bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE SPEED OF STRUCTURAL CONVERGENCE IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES OF NEWLY INDUSTRIALISING ECONOMIES
Authors: Abegaz Berhanu 
Published: October 2008

AbstractWe seek to identify the determinants of the speed of convergence in the structures of manufacturing to their steady‐state levels as developing economies become fully industrialised. Applying a two‐stage sequential estimation procedure to data on three‐digit manufacturing industries for 45 mostly middle‐income countries, we find empirical support for the hypothesis that production efficiency is a major determinant of inter‐branch output share adjustment. This finding applies to many but not all industries. One implication for latecomers is that industrial policy must aim at rapid diffusion of core technologies to facilitate the acquisition of industrial capabilities in a diversified basket of exportables.
REVISITING SOUTH AFRICAN EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN THE 1990S
Authors: Altman Miriam 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThis article revisits South African employment trends recorded since 1995. In particular, it investigates whether the job losses and gains recorded by the October Household Survey jobs in the mid‐1990s reflect the reality. This is done by comparing the different official data sets, and by exploring alternative sources of information for three sectors that substantially influenced this trend, namely formal agriculture, mining, and community, social and personal services. Potential inconsistencies within the October Household data are assessed, particularly in relation to the distribution of employees across formal and informal sectors and the categorisation of unpaid family workers. The implications of possible changes to the employment trend from 1995‐2006 are considered. This article finds that the evidence is strong enough to call into question published employment trends. According to the October Household Survey, formal employment fell by 1.4 million between 1995 and 1997. The OHS and Labour Force Survey shows that formal employment then grew by 1.9 million between 1997 and 2006. According to the revised figures presented in this paper, 73,000 to 530,000 formal jobs were lost between 1995 and 1997 and 1.4 million net new jobs were created between 1997 and 2006. It is therefore possible that the plummeting and “recovery” of employment in the 1990s were both considerably less dramatic than that reflected in the official statistics. Further research and investigation would be required to validate these trends.
QUANTIFYING THE OUTSOURCING OF JOBS FROM MANUFACTURING TO SERVICES
Authors: Tregenna Fiona 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThere has been debate internationally and in South Africa about the extent to which a relative decline in manufacturing employment and rise in services employment can be accounted for by intersectoral outsourcing of jobs in the domestic economy. This article develops a new methodology for testing for and quantifying outsourcing at an economy‐wide level. This methodology is used to analyse intersectoral shifts in employment in South Africa between 1997 and 2005. Trends in employment in the business services subsector of services are also examined for what they suggest about the extent of outsourcing. Overall, the results suggest that intersectoral outsourcing accounts for some but by no means all of the apparent shift in employment between the manufacturing and services sectors in South Africa.
Microbial Biofilm Voltammetry: Direct Electrochemical Characterization of Catalytic Electrode-Attached Biofilms
Authors: Marsili Enrico , Rollefson Janet B. , Baron Daniel B. , Hozalski Raymond M. , Bond Daniel R. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

While electrochemical characterization of enzymes immobilized on electrodes has become common, there is still a need for reliable quantitative methods for study of electron transfer between living cells and conductive surfaces. This work describes growth of thin (<20 μm)
Geobacter sulfurreducens
biofilms on polished glassy carbon electrodes, using stirred three-electrode anaerobic bioreactors controlled by potentiostats and nondestructive voltammetry techniques for characterization of viable biofilms. Routine in vivo analysis of electron transfer between bacterial cells and electrodes was performed, providing insight into the main redox-active species participating in electron transfer to electrodes. At low scan rates, cyclic voltammetry revealed catalytic electron transfer between cells and the electrode, similar to what has been observed for pure enzymes attached to electrodes under continuous turnover conditions. Differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy also revealed features that were consistent with electron transfer being mediated by an adsorbed catalyst. Multiple redox-active species were detected, revealing complexity at the outer surfaces of this bacterium. These techniques provide the basis for cataloging quantifiable, defined electron transfer phenotypes as a function of potential, electrode material, growth phase, and culture conditions and provide a framework for comparisons with other species or communities.
Volatilization and Precipitation of Tellurium by Aerobic, Tellurite-Resistant Marine Microbes
Authors: Ollivier Patrick R. L. , Bahrou Andrew S. , Marcus Sarah , Cox Talisha , Church Thomas M. , Hanson Thomas E. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Microbial resistance to tellurite, an oxyanion of tellurium, is widespread in the biosphere, but the geochemical significance of this trait is poorly understood. As some tellurite resistance markers appear to mediate the formation of volatile tellurides, the potential contribution of tellurite-resistant microbial strains to trace element volatilization in salt marsh sediments was evaluated. Microbial strains were isolated aerobically on the basis of tellurite resistance and subsequently examined for their capacity to volatilize tellurium in pure cultures. The tellurite-resistant strains recovered were either yeasts related to marine isolates of
Rhodotorula
spp. or gram-positive bacteria related to marine strains within the family
Bacillaceae
based on rRNA gene sequence comparisons. Most strains produced volatile tellurides, primarily dimethyltelluride, though there was a wide range of the types and amounts of species produced. For example, the
Rhodotorula
spp. produced the greatest quantities and highest diversity of volatile tellurium compounds. All strains also produced methylated sulfur compounds, primarily dimethyldisulfide. Intracellular tellurium precipitates were a major product of tellurite metabolism in all strains tested, with nearly complete recovery of the tellurite initially provided to cultures as a precipitate. Different strains appeared to produce different shapes and sizes of tellurium containing nanostructures. These studies suggest that aerobic marine yeast and
Bacillus
spp. may play a greater role in trace element biogeochemistry than has been previously assumed, though additional work is needed to further define and quantify their specific contributions.
Synthesis and Uptake of the Compatible Solutes Ectoine and 5-Hydroxyectoine by
Streptomyces coelicolor
A3(2) in Response to Salt and Heat Stresses
Authors: Bursy Jan , Kuhlmann Anne U. , Pittelkow Marco , Hartmann Holger , Jebbar Mohamed , Pierik Antonio J. , Bremer Erhard 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Streptomyces coelicolor
A3(2) synthesizes ectoine and 5-hydroxyectoine upon the imposition of either salt (0.5 M NaCl) or heat stress (39°C). The cells produced the highest cellular levels of these compatible solutes when both stress conditions were simultaneously imposed. Protection against either severe salt (1.2 M NaCl) or heat stress (39°C) or a combination of both environmental cues could be accomplished by adding low concentrations (1 mM) of either ectoine or 5-hydroxyectoine to
S. coelicolor
A3(2) cultures. The best salt and heat stress protection was observed when a mixture of ectoine and 5-hydroxyectoine (0.5 mM each) was provided to the growth medium. Transport assays with radiolabeled ectoine demonstrated that uptake was triggered by either salt or heat stress. The most effective transport and accumulation of [
14
C]ectoine by
S. coelicolor
A3(2) were achieved when both environmental cues were simultaneously applied. Our results demonstrate that the accumulation of the compatible solutes ectoine and 5-hydroxyectoine allows
S. coelicolor
A3(2) to fend off the detrimental effects of both high salinity and high temperature on cell physiology. We also characterized the enzyme (EctD) required for the synthesis of 5-hydroxyectoine from ectoine, a hydroxylase of the superfamily of the non-heme-containing iron(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases (EC 1.14.11). The gene cluster (
ectABCD
) encoding the enzymes for ectoine and 5-hydroxyectoine biosynthesis can be found in the genome of
S. coelicolor
A3(2),
Streptomyces avermitilis
,
Streptomyces griseus
,
Streptomyces scabiei
, and
Streptomyces chrysomallus
, suggesting that these compatible solutes play an important role as stress protectants in the genus
Streptomyces
.
Distribution of
Crenarchaeota
Representatives in Terrestrial Hot Springs of Russia and Iceland
Authors: Perevalova Anna A. , Kolganova Tatiana V. , Birkeland Nils-Kåre , Schleper Christa , Bonch-Osmolovskaya Elizaveta A. , Lebedinsky Alexander V. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Culture-independent (PCR with
Crenarchaeota-
specific primers and subsequent denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and culture-dependent approaches were used to study the diversity of
Crenarchaeota
in terrestrial hot springs of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Lake Baikal region (Russia) and of Iceland. Among the phylotypes detected there were relatives of both cultured (mainly hyperthermophilic) and uncultured
Crenarchaeota
. It was found that there is a large and diverse group of uncultured
Crenarchaeota
that inhabit terrestrial hot springs with moderate temperatures (55 to 70°C). Two of the lineages of this group were given phenotypic characterization, one as a result of cultivation in an enrichment culture and another one after isolation of a pure culture, “
Fervidococcus fontis
,” which proved to be a moderately thermophilic, neutrophilic (optimum pH of 6.0 to 7.5), anaerobic organotroph.
International Comparison of Clinical, Bovine, and Environmental
Escherichia coli
O157 Isolates on the Basis of Shiga Toxin-Encoding Bacteriophage Insertion Site Genotypes
Authors: Whitworth Joshua H. , Fegan Narelle , Keller Jasmin , Gobius Kari S. , Bono James L. , Call Douglas R. , Hancock Dale D. , Besser Thomas E. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Escherichia coli
O157:H7 genotypes in the bovine reservoir may differ in virulence. The proportion of clinical genotypes among cattle isolates was weakly (
P
= 0.054) related to the international incidence of
E. coli
O157:H7-associated hemolytic-uremic syndrome, varied among clinical isolates internationally, and also differed along the putative cattle-hamburger-clinical case transmission chain.
Widespread Distribution and Identification of Eight Novel Microcystins in Antarctic Cyanobacterial Mats
Authors: Wood Susanna A. , Mountfort Doug , Selwood Andrew I. , Holland Patrick T. , Puddick Jonathan , Cary S. Craig 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

The microcystin (MC) content and cyanobacterial community structure of Antarctic microbial mat samples collected from 40 ponds, lakes, and hydroterrestrial environments were investigated. Samples were collected from Bratina Island and four of the Dry Valleys, Wright, Victoria, Miers, and Marshall. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and protein phosphatase 2A (PP-2A) inhibition assays resulted in the identification of low levels (1 to 16 mg/kg [dry weight]) of MCs in all samples. A plot of indicative potencies of MCs (PP-2A inhibition assay/ELISA ratio) versus total MCs (ELISA) showed a general decrease in potency, as total MC levels increased, and a clustering of values from discrete geographic locations. LC-tandem MS analysis on selected samples identified eight novel MC congeners. The low-energy collisional activation spectra were consistent with variants of [
d
-Asp
3
] MC-RR and [
d
-Asp
3
] MC-LR containing glycine [Gly
1
] rather than alanine and combinations of homoarginine [hAr
2
] or acetyldemethyl 3-amino-9-methoxy-2,6,8-trimethyl-10-phenyl-4,6-decadienoic acid (acetyldemethyl ADDA) [ADMAdda
5
] substitutions.
Nostoc
sp. was identified as a MC producer using PCR amplification of a region of the 16S rRNA gene and the aminotransferase domain of the
mcyE
gene. Automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) was undertaken to enable a comparison of cyanobacterial mat community structure from distant geographical locations. Two-dimensional multidimensional scaling ordination analysis of the ARISA data showed that in general, samples from the same geographic location tended to cluster together. ARISA also enabled the putative identification of the MC-producing
Nostoc
sp. from multiple samples.
Quantification of Diatom and Dinoflagellate Biomasses in Coastal Marine Seawater Samples by Real-Time PCR
Authors: Godhe Anna , Asplund Maria E. , Härnström Karolina , Saravanan V. , Tyagi Anuj , Karunasagar Indrani 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT
Two real-time PCR assays targeting the small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were designed to assess the proportional biomass of diatoms and dinoflagellates in marine coastal water. The reverse primer for the diatom assay was designed to be class specific, and the dinoflagellate-specific reverse primer was obtained from the literature. For both targets, we used universal eukaryotic SSU rDNA forward primers. Specificity was confirmed by using a BLAST search and by amplification of cultures of various phytoplankton taxa. Reaction conditions were optimized for each primer set with linearized plasmids from cloned SSU rDNA fragments. The number of SSU rDNA copies per cell was estimated for six species of diatoms and nine species of dinoflagellates; these were significantly correlated to the biovolumes of the cells. Nineteen field samples were collected along the Swedish west coast and subjected to the two real-time PCR assays. The linear regression of the proportion of SSU rDNA copies of dinoflagellate and diatom origin versus the proportion of dinoflagellate and diatom biovolumes or biomass per liter was significant. For diatoms, linear regression of the number of SSU rDNA copies versus biovolume or biomass per liter was significant, but no such significant correlation was detected in the field samples for dinoflagellates. The method described will be useful for estimating the proportion of dinoflagellate versus diatom biovolume or biomass and the absolute diatom biovolume or biomass in various aquatic disciplines.
Acanthamoeba castellanii
Promotes the Survival of
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Authors: Laskowski-Arce Michelle A. , Orth Kim 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Vibrio parahaemolyticus
is a food-borne pathogen that naturally inhabits both marine and estuarine environments. Free-living protozoa exist in similar aquatic environments and function to control bacterial numbers by grazing on free-living bacteria. Protozoa also play an important role in the survival and spread of some pathogenic species of bacteria. We investigated the interaction between the protozoan
Acanthamoeba castellanii
and the bacterium
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
. We found that
Acanthamoeba castellanii
does not prey on
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
but instead secretes a factor that promotes the survival of
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
in coculture. These studies suggest that protozoa may provide a survival advantage to an extracellular pathogen in the environment.
P
BAD
-Based Shuttle Vectors for Functional Analysis of Toxic and Highly Regulated Genes in
Pseudomonas
and
Burkholderia
spp. and Other Bacteria
Authors: Qiu Dongru , Damron F. Heath , Mima Takehiko , Schweizer Herbert P. , Yu Hongwei D. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

We report the construction of a series of
Escherichia
-
Pseudomonas
broad-host-range expression vectors utilizing the P
BAD
promoter and the
araC
regulator for routine cloning, conditional expression, and analysis of tightly controlled and/or toxic genes in pseudomonads.
Origin and Diversity of Metabolically Active Gut Bacteria from Laboratory-Bred Larvae of
Manduca sexta
(Sphingidae, Lepidoptera, Insecta)
Authors: Brinkmann Nicole , Martens Rainer , Tebbe Christoph C. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Cultivation-independent analyses based on genetic profiling of partial bacterial 16S rRNA genes by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR-SSCP of the 16S rRNA itself, and stable isotope probing (SIP), followed by RT-PCR-SSCP, were applied to characterize the diversity of metabolically active bacteria in the larval gut of
Manduca sexta
bred on tobacco leaves under greenhouse conditions. For SIP, hatching larvae were fed with leaves from tobacco plants grown in a
13
CO
2
-enriched atmosphere. Dominant SSCP bands were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Only one major gut colonizer, an
Enterococcus
relative, was detected; it occurred in the heavy RNA fraction, demonstrating its metabolic activity, and it originated from eggs, where its metabolic activity was also indicated by rRNA-based SSCP profiles. In contrast, a
Citrobacter sedlakii
relative was detected on eggs by DNA-SSCP, but rRNA-SSCP and SIP-rRNA-SSCP were negative, suggesting that these bacterial cells were inactive. A
Burkholderia
relative was dominant and metabolically active on the tobacco leaves but inactive inside the gut, where it was also quantitatively reduced, as suggested by lower band intensities in the DNA-based SSCP profiles. SIP-RNA-SSCP detected another metabolically active gut bacterium (
Enterobacter
sp.) and more bacteria in the light RNA fraction, indicating low or no metabolic activity of the latter inside the gut. We conclude that the larval gut supported only a low diversity of metabolically active bacteria.
Phenotype-Specific Bacterial Communities in the Cold-Water Coral
Lophelia pertusa
(Scleractinia) and Their Implications for the Coral's Nutrition, Health, and Distribution
Authors: Neulinger Sven C. , Järnegren Johanna , Ludvigsen Martin , Lochte Karin , Dullo Wolf-Christian 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

The pseudocolonial coral
Lophelia pertusa
(Scleractinia, Caryophylliidae) is a eurybathic, stenothermal cosmopolitan cold-water species. It occurs in two color varieties, white and red.
L. pertusa
builds vast cold-water coral reefs along the continental margins, which are among the most diverse deep-sea habitats. Microbiology of
L. pertusa
has been in scientific focus for only a few years, but the question of whether the coral holds a host-specific bacterial community has not been finally answered. Bacteria on coral samples from the Trondheimsfjord (Norway) were characterized by the culture-independent 16S rRNA gene-based techniques terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis.
L. pertusa
revealed a high microbial richness. Clone sequences were dominated by members of the
Alpha
- and
Gammaproteobacteria
. Other abundant taxa were
Bacteroidetes
,
Actinobacteria
,
Verrucomicrobia
,
Firmicutes
, and
Planctomycetes
. The bacterial community of
L. pertusa
not only differed conspicuously from that of the environment but also varied with both the location and color variety of its host. Therefore, the microbial colonization cannot be termed “specific” sensu stricto. However, similarities to other coral-bacterium associations suggest the existence of “cold-water coral-specific” bacterial groups sensu lato.
L. pertusa
-associated bacteria appear to play a significant role in the nutrition of their host by degradation of sulfur compounds, cellulose, chitin, and end products of the coral's anaerobic metabolism. Some coral-associated microbes were regarded as opportunistic pathogens. Dominance of mixotrophic members of the
Rhodobacteraceae
in white
L. pertusa
could explain the wider dispersal of this phenotype by supplementary nutrition.
Generation of
Bradyrhizobium japonicum
Mutants with Increased N
2
O Reductase Activity by Selection after Introduction of a Mutated
dnaQ
Gene
Authors: Itakura Manabu , Tabata Kazufumi , Eda Shima , Mitsui Hisayuki , Murakami Kiriko , Yasuda Junichi , Minamisawa Kiwamu 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

We obtained two beneficial mutants of
Bradyrhizobium japonicum
USDA110 with increased nitrous oxide (N
2
O) reductase (N
2
OR) activity by introducing a plasmid containing a mutated
B. japonicum dnaQ
gene (pKQ2) and performing enrichment culture under selection pressure for N
2
O respiration. Mutation of
dnaQ
, which encodes the epsilon subunit of DNA polymerase III, gives a strong mutator phenotype in
Escherichia coli
. pKQ2 introduction into
B. japonicum
USDA110 increased the frequency of occurrence of colonies spontaneously resistant to kanamycin. A series of repeated cultivations of USDA110 with and without pKQ2 was conducted in anaerobic conditions under 5% (vol/vol) or 20% (vol/vol) N
2
O atmosphere. At the 10th cultivation cycle, cell populations of USDA110(pKQ2) showed higher N
2
OR activity than the wild-type strains. Four bacterial mutants lacking pKQ2 obtained by plant passage showed 7 to 12 times the N
2
OR activity of the wild-type USDA110. Although two mutants had a weak or null
fix
phenotype for symbiotic nitrogen fixation, the remaining two (5M09 and 5M14) had the same symbiotic nitrogen fixation ability and heterotrophic growth in culture as wild-type USDA110.
Thiol-Independent Action of Mitochondrial Thioredoxin To Support the Urea Cycle of Arginine Biosynthesis in
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Authors: Song Ji-Yoon , Kim Kyoung-Dong , Roe Jung-Hye 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACT

Thioredoxins usually perform a role as a thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase using their active-site cysteines. The fission yeast
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
contains two thioredoxins: Trx1 for general stress protection and Trx2 for mitochondrial functions. The
Δtrx2
mutant grows as well as the wild type on complex media containing glucose. However, on nonfermentable carbon source such as glycerol, the mutant did not grow, indicating a defect in mitochondrial function. The mutant also exhibited auxotrophy for arginine and cysteine on minimal medium. In order to find the reason for the unexpected arginine auxotrophy, we searched for multicopy suppressors and found that the
arg3
+
gene encoding ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCTase) in the urea cycle of the arginine biosynthetic pathway rescued the arginine auxotrophy. The levels of
arg3
+
transcript, Arg3 protein, and OCTase activity were all decreased in
Δtrx2
. Through immunocoprecipitation, we observed a direct interaction between Trx2 and Arg3 in cell extracts. The mutant forms of Trx2 lacking either one or both of the active site cysteines through substitution to serines also rescued the arginine auxotrophy and restored the decreased OCTase activity. They also rescued the growth defect of
Δtrx2
on glycerol medium. This contrasts with the thiol-dependent action of overproduced Trx2 in complementing glutathione reductase. Therefore, Trx2 serves multiple functions in mitochondria, protecting mitochondrial components against thiol-oxidative damage as a thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase, and supporting urea cycle and respiration in mitochondria in a manner independent of active site thiols.