A global perspective on bacterial diversity in the terrestrial deep subsurface.

While recent efforts to catalogue Earth's microbial diversity have focused upon surface and marine habitats, 12-20 % of Earth's biomass is suggested to exist in the terrestrial deep subsurface, compared to ~1.8 % in the deep subseafloor. Metagenomic studies of the terrestrial deep subsurface have yielded a trove of divergent and functionally important microbiomes from a range of localities.

Valley Fever: Environmental Risk Factors and Exposure Pathways Deduced from Field Measurements in California.

Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever, has been reported among military personnel in -endemic areas of the southwestern United States since World War II. In this study, the prevalence of was confirmed in different soil and dust samples collected near three military bases in California using DNA extraction and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods. Analyses of physical and chemical parameters revealed no significant differences between -positive and -negative sites.

Aldehydes in Exhaled Breath during E-Cigarette Vaping: Pilot Study Results.

Several studies have shown the presence of aldehydes (i.e., formaldehyde, acrolein) in mainstream emissions of some e-cigarettes.

Chemical speciation, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and toxicity of particles emitted from meat cooking operations.

We assessed the chemical properties and oxidative stress of particulate matter (PM) emissions from underfired charbroiled meat operations with and without the use of aftertreatment control technologies. Cooking emissions concentrations showed a strong dependence on the control technology utilized, with all emission rates showing decreases with the control technologies compared to the baseline testing. The organic acids profile was dominated by the saturated nonanoic, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids, and the unsaturated oleic, elaidic, and palmitoleic acids.

Climate-induced variations in global wildfire danger from 1979 to 2013.

Climate strongly influences global wildfire activity, and recent wildfire surges may signal fire weather-induced pyrogeographic shifts. Here we use three daily global climate data sets and three fire danger indices to develop a simple annual metric of fire weather season length, and map spatio-temporal trends from 1979 to 2013. We show that fire weather seasons have lengthened across 29.

Determination and maintenance of DE minimis risk for migration of residual tritium (3H) from the 1969 Project Rulison nuclear test to nearby hydraulically fractured natural gas wells.

The Project Rulison underground nuclear test was a proof-of-concept experiment that was conducted under the Plowshare Program in 1969 in the Williams Fork Formation of the Piceance Basin in west-central Colorado. Today, commercial production of natural gas is possible from low permeability, natural gas bearing formations like that of the Williams Fork Formation using modern hydraulic fracturing techniques. With natural gas exploration and production active in the Project Rulison area, this human health risk assessment was performed in order to add a human health perspective for site stewardship.

Methods for studies of protein interactions with different DNA methyltransferases.

There are now many methods available for studying protein interactions between DNA methltransferases (DNMTs) and their binding partners. Here we describe a step-by-step procedure to identify whether proteins of interest interact with DNMTs by co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) assay in transiently transfected cells. Though one mammalian cell is described, investigators can use the same method with other cell lines or primary cells for in vivo protein interaction studies.