Molecular Memory with Downstream Logic Processing Exemplified by Switchable and Self-indicating Guest Capture and Release

Molecular-logic based computation (MLBC) has grown by accumulating many examples of combinational logic gates and a few sequential variants. In spite of many inspirations being available in biology, there are virtually no examples of MLBC in chemistry where sequential and combinational operations are integrated. Here we report a simple alcohol-ketone redox interconversion which switches a macrocycle between a large or small cavity, with erect aromatic walls which create a deep hydrophobic space or with collapsed walls respectively. Small aromatic guests can be captured or released in an all or none manner upon chemical command. During capture, the fluorescence of the alcohol macrocycle is quenched via fluorescent photoinduced electron transfer switching, meaning that its occupancy state is self-indicated. This represents a chemically-driven RS Flip-Flop, one of whose outputs is fed into an INHIBIT gate. Processing of outputs from memory stores is seen in the injection of packaged neurotransmitters into synaptic clefts for onward neural signalling. Overall, capture-release phenomena from discrete supermolecules now have a Boolean basis

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher’s alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e. at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000–25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500–6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa

The global abundance of tree palms

Aim Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change. Location Tropical and subtropical moist forests. Time period Current. Major taxa studied Palms (Arecaceae). Methods We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co‐occurring non‐palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure. Results On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long‐term climate stability. Life‐form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non‐tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above‐ground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work. Conclusions Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests

EUFOREA Rhinology Research Forum 2016: report of the brainstorming sessions on needs and priorities in rhinitis and rhinosinusitis

The first European Rhinology Research Forum organized by the European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airway Diseases (EUFOREA) was held in the Royal Academy of Medicine in Brussels on 17th and 18th November 2016, in collaboration with the European Rhinologic Society (ERS) and the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN). One hundred and thirty participants (medical doctors from different specialties, researchers, as well as patients and industry representatives) from 27 countries took part in the multiple perspective discussions including brainstorming sessions on care pathways and research needs in rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. The debates started with an overview of the current state of the art, including weaknesses and strengths of the current practices, followed by the identification of essential research needs, thoroughly integrated in the context of Precision Medicine (PM), with personalized care, prediction of success of treatment, participation of the patient and prevention of disease as key principles for improving current clinical practices. This report provides a concise summary of the outcomes of the brainstorming sessions of the European Rhinology Research Forum 2016

Gluconic acid for eco-friendly Ionic Liquids: chemical and biological investigations

Ionic liquids (ILs) are employed in several fields thanks to their well-known properties. For a long time, ILs were considered the “green” alternative to conventional organic solvents.1 However, the increasing attention on environmental health led to consider different ILs structures and alternative synthetic pathways. Considering the tunability of IL structures, new synthetic approaches with natural sources as starting materials were taken into account.2 Here, new eco-friendly ILs were synthesised using gluconic acid. The structures carry gluconic moiety on the cation or as the anion (Figure 1). Hence, several OH groups decrease toxicity and shape a high coordinative site. These new organic salts were fully characterised from a physico-chemical point of view. However, also, the study of their impact on the ecosystem health was performed. To this aim, three different cancer cell lines, Hela, HTC and MCF7 cells, were chosen to assess cytotoxicity effects of ILs.3 Moreover, haemolysis investigations were carried out to consider the effect on human blood cells. Finally, Zebrafisha organisms were used as an aquatic model for ILs toxicity.4 Indeed, the response by living organisms in an aquatic ecosystem gives additional information for dispose of ILs. In the aim of a sustainable approach, these ILs have been designed and analysed to achieve good materials with low environmental impact

People of the ancient rainforest: Late Pleistocene foragers at the Batadomba-lena rockshelter, Sri Lanka

Batadomba-lena, a rockshelter in the rainforest of southwestern Sri Lanka, has yielded some of the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in South Asia. H. sapiens foragers were present at Batadomba-lena from ca. 36,000 cal BP to the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. Human occupation was sporadic before the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Batadomba-lena's Late Pleistocene inhabitants foraged for a broad spectrum of plant and mainly arboreal animal resources (monkeys, squirrels and abundant rainforest snails), derived from a landscape that retained equatorial rainforest cover through periods of pronounced regional aridity during the LGM. Juxtaposed hearths, palaeofloors with habitation debris, postholes, excavated pits, and animal and plant remains, including abundant Canarium nutshells, reflect intensive habitation of the rockshelter in times of monsoon intensification and biome reorganisation after ca. 16,000 cal BP. This period corresponds with further broadening of the economic spectrum, evidenced though increased contribution of squirrels, freshwater snails and Canarium nuts in the diet of the rockshelter occupants. Microliths are more abundant and morphologically diverse in the earliest, pre-LGM layer and decline markedly during intensified rockshelter use on the wane of the LGM. We propose that changing toolkits and subsistence base reflect changing foraging practices, from shorter-lived visits of highly mobile foraging bands in the period before the LGM, to intensified use of Batadomba-lena and intense foraging for diverse resources around the site during and, especially, following the LGM. Traces of ochre, marine shell beads and other objects from an 80 km-distant shore, and, possibly burials reflect symbolic practices from the outset of human presence at the rockshelter. Evidence for differentiated use of space (individual hearths, possible habitation structures) is present in LGM and terminal Pleistocene layers. The record of Batadomba-lena demonstrates that Late Pleistocene pathways to (aspects of) behavioural 'modernity' (composite tools, practice of symbolism and ritual, broad spectrum economy) were diverse and ecologically contingent

1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium alkanesulfonate ionic liquids, [C(n)H(2n+1)mim][CkH2k+1SO3]: synthesis and physicochemical properties

International audienc

AICAR and metformin, but not exercise, increase muscle glucose transport through AMPK-, ERK-, and PDK1-dependent activation of atypical PKC

Activators of 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), metformin, and exercise activate atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and ERK and stimulate glucose transport in muscle by uncertain mechanisms. Here, in cultured L6 myotubes: AICAR- and metformin-induced activation of AMPK was required for activation of aPKC and ERK; aPKC activation involved and required phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) phosphorylation of Thr410-PKC-ζ; aPKC Thr410 phosphorylation and activation also required MEK1-dependent ERK; and glucose transport effects of AICAR and metformin were inhibited by expression of dominant-negative AMPK, kinase-inactive PDK1, MEK1 inhibitors, kinase-inactive PKC-ζ, and RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of PKC-ζ. In mice, muscle-specific aPKC (PKC-λ) depletion by conditional gene targeting impaired AICAR-stimulated glucose disposal and stimulatory effects of both AICAR and metformin on 2-deoxyglucose/glucose uptake in muscle in vivo and AICAR stimulation of 2-[3H]deoxyglucose uptake in isolated extensor digitorum longus muscle; however, AMPK activation was unimpaired. In marked contrast to AICAR and metformin, treadmill exercise-induced stimulation of 2-deoxyglucose/glucose uptake was not inhibited in aPKC-knockout mice. Finally, in intact rodents, AICAR and metformin activated aPKC in muscle, but not in liver, despite activating AMPK in both tissues. The findings demonstrate that in muscle AICAR and metformin activate aPKC via sequential activation of AMPK, ERK, and PDK1 and the AMPK/ERK/PDK1/aPKC pathway is required for metformin- and AICAR-stimulated increases in glucose transport. On the other hand, although aPKC is activated by treadmill exercise, this activation is not required for exercise-induced increases in glucose transport, and therefore may be a redundant mechanism