We describe the microbiota of two hypersaline saltern ponds, one of intermediate salinity (19%) and a NaCl saturated crystallizer pond (37%) using pyrosequencing. The analyses of these metagenomes (nearly 784 Mb) reaffirmed the vast dominance of Haloquadratum walsbyi but also revealed novel, abundant and previously unsuspected microbial groups. We describe for the first time, a group of low GC Actinobacteria, related to freshwater Actinobacteria, abundant in low and intermediate salinities. Metagenomic assembly revealed three new abundant microbes: a low-GC euryarchaeon with the lowest GC content described for any euryarchaeon, a high-GC euryarchaeon and a gammaproteobacterium related to Alkalilimnicola and Nitrococcus. Multiple displacement amplification and sequencing of the genome from a single archaeal cell of the new low GC euryarchaeon suggest a photoheterotrophic and polysaccharide-degrading lifestyle and its relatedness to the recently described lineage of Nanohaloarchaea. These discoveries reveal the combined power of an unbiased metagenomic and single cell genomic approach.

We propose using community-centered analyses and agent-based models of scientific gatherings such as conferences, symposia and workshops as a way to understand how scientific practices evolve and transition between local, community, and systems levels in science. We suggest using robotics as a case study of global, cross-cultural, interdisciplinary scientific practice. What is needed is a set of modeling frameworks for simulating both the internal and population dynamics of scientific gatherings. In this paper we make the case for conference models as a mid-level unit of analysis that can advance the ways scientists and citizens design systems for transferring and producing knowledge.

Objective. To assess whether psychosocial support of the School Projectof the Humanitarian Society (HS) “Prijateljice (Girlfriends)” hada positive eff ect on reducing posttraumatic consequences in Bosnia-Herzegovina primary and secondary school students, aft er the 1992-1995 war. Subjects and Methods. A stratifi ed sample of 336 students,aged 13.5±1.6 (10 to18) years, in primary and secondary schools, involvedin psychosocial support, were compared with 72 randomly selectedpeers from the same schools, not involved in this project. Datawere collected in December 2005 and in May 2006. Th e Children’sDepression Inventory and the Child Post-Traumatic Stress ReactionIndex were utilized. Statistical analysis involved McNemar’s test, Students’t-test, Chi-square test and Pearson’s correlation test. Results.According to DSM, the prevalence of PTSD and depression amongstudents involved in the School Project, signifi cantly decreased from46.1% to 13.4% and 25.6% to 1.8%, respectively (McNemar’s test,P<0.001; P<0.001, respectively). In the control group the prevalenceof PTSP and depression decreased from 30.5% to 23.6% and 22.2%to 11.1%, respectively, with no signifi cance (McNemar’s test, p=0.332;p=0.077, signifi cantly). Girls had a signifi cantly higher prevalence ofboth PTSD and depression compared to the boys. Age, the numberof traumatic episodes, and suicidal behavior correlated with the intensityof PTSD symptoms and depression symptoms. Conclusions.Psychosocial support within the School Project resulted in a signifi -cant reduction of PTSP and depression amongst the involved studentscompared to the controls. Schools and other institutions ought to envisageas many projects as possible to be implemented in school andout-of-school to assist young people to overcome more easily the consequencesof the war in their development.