Search

Reconstructing Oligocene–Miocene paleoelevation contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary history of the European Alps and sheds light on geodynamic and Earth surface processes involved in the development of Alpine topography. Despite being one of the most intensively explored mountain ranges worldwide, constraints on the elevation history of the European Alps remain scarce. Here we present stable and clumped isotope measurements to provide a new paleoelevation estimate for the mid-Miocene (∼14.5 Ma) European Central Alps. We apply stable isotope δ–δ paleoaltimetry to near-sea-level pedogenic carbonate oxygen isotope (δ18O) records from the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin (Swiss Molasse Basin) and high-Alpine phyllosilicate hydrogen isotope (δD) records from the Simplon Fault Zone (Swiss Alps). We further explore Miocene paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental conditions in the Swiss Molasse Basin through carbonate stable (δ18O, δ13C) and clumped (Δ47) isotope data from three foreland basin sections in different alluvial megafan settings (proximal, mid-fan, and distal). Combined pedogenic carbonate δ18O values and Δ47 temperatures (30±5 ∘C) yield a near-sea-level precipitation δ18Ow value of -5.8±1.2 ‰ and, in conjunction with the high-Alpine phyllosilicate δD value of -14.6±0.3 ‰, suggest that the region surrounding the Simplon Fault Zone attained surface elevations of >4000 m no later than the mid-Miocene. Our near-sea-level δ18Ow estimate is supported by paleoclimate (iGCM ECHAM5-wiso) modeled δ18O values, which vary between −4.2 ‰ and −7.6 ‰ for the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin.

Abstract Growth of science is a prevalent issue in science of science studies. In recent years, two new bibliographic databases have been introduced, which can be used to study growth processes in science from centuries back: Dimensions from Digital Science and Microsoft Academic. In this study, we used publication data from these new databases and added publication data from two established databases (Web of Science from Clarivate Analytics and Scopus from Elsevier) to investigate scientific growth processes from the beginning of the modern science system until today. We estimated regression models that included simultaneously the publication counts from the four databases. The results of the unrestricted growth of science calculations show that the overall growth rate amounts to 4.10% with a doubling time of 17.3 years. As the comparison of various segmented regression models in the current study revealed, models with four or five segments fit the publication data best. We demonstrated that these segments with different growth rates can be interpreted very well, since they are related to either phases of economic (e.g., industrialization) and/or political developments (e.g., Second World War). In this study, we additionally analyzed scientific growth in two broad fields (Physical and Technical Sciences as well as Life Sciences) and the relationship of scientific and economic growth in UK. The comparison between the two fields revealed only slight differences. The comparison of the British economic and scientific growth rates showed that the economic growth rate is slightly lower than the scientific growth rate.

Abstract Background A greater understanding of the factors that are associated with favourable health may help increase longevity and healthy life expectancy. We examined sociodemographic, psychosocial, lifestyle and environmental exposures associated with multiple health indicators. Methods UK Biobank recruited > 500,000 participants, aged 37–73, between 2006 and 2010. Health indicators examined were 81 cancer and 443 non-cancer illnesses used to classify participants' health status; long-standing illness; and self-rated health. Exposures were sociodemographic (age, sex, ethnicity, education, income and deprivation), psychosocial (loneliness and social isolation), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol intake, sleep duration, BMI, physical activity and stair climbing) and environmental (air pollution, noise and residential greenspace) factors. Associations were estimated using logistic and ordinal logistic regression. Results In total, 307,378 participants (mean age = 56.1 years [SD = 8.07], 51.9% female) were selected for cross-sectional analyses. Low income, being male, neighbourhood deprivation, loneliness, social isolation, short or long sleep duration, low or high BMI and smoking were associated with poor health. Walking, vigorous-intensity physical activity and more frequent alcohol intake were associated with good health. There was some evidence that airborne pollutants (PM2.5, PM10 and NO2) and noise (Lden) were associated with poor health, though findings were not consistent across all models. Conclusions Our findings highlight the multifactorial nature of health, the importance of non-medical factors, such as loneliness, healthy lifestyle behaviours and weight management, and the need to examine efforts to improve the health outcomes of individuals on low incomes.

Interferon (IFN) activates the transcription of several hundred of IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) that constitute a highly effective antiviral defense program. Cell-to-cell variability in the induction of ISGs is well documented, but its source and effects are not completely understood. The molecular mechanisms behind this heterogeneity have been related to randomness in molecular events taking place during the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Here, we study the sources of variability in the induction of the IFN-alpha response by using MxA and IFIT1 activation as read-out. To this end, we integrate time-resolved flow cytometry data and stochastic modeling of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. The complexity of the IFN response was matched by fitting probability distributions to time-course flow cytometry snapshots. Both, experimental data and simulations confirmed that the MxA and IFIT1 induction circuits generate graded responses rather than all-or-none responses. Subsequently, we quantify the size of the intrinsic variability at different steps in the pathway. We found that stochastic effects are transiently strong during the ligand-receptor activation steps and the formation of the ISGF3 complex, but negligible for the final induction of the studied ISGs. We conclude that the JAK-STAT signaling pathway is a robust biological circuit that efficiently transmits information under stochastic environments.

Background & Aims: HBV persistence is maintained by both an episomal covalently closed circular (ccc)DNA reservoir and genomic integration of HBV DNA fragments. While cccDNA transcription is regulated by Cullin4A-DDB1-HBx-mediated degradation of the SMC5/6 complex, HBsAg expression from integrants is largely SMC5/6 independent. Inhibiting neddylation of Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases impairs degradation of substrates. Herein, we show that targeting neddylation pathway components by small-interfering (si)RNAs or the drug MLN4924 (pevonedistat) suppresses expression of HBV proteins from both cccDNA and integrants. Methods: An siRNA screen targeting secretory pathway regulators and neddylation genes was performed. Activity of MLN4924 was assessed in infection and integration models. Trans-complementation assays were used to study HBx function in cccDNA-driven expression. Results: siRNA screening uncovered neddylation pathway components (Nedd8, Ube2m) that promote HBsAg production post-transcriptionally. Likewise, MLN4924 inhibited production of HBsAg encoded by integrants and reduced intracellular HBsAg levels, independent of HBx. MLN4924 also profoundly inhibited cccDNA transcription in three infection models. Using the HBV inducible cell line HepAD38 as a model, we verified the dual action of MLN4924 on both cccDNA and integrants with sustained suppression of HBV markers during 42 days of treatment. Conclusions: Neddylation is required both for transcription of a cccDNA reservoir and for the genomic integration of viral DNA. Therefore, blocking neddylation might offer an attractive approach towards functional cure of chronic hepatitis B. Lay summary: Current treatments for chronic hepatitis B are rarely able to induce a functional cure. This is partly because of the presence of a pool of circular viral DNA in the host nucleus, as well as viral DNA fragments that are integrated into the host genome. Herein, we show that a host biological pathway called neddylation could play a key role in infection and viral DNA integration. Inhibiting this pathway could hold therapeutic promise for patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Water deficit inhibits plant growth by affecting several physiological processes, which leads to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that may cause oxidative stress. In this regard, iodine (I) is already known to possibly enhance the antioxidant defense system of plants and promote photosynthetic improvements under adverse conditions. However, its direct effect on water deficit responses has not yet been demonstrated. To verify the efficiency of I concerning plant tolerance to water deficit, we exposed soybean plants to different concentrations of potassium iodide (KI) fed to pots with a nutrient solution and subsequently submitted them to water deficit. A decline in biomass accumulation was observed in plants under water deficit, while exposure to KI (10 and 20 μmol L−1) increased plant biomass by an average of 40%. Furthermore, exposure to KI concentrations of up to 20 μM improved gas exchange (~71%) and reduced lipid peroxidation. This is related to the higher enzymatic antioxidant activities found at 10 and 20 μM KI concentrations. However, when soybean plants were properly irrigated, KI concentrations greater than 10 μM promoted negative changes in photosynthetic efficiency, as well as in biomass accumulation and partition. In sum, exposure of soybean plants to 10 μM KI improved tolerance to water deficit, and up to this concentration, there is no evidence of phytotoxicity in plants grown under adequate irrigation.

Abstract Background Latest studies indicated that the general mental health level is low during the pandemic. Probably, this deterioration of the mental health situation is partly due to declines in physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in and the association between affective wellbeing and levels of different domains of physical activity at three time points before and during the pandemic. Method We used a nationwide online panel with a trend data design encompassing a total sample of N = 3517, representing the German population (> 14 years). Four different activity domains (sport and exercise, light outdoor activity, housework/gardening, active travel) and affective wellbeing (positive and negative affect) were assessed at three time points before and during the Covid-19 pandemic (October 2019, March 2020, October 2020). Results Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) indicate differences regarding affective wellbeing over the three time points with the lowest values at the second time point. Levels of activity in the four domains differed significantly over time with the strongest decrease for sport and exercise from the first to the second time point. Partial correlations indicated that the relationships between sport and exercise and positive affect were most consistent over time. Conclusions Overall, our findings suggest that physical activity plays a particularly important role in the pandemic period as a protective factor against poor mental health. Especially sports and exercise seem to be supportive and should be encouraged, e.g. by providing additional support in finding adequate outdoor, home-based or digital substitutes.

Introduction Anxiety disorders are leading contributors to the global disease burden, highly prevalent across the lifespan, and associated with substantially increased morbidity and early mortality. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine age-related changes across a wide range of physiological measures in middle-aged and older adults with a lifetime history of anxiety disorders compared to healthy controls. Methods The UK Biobank study recruited >500,000 adults, aged 37-73, between 2006-2010. We used generalised additive models to estimate non-linear associations between age and hand-grip strength, cardiovascular function, body composition, lung function and heel bone mineral density in cases vs. controls. Results The main dataset included 332,078 adults (mean age = 56.37 years; 52.65% females). In both sexes, individuals with anxiety disorders had lower hand-grip strength and blood pressure than healthy controls, while their pulse rate and body composition measures were higher. Case-control differences were larger when considering individuals with chronic and/or severe anxiety disorders, and differences in body composition were modulated by depression comorbidity status. Differences in age-related physiological changes between female anxiety disorder cases and healthy controls were most evident for blood pressure, pulse rate and body composition, while in males for hand-grip strength, blood pressure and body composition. Most differences in physiological measures between cases and controls tended to decrease with age increase. Conclusions Individuals with a lifetime history of anxiety disorders differed from healthy controls across multiple physiological measures, with some evidence of case-control differences by age. The differences observed varied by chronicity/severity and depression comorbidity. Disclosure JM receives studentship funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Eli Lilly and Company Limited. CML is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Myriad Neuroscience. CF and THH declare no relevant conflict of

In this study, we have created 10 geoscience video lessons that follow the paired-teaching pedagogical approach. This method is used to supplement the standard school curriculum with video lessons, instructed by geoscientists from around the world, coupled with activities carried out under the guidance of classroom teachers. The video lessons introduce students to the scientific concepts behind earthquakes (e.g. the Earth's interior, plate tectonics, faulting, and seismic energy), earthquake hazards, and mitigation measures (e.g. liquefaction, structural, and non-structural earthquake hazards). These concepts are taught through hands-on learning, where students use everyday materials to build models to visualize basic Earth processes that produce earthquakes and explore the effects of different hazards. To evaluate the effectiveness of these virtual lessons, we tested our videos in school classrooms in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and London (United Kingdom). Before and after the video implementations, students completed questionnaires that probed their knowledge on topics covered by each video, including the Earth's interior, tectonic plate boundaries, and non-structural hazards. Our assessment results indicate that, while the paired-teaching video lessons appear to enhance student knowledge and understanding of some concepts (e.g. Earth's interior, earthquake location forecasting, and non-structural hazards), they bring little change to their views on the causes of earthquakes and their relation to plate boundaries. In general, the difference between UK and Tajik students' level of knowledge prior to and after video testing is more significant than the difference between pre- and post-knowledge for each group. This could be due to several factors affecting curriculum testing (e.g. level of teachers' participation and classroom culture) and students' learning of content (e.g. pre-existing hazards knowledge and experience). To maximize the impact of school-based risk reduction education, curriculum developers must move beyond innovative content and pedagogical approaches, take classroom culture into consideration, and instil skills needed for participatory learning and discovery.

Objective Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity assessment is critical for treatment decisions and treat to target (T2T) outcomes. Utilization of the electronic medical record (EMR) and techniques to improve the routine capture of disease activity measures in clinical practice are not well described. We leveraged a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach, a data‐driven five‐step process improvement and problem‐solving methodology, coupled with EMR modifications to evaluate improvement in disease activity documentation and patient outcomes. Methods A RA registry was established, and structured fields for Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data (RAPID3) and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) were built in the EMR, along with a dashboard to display provider performance rates. An initial rapid‐cycle improvement intervention was launched, and subsequent LSS improvement cycles helped in standardization of clinic workflow, modifying provider behaviors, and motivating better documentation practices. Trends related to CDAI score categories were compared over time using run charts. Results Our project included 1322 patients with RA and 10 241 encounters between April 2016 and December 2019. Initially, RAPID3 completion rates increased from 16% to 50%, and CDAI from 15% to 44% from the RCI intervention. Post LSS intervention, the RAPID3 rate increased to more than 90% (sustained at 85%), and CDAI rate increased to more than 80% (sustained at 72%). The patients in the low disease/remission category increased from 54% to 66% (p < 0.001), and those in the high disease category decreased from 15% to 7% (p < 0.001), demonstrating improved T2T outcomes. Conclusion Combining EMR modifications with systems redesign utilizing LSS approach led to impressive and sustained improvement in disease activity documentation and T2T outcomes.

Research provided ample evidence that excessive screen time (ST) in adolescence has detrimental effects on psychosocial health. This paper argues that structured outdoor programs can serve as an antidote to negative health impacts of exaggerated ST. For youth with a high level of regular ST, outdoor adventures imply a break with their 'normal' (mediatized) lifestyle, so that greater progress in mental health can potentially arise. This hypothesis is tested in a sample of adolescents, who took part in a 10-day outdoor program. Pre-to-post program mean comparisons for stress, hedonic balance and life satisfaction show significant positive changes. However, benefits of the program are markedly greater among youths with a high level of daily ST compared to youths with low-to-moderate levels.

This study aimed to identify the best UV-C combined treatments for ensuring the safety and quality of fish and meat products. A total of 4592 articles were screened in the relevant databases, and 16 were eligible studies. For fish, the most effective treatments to reduce Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria were UV-C at 0.5 J/cm2 + non-thermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) for 8 min (33.83%) and 1% Verdad N6 + 0.05 J/cm2 + vacuum packaging (25.81%), respectively. An oxygen absorber with 0.102 J/cm2 was the best combined treatment, reducing lipid oxidation (65.59%), protein oxidation (48.95), color (ΔE = 4.51), and hardness changes (18.61%), in addition to a shelf-life extension of at least 2 days. For meat products, Gram-negative bacteria were more reduced by nir-infrared heating (NIR-H; 200.36 µW/cm2/nm) combined with 0.13 J/cm2 (70.82%) and 0.11 J/cm2 (52.09%). While Gram-positive bacteria by 0.13 J/cm2 with NIR-H (200.36 µW/cm2/nm), 1, 2, or 4 J/cm2 with flash pasteurization (FP) during 1.5 or 3 s, and 2 J/cm2 with FP for 0.75 s (58.89–67.77%). LAE (5%) + 0.5 J/cm2 was promising for maintaining color and texture. UV-C combined technologies seem to be a cost-effective alternative to ensure safety with little to no quality changes in fish and meat products.

Sandy sediments of lowland streams are typically transported at low flow in the form of migrating ripples. In these bedforms, microbial communities spanning all trophic guilds (heterotrophic bacteria, fungi, photoautotrophic and phagotrophic protists) are exposed to highly frequent moving–resting cycles of sediment grains. Up to date, it is unknown to what extent ripple migration impacts community metabolism and composition as well as the vertical zonation of sediment‐associated multitrophic microbial communities compared to stationary sediments. We hypothesize that, as a result of mechanical abrasion and limited light supply, migrating ripple sediments have lower microbial abundance, diversity, metabolism and resource acquisition and no vertical zonation compared to stationary sediments. We collected samples from five lowland streams in north‐eastern Germany between May and June 2020. The coarser and better sorted sediments of migrating ripples had a higher oxygen concentration and less organic matter than stationary sediments. Photosynthetic pigments, potential extracellular enzyme activities, bacterial cell counts, and fungal gene copies were lower in migrating ripples than in stationary sediments. In contrast, cell‐specific bacterial production was higher in migrating ripples. Metabarcoding revealed that bedform migration was important in shaping the community structure of bacteria, fungi, and phagotrophic protists. Dry mass‐related net community production, respiration, and bacterial production were higher in superficial compared to underlying layers irrespective of sediment transport. By modulating the abundance, diversity, and structure of different trophic guilds of microbial communities and their resource acquisition, migrating bedforms create streambed heterogeneity, shaping regional biodiversity and the flow of matter through the benthic food web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for alternative sources of non-animal proteins has stimulated research in this area. Mushrooms show potential in the innovation of plant-based food products. In this study, the aim was to develop prototype fish fillets analogues from Pleurotus ostreatus mushrooms applying enzymatic treatment (β-glucanase and transglutaminase-TG). A Plackett–Burman 20 experimental design was used to optimize forty variables. Oat flour (OF) exerted a positive effect on the hardness and gumminess texture parameters but a negative effect on cohesiveness and resilience. Soy protein isolate (SPI) exhibited a positive effect on elasticity, gumminess and chewiness, while acacia gum had a negative effect on elasticity, cohesiveness and resilience. After sensory analysis the assay with 1% cassava starch, 5% OF, 5% SPI, 0.1% transglutaminase (240 min/5 °C), 1% coconut oil, 1% soybean oil, 0.2% sodium tripolyphosphate, 0.6% β-glucanase (80 °C/10 min) and without β-glucanase inactivation was found to exhibit greater similarity to fish fillet. The classes hydrocarbons, alcohols and aldehydes are the predominant ones in aromatic profile analysis by chromatography and electronic nose. It is concluded that a mushroom-based analogue of fish fillet can be prepared using enzymatic treatment with TG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Coffee roasting is one of the crucial steps in obtaining a high‐quality product as it forms the product's color and flavor characteristics. Roast control is made by visual inspection or traditional instruments such as the Agtron spectrophotometer, which can have high implementation costs. Therefore, the present study evaluated colorimetric approaches (a bench colorimeter, smartphone digital images, and a colorimetric sensor) to predict the Agtron roasting degrees of whole and ground coffee. Two calibration approaches were assessed, that is, multiple linear regression and least‐squares support vector machine. For that, 70 samples of whole and ground roasted coffees comprising the Agtron roasting range were prepared. RESULTS: The results showed that all three colorimetric acquisition types were efficient for the model building, but the bench colorimeter and the smartphone digital images generally performed with good determination coefficients and low errors as measured by external validation. For the whole bean coffee, the best model presented a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.99 and a root‐mean‐squared error (RMSE) of 1.91%, while R2 of 0.99 and RMSE of 0.87% was obtained for ground coffee, both using the colorimeter. CONCLUSION: The obtained models presented good prediction capability, as assessed by external validation and randomization tests. The obtained findings point to an alternative for coffee roasting monitoring that can lead to higher digitalization and local control of the process, even for smaller producers, due to its lower costs. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmentative release of predators is used in agriculture to suppress pest populations and minimise crop damage. However, predators affect prey populations not only through consumption but by inducing changes to prey morphology, physiology, behaviour and life history. These risk‐induced trait responses can increase prey fitness, potentially reducing the efficacy of certain predators as biocontrol agents.We investigated how non‐consumptive effects contribute to the overall influence of predators by modelling the effect of the predator Podisus maculiventris on the population dynamics of a major agricultural pest, the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). We developed a demographic model incorporating both consumption and non‐consumptive Podisus‐induced shifts in beetle reproductive strategy. Our model combines data from multiple mechanistic experiments showing that predator‐exposed beetles produce fewer offspring but increase offspring provisioning, and that provisioned larvae have increased survival when predators are present. We simulated beetle densities across multiple beetle generations and a range of predator densities.The influence of non‐consumptive effects depended on predator density. At low predator densities, non‐consumptive effects strengthened the negative effect of predators by up to 45%, and risk‐induced changes to offspring provisioning had a stronger effect on prey densities than reduced offspring quantity. In contrast, at high predator densities, non‐consumptive effects changed the effect of predators by <5%, likely because beetle densities were very low both with and without non‐consumptive effects.Our results suggest that even adaptive responses to predation risk by prey do not necessarily reduce the ability of predators to suppress pest populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandy sediments of lowland streams are transported as migrating ripples. Benthic microorganisms colonizing sandy grains are exposed to frequent moving–resting cycles and are believed to be shaped by two dominant environmental factors: mechanical stress during the moving phase causing biofilm abrasion, and alternating light–dark cycles during the resting phase. Our study consisted of two laboratory experiments and aimed to decipher which environmental factor causes the previously observed hampered sediment-associated microbial activity and altered community structure during ripple migration. The first experiment tested the effect of three different migration velocities under comparable light conditions. The second experiment compared migrating and stationary sediments under either constant light exposure or light oscillation. We hypothesized that microbial activity and community structure would be more strongly affected by (1) higher compared to lower migration velocities, and by (2) light oscillation compared to mechanical stress. Combining the results from both experiments, we observed lower microbial activity and an altered community structure in sediments exposed to light oscillation, whereas migration velocity had less impact on community activity and structure. Our findings indicate that light oscillation is the predominating environmental factor acting during ripple migration, resulting in an increased vulnerability of light-dependent photoautotrophs and a possible shift toward heterotrophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria during storage represents significant losses in marketing raw milk cheeses. Thus, reducing NaCl in these products is challenging, as sodium has a critical antimicrobial role. Despite advances in non-thermal technologies, the short shelf life still limits the availability of raw goat cheese. Thus, combined preservation methods can be promising because their synergies can extend shelf life more effectively. In this context, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to variables to investigate the effect of pequi waste extract (PWE), a native Brazilian fruit, combined with UV-C radiation (CEU) and vacuum packaging (CEV) on the preservation of low-sodium raw goat cheese. CEV samples had lower loadings for Staphylococcus subsp. and Enterobacteriaceae than other treatments in PC2, having a count’s reduction up to 3-fold (P < 0.05) compared to vacuum alone. In contrast, CEU showed an increase of up to 1.2-fold on staphylococcal count compared to UV-C alone. Still, the addition of PWE to UV-C-treated cheeses resulted in 8.5% protein loss. Furthermore, PWE, especially in CEV, delayed post-acidification during storage. It made CEV up to 4.5 and 1.6-fold more stable for color and texture, respectively than vacuum alone. These data strongly suggest that PWE may be a novel and promising synergistic agent in the microbial and physicochemical preservation of low-sodium raw milk cheese when combined with the vacuum.

After the excitement of the Republican Action Committee in 1966, when we toppled the party's existing power structure, we knew we had a good team. Marion County Republican chairman L. Keith Bulen had shown us that with strong candidates and a clear purpose, an energized and organized group could forge substantive change. Now that we controlled the Marion County Republican apparatus, the more difficult task of governing confronted us. For me, that meant a focus on state-level politics at a time when the Democratic Party was uncharacteristically powerful. In retrospect, its power had already crested. But it did not feel like it at the time. We knew we had substantial work to do in the statehouse., Yet for many of us, because we called Indianapolis home, and because the statehouse was downtown, the fate of the city and the state were inextricably linked. We thought that [...]