage those with an interest in prokaryotic systematics to join. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine whether exercise training improves insulin actions through concomitant body weight loss (BWL). Subjects (aged 55 ± 8 years) with metabolic syndrome (MetS), prediabetes (fasting blood glucose: 111 ± 2 mg·dL−1, HbA1c: 5.85 ± 0.05%) and abdominal obesity (waist circumference: 104 ± 7.9 cm) were randomly allocated to either a group performing aerobic interval training (EXER; n = 76) or a sedentary group receiving lifestyle counselling (CONT; n = 20) for 16 weeks. At baseline, insulin sensitivity (according to HOMA2 and intravenous glucose tolerance test; CS I), body composition and VO 2max were similar between the groups. After the intervention, both groups had similar BWL (1–2%), but only the EXER group showed decreased [mean (95% CI)] trunk fat mass [from 18.2 (17.4–18.9) to 17.3 kg (16.6–17.9); P < 0.001] and HOMA2 scores [from 1.6 (1.5–1.7) to 1.4 (1.3–1.5); P = 0.001], and increased VO 2max [from 2.07 (1.92–2.21) to 2.28 (2.11–2.45) LO 2 ·min−1; P < 0.001]. However, CS I did not improve in any group. Within-group subdivision by BWL (≤ 0%, 0–3%, ≥ 3%) revealed higher CS I in those with BWL ≥ 3% in both groups. Trunk fat mass reductions were closely associated with CS I and HOMA-IR improvement (r = − 0.452–0.349; P < 0.001). In obese MetS subjects with prediabetes, 3% BWL is required for consistent improvement in insulin sensitivity. Thus, exercise-training programmes should be combined with calorie restriction to achieve BWL levels that prevent the development of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common type of cardiac arrhythmia. AF is associated with increased rates of death and hospitalizations. It is also related to a degraded quality of life and reduced exercise capacity. Ageing increases the risk of developing AF, as well as hypertension and obesity. Continuous ECG monitoring is required in patients with previously diagnosed AF. Studies have also demonstrated that daily ECG monitoring increases the successful detection of silent AF among older adults. In this sense facilitating AF monitoring using portable devices such as Smartphones will increase patients life quality and could help to an early diagnosis. With this in mind in this work we present a proposal to detect AF using pulsatile photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal from a fingertip using the built-in camera lens in a smartphone. We developed an algorithm intended to sense paroxysmal AF considering resource utilization capabilities in order to be used in mobile devices with constrained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An easy and straightforward way to engineer microbial environmental communities is by setting up liquid enrichment cultures containing a specific substrate as the sole source of carbon. Here, we analyzed twenty single-contig high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) retrieved from a microbial consortium (T6) that was selected by the dilution-to-stimulation approach using Andean soil as inoculum and lignocellulose as a selection pressure. Based on genomic metrics (e.g., average nucleotide and amino acid identities) and phylogenomic analyses, 15 out of 20 MAGs were found to represent novel bacterial species, with one of those (MAG_26) belonging to a novel genus closely related to Caenibius spp. (Sphingomonadaceae). Following the rules and requirements of the SeqCode, we propose the name Andeanibacterium colombiense gen. nov., sp. nov. for this taxon. A subsequent functional annotation of all MAGs revealed that MAG_7 (Pseudobacter hemicellulosilyticus sp. nov.) contains 20, 19 and 16 predicted genes from carbohydrate-active enzymes families GH43, GH2 and GH92, respectively. Its lignocellulolytic gene profile resembles that of MAG_2 (the most abundant member) and MAG_3858, both of which belong to the Sphingobacteriaceae family. Using a database that contains experimentally verified plastic-active enzymes (PAZymes), twenty-seven putative bacterial polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-active enzymes (i.e., alpha/beta-fold hydrolases) were detected in all MAGs. A maximum of five putative PETases were found in MAG_3858, and two PETases were found to be encoded by A. colombiense. In conclusion, we demonstrate that lignocellulose-enriched liquid cultures coupled with genome-resolved metagenomics are suitable approaches to unveil the hidden bacterial diversity and its polymer-degrading potential in Andean soil ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquitous alpha-proteobacteria of the order " Candidatus Pelagibacterales" (SAR11) are highly abundant in aquatic environments, and among them, members of the monophyletic lineage LD12 (also known as SAR11 clade IIIb) are specifically found in lacustrine ecosystems. Clade IIIb bacteria are some of the most prominent members of freshwater environments, but little is known about their biology due to the lack of genome representatives. Only recently, the first non-marine isolate was cultured and described as " Candidatus Fonsibacter ubiquis". Here, we expand the collection of freshwater IIIb representatives and describe a new IIIb species of the genus " Ca. Fonsibacter". Specifically, we assembled a collection of 67 freshwater metagenomic datasets from the interconnected lakes of the Chattahoochee River basin (GA, USA) and obtained nearly complete metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) representing 5 distinct IIIb subclades, roughly equivalent to species based on genomic standards, including the previously described " Ca. F. ubiquis". Genomic comparisons between members of the IIIb species revealed high similarity in gene content. However, when comparing their abundance profiles in the Chattahoochee basin and various aquatic environments, differences in temporal and spatial distributions among the distinct species were observed implying niche differentiation might be underlying the coexistence of the highly functionally similar representatives. The name Ca. Fonsibacter lacus sp. nov. is proposed for the most abundant and widespread species in the Chattahoochee River basin and various freshwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cold environments represent the largest fraction of Earth's biosphere, and are known habitats for cold-adapted microorganisms. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence and biodiversity of cold-adapted fungi associated with the Castaño Overo glacier, Mount Tronador, Patagonia, Argentina. Samples of naked soil, glacial ice and snow were collected and analyzed using tag-encoded 454 pyrosequencing of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). A total of 1082 OTUs (operational taxonomic units) and 151,669 sequences were obtained. OTUs obtained from soil samples corresponded mainly to the phylum Ascomycota, whereas for snow and ice samples the phylum Basidiomycota was the most represented group. Metabarcoding analysis showed high biodiversity in glacial environments and allowed the detection of hitherto unknown taxa for Patagonia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of fungal diversity in an extreme glacial environment of Patagonian Argentina using amplicon sequencing. Highlights • Fungi inhabiting a glacial environment were identified using 454-pyrosequencing. • Fungal communities differed between types of substrates (snow-ice and soil). • Chytridiomycetes sequences were found, this is the first record for the studied area. • Microbotryomycetes was the dominant class in all snow-ice samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: To examine the relationship between changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF; estimated by VO2max) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) after an exercise training intervention to confirm/contradict the high association found in cross-sectional observational studies.Methods and Results: MetS individuals (54 ± 8 yrs old; BMI of 32 ± 5) were randomly allocated (6:1 ratio) to a group that exercised trained for 16-weeks (EXER; n = 138) or a control sedentary group (CONT; n = 22). At baseline, MetS components, body composition and exercise responses were similar between groups (all P > 0.05). After 16 weeks of intervention, only EXER reduced body weight, waist circumference (-1.21 ± 0.22 kg and -2.7 ± 0.3 cm; P < 0.001), mean arterial blood pressure and hence the composite MetS Z-score (-7.06 ± 0.77 mmHg and -0.21 ± 0.03 SD; P < 0.001). In the EXER group, CRF increased by 16% (0.302 ± 0.026, 95% CI 0.346 to 0.259 LO2·min-1; P < 0.001) but was not a significant predictor of MetS Z-score improvements (r = -0.231; β = -0.024; P = 0.788). Instead, body weight reductions predicted 25% of MetS Z-score changes (r = 0.508; β = 0.360; P = 0.001).Conclusions: In MetS individuals, the exercise-training increases in CRF are not predictive of the improvements in their health risk factors. Instead, body weight loss (<2%) was a significant contributor to the improved MetS Z-score and thus should be emphasized in exercise training programs. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03019796. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial biodeterioration of timber and woody material in buildings can cause costly restoration procedures. Here, we focus on Serpula lacrymans (commonly known as dry-rot) the fungus causing the most severe damages to buildings in Europe. Although its morphology, lifestyle, and dispersal have been intensively studied, research on microorganisms sharing the same habitat and interacting with the dry-rot fungus is not as comprehensive. Bacteria have long been known to inhabit dead wood, and several studies have shown their association to fungi. However, their identity, ecology, and putative interactions with co-existing fungi in dead wood remains largely underexplored. The interactions of bacterial and fungi have considerable impact on all partners involved covering the full spectrum between antagonistic and beneficial. Fungi are highly capable of manipulating the microbial community in their surroundings (e.g. via pH manipulation) and bacteria, in turn, can influence fungi by affecting the outcomes of (antagonistic) interactions or preventing fungal feedback inhibition via consumption of breakdown products. Associated bacteria on the other side could play an essential role for the fungus as bacteria can exert significant influence on fungal physiology and behaviour. This minireview summarizes the current knowledge on bacterial-fungal interactions in dead wood with a special focus on dry-rot and proposes possible bacterial-fungal interaction (BFI) mechanisms based on examples from soil or decomposing wood from forests. • Synthesis of information on interactions between fungi and bacteria in wood decay in nature and buildings. • Mechanisms guiding the interactions between fungi and bacteria are examined. • Impact of bacterial consumption of fungal wood breakdown products is discussed. • Fungal exudates as drivers of bacterial-fungal-interaction are proposed. • Establishing a holobiont concept for wood/timber degrading fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from new experiments to study the dynamics of radiative shocks, reverse shocks and radiative precursors. Laser ablation of a solid piston by the Orion high-power laser at AWE Aldermaston UK was used to drive radiative shocks into a gas cell initially pressurised between 0.1 and 1.0 bar with different noble gases. Shocks propagated at 80 ± 10 km/s and experienced strong radiative cooling resulting in post-shock compressions of ×25 ± 2. A combination of X-ray backlighting, optical self-emission streak imaging and interferometry (multi-frame and streak imaging) were used to simultaneously study both the shock front and the radiative precursor. These experiments present a new configuration to produce counter-propagating radiative shocks, allowing for the study of reverse shocks and providing a unique platform for numerical validation. In addition, the radiative shocks were able to expand freely into a large gas volume without being confined by the walls of the gas cell. This allows for 3-D effects of the shocks to be studied which, in principle, could lead to a more direct comparison to astrophysical phenomena. By maintaining a constant mass density between different gas fills the shocks evolved with similar hydrodynamics but the radiative precursor was found to extend significantly further in higher atomic number gases (∼4 times further in xenon than neon). Finally, 1-D and 2-D radiative-hydrodynamic simulations are presented showing good agreement with the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiative shocks (RS) are complex phenomena which are ubiquitous in astrophysical environments. The study of such hypersonic shocks in the laboratory, under controlled conditions, is of primary interest to understand the physics at play and also to check the ability of numerical simulations to reproduce the experimental results. In this context, we conducted, at the Prague Asterix Laser System facility (PALS), the first experiments dedicated to the study of two counter-propagating radiative shocks propagating at non-equal speeds up to 25–50 km/s in noble gases at pressures ranging between 0.1 and 0.6 bar. These experiments highlighted the interaction between the two radiative precursors. This interaction is qualitatively but not quantitatively described by 1D simulations. Preliminary results obtained with XUV spectroscopy leading to the estimation of shock temperature and ion charge of the plasma are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Music has been used for medicinal purposes throughout history due to its variety of physiological, psychological and social effects. Objective To identify the effects of prenatal music stimulation on the vital signs of pregnant women at full term, on the modification of fetal cardiac status during a fetal monitoring cardiotocograph, and on anthropometric measurements of newborns taken after birth. Material and method A randomized controlled trial was implemented. The four hundred and nine pregnant women coming for routine prenatal care were randomized in the third trimester to receive either music (n = 204) or no music (n = 205) during a fetal monitoring cardiotocograph. All of the pregnant women were evaluated by measuring fetal cardiac status (basal fetal heart rate and fetal reactivity), vital signs before and after a fetal monitoring cardiotocograph (maternal heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure), and anthropometric measurements of the newborns were taken after birth (weight, height, head circumference and chest circumference). Results The strip charts showed a significantly increased basal fetal heart rate and higher fetal reactivity, with accelerations of fetal heart rate in pregnant women with music stimulation. After the fetal monitoring cardiotocograph, a statistically significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in women receiving music stimulation was observed. Conclusion Music can be used as a tool which improves the vital signs of pregnant women during the third trimester, and can influence the fetus by increasing fetal heart rate and fetal reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass has great potential as a clean, renewable feedstock for producing modern energy carriers. This paper focuses on the process of biomass wastes gasification, where the synthesis gas may subsequently be used for the production of electricity, fuels and chemicals. The gasification process is one of the least-efficient operations in the whole biomass-to-energy technology chain and an analysis of the efficiency of the gasifier alone can substantially contribute to the efficiency improvement of this chain. In this work, biomass wastes from canneries (peach pits) and wine industry (marcs and stalks) used for the syngas production are investigated. Thermodynamic indicators of process performance based on the second law (exergy analysis) was utilized in order to evaluate the effect of different operational parameters (temperature, supply air/stoichiometric air, supply steam/carbon ratio and moisture feed). The exergetic efficiency of the gasification process decreases when the all considered operational parameters increase. The gasification of peach pits shows the maximum values of the exergetic efficiency in all conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiative shock waves are ubiquitous throughout the universe and play a crucial role in the transport of energy into the interstellar medium. This fact has led to many efforts to scale the astrophysical phenomena to accessible conditions. In some laboratory experiments radiative blast waves are launched in clusters of gases by means of the direct deposition of the laser energy. In this work, by using a collisional-radiative model, we perform an analysis of the plasma level populations and radiative properties of a blast wave launched in a xenon cluster. In particular, for both the shocked and unshocked material, we study the influence of different effects such as LTE, steady-state or time-dependent NLTE simulations, plasma self-absorption or external radiation field in the determination of those properties and also in the diagnosis of the electron temperature of the blast wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiative shocks are ubiquitous in stellar environments and are characterized by high temperature plasma emitting a considerable fraction of their energy as radiation. The physical structure of these shocks is complex and experimental benchmarks are needed to provide a deeper understanding of the physics at play. In addition, experiments provide unique data for testing radiation hydrodynamics codes which, in turn, are used to model astrophysical phenomena. Radiative shocks have been studied on various high-energy laser facilities for more than a decade, highlighting the importance of radiation on the plasma dynamics. Particularly the PALS facility has focused in producing radiative shocks with typical velocities of ∼50–60 km s −1 in xenon at a fraction of a bar. In addition PALS has the unique capability of producing the most powerful XUV laser available today (21.2 nm (58.4 eV), 0.15 ns), opening the door to new diagnostics of dense plasmas. Here we present results of XUV imaging of the precursor and post-shock structure of radiative shocks generated in xenon in this facility, together with time-and-space resolved measurements of the XUV self-emission using fast diode. The experimental results are interpreted with the help of 2D ARWEN radiative hydrodynamics simulations and state-of-the art monochromatic opacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computational investigation based on collisional–radiative simulations of a supersonic and radiatively cooled aluminum plasma jet is presented. The jet, both in vacuum and in argon ambient gas, was produced on the MAGPIE (Mega Ampere Generator for Plasma Implosion Experiments) generator and is formed by ablation of an aluminum foil driven by a 1.4 MA, 250 ns current pulse in a radial foil Z-pinch configuration. In this work, population kinetics and radiative properties simulations of the jet in different theoretical approximations were performed. In particular, local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), non-LTE steady state (SS) and non-LTE time dependent (TD) models have been considered. This study allows us to make a convenient microscopic characterization of the aluminum plasma jet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]