Hsp56 protein and mRNA distribution in normal and stressed P.lividus embryos

It was previously demonstrated that Paracentrotus lividus Hsp56 mitochondrial chaperonin is con- stitutively expressed during development, that it increases after heat-shock and cadmium treatment, and that it has a speci\ufb01c territorial distribution, both in normal and heat-shocked embryos, as shown by immunolocalization experiments. In this work, we analyzed by Western blot the territorial distribution of the protein in plutei exposed to heat-shock or sublethal cadmium concentrations, and we found that Hsp56 increases in both ectodermal and en- dodermal cells. Moreover, by \u201cin situ\u201d hybridization, we looked at Hsp56 mRNA during normal development and under stress conditions. We found that the territorial distribution of the messenger changes during development and that its amount is steadily increased in stressed embryos. Finally, by T1 RNase assay, we identi\ufb01ed a cytoplasmic factor that binds to the region of Hsp56 messenger containing the 5\u2019UT

The GRAAL high resolution BGO calorimeter and its energy calibration and monitoring system

We describe the electromagnetic calorimeter built for the GRAAL apparatus at the ESRF. Its monitoring system is presented in detail. Results from tests and the performance obtained during the first GRAAL experiments are given. The energy calibration accuracy and stability reached is a small fraction of the intrinsic detector resolution.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Method

Two Trebouxia algae with different physiological performances are ever-present in lichen thalli of Ramalina farinacea. Coexistence versus Competition

Ramalina farinacea is an epiphytic fruticose lichen that is relatively abundant in areas with Mediterranean, subtropical or temperate climates. Little is known about photobiont diversity in different lichen populations. The present study examines the phycobiont composition of several geographically distant populations of R. farinacea from the Iberian Peninsula, Canary Islands and California as well as the physiological performance of isolated phycobionts. Based on anatomical observations and molecular analyses, the coexistence of two different taxa of Trebouxia (working names, TR1 and TR9) was determined within each thallus of R. farinacea in all of the analysed populations. Examination of the effects of temperature and light on growth and photosynthesis indicated a superior performance of TR9 under relatively high temperatures and irradiances while TR1 thrived at moderate temperature and irradiance. Ramalina farinacea thalli apparently represent a specific and selective form of symbiotic association involving the same two Trebouxia phycobionts. Strict preservation of this pattern of algal coexistence is likely favoured by the different and probably complementary ecophysiological responses of each phycobiont, thus facilitating the proliferation of this lichen in a wide range of habitats and geographic areas. © 2010 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CGL2006-12917-C02-01/02), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2009-13429-C02-01/02), the AECID (PCI_A/024755/09) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO 174/2008 GVA). We are grateful to Dr J. Gimeno-Romeu (University of California, Davis, USA) and to Dr P. J. G. de Nova (IREC, Ciudad Real, Spain), who were the first to isolate DNA from Ramalina farinacea thalli in our group. Wendy Ran revised the manuscript in English.Casano, L.; Del Campo, E.; García Breijo, FJ.; Reig Armiñana, J.; Gasulla, F.; Del Hoyo, A.; Guéra, A.... (2011). Two Trebouxia algae with different physiological performances are ever-present in lichen thalli of Ramalina farinacea. Coexistence versus Competition. Environmental Microbiology. 13(3):806-818. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02386.xS806818133Angert, A. L., Huxman, T. E., Chesson, P., & Venable, D. L. (2009). Functional tradeoffs determine species coexistence via the storage effect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(28), 11641-11645. doi:10.1073/pnas.0904512106Baker, N. R., & Oxborough, K. (s. f.). Chlorophyll Fluorescence as a Probe of Photosynthetic Productivity. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, 65-82. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-3218-9_3Barreno , E. Herrera-Campos , M. García-Breijo , F. Gasulla , F. Reig-Armiñana , J. 2008 Non photosynthetic bacteria associated to cortical structures on Ramalina and Usnea thalli from Mexico http://192.104.39.110/archive/IAL6abstracts.pdfBECK, A., FRIEDL, T., & RAMBOLD, G. (1998). Selectivity of photobiont choice in a defined lichen community: inferences from cultural and molecular studies. New Phytologist, 139(4), 709-720. doi:10.1046/j.1469-8137.1998.00231.xBilger, W., & Bj�rkman, O. (1991). Temperature dependence of violaxanthin de-epoxidation and non-photochemical fluorescence quenching in intact leaves ofGossypium hirsutum L. andMalva parviflora L. Planta, 184(2), 226-234. doi:10.1007/bf01102422Bj�rkman, O., & Demmig, B. (1987). Photon yield of O2 evolution and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics at 77 K among vascular plants of diverse origins. Planta, 170(4), 489-504. doi:10.1007/bf00402983Bold, H. C., & Parker, B. C. (1962). Some supplementary attributes in the classification of chlorococcum species. 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T. (2004). Early Molecular Investigations of Lichen-Forming Symbionts: 1986–2001. Annual Review of Microbiology, 58(1), 273-301. doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123730DOERING, M., & PIERCEY-NORMORE, M. D. (2009). Genetically divergent algae shape an epiphytic lichen community on Jack Pine in Manitoba. The Lichenologist, 41(1), 69-80. doi:10.1017/s0024282909008111Friedl, T. (1989). Comparative ultrastructure of pyrenoids inTrebouxia (Microthamniales, Chlorophyta). Plant Systematics and Evolution, 164(1-4), 145-159. doi:10.1007/bf00940435Gasulla, F., de Nova, P. G., Esteban-Carrasco, A., Zapata, J. M., Barreno, E., & Guéra, A. (2009). Dehydration rate and time of desiccation affect recovery of the lichenic algae Trebouxia erici: alternative and classical protective mechanisms. Planta, 231(1), 195-208. doi:10.1007/s00425-009-1019-yGasulla, F., Guéra, A., & Barreno, E. (2010). “A simple and rapid method for isolating lichen photobionts“. 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Plant and Cell Physiology, 50(4), 879-888. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcp043Kranner, I., Cram, W. J., Zorn, M., Wornik, S., Yoshimura, I., Stabentheiner, E., & Pfeifhofer, H. W. (2005). Antioxidants and photoprotection in a lichen as compared with its isolated symbiotic partners. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(8), 3141-3146. doi:10.1073/pnas.0407716102Kroken, S., & Taylor, J. W. (2000). Phylogenetic Species, Reproductive Mode, and Specificity of the Green AlgaTrebouxiaForming Lichens with the Fungal GenusLetharia. The Bryologist, 103(4), 645-660. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2000)103[0645:psrmas]2.0.co;2Little, A. F. (2004). Flexibility in Algal Endosymbioses Shapes Growth in Reef Corals. Science, 304(5676), 1492-1494. doi:10.1126/science.1095733Loarie, S. R., Duffy, P. B., Hamilton, H., Asner, G. P., Field, C. B., & Ackerly, D. D. (2009). The velocity of climate change. Nature, 462(7276), 1052-1055. doi:10.1038/nature08649Muggia, L., Grube, M., & Tretiach, M. (2008). Genetic diversity and photobiont associations in selected taxa of the Tephromela atra group (Lecanorales, lichenised Ascomycota). Mycological Progress, 7(3), 147-160. doi:10.1007/s11557-008-0560-6Niyogi, K. K. (2004). Is PsbS the site of non-photochemical quenching in photosynthesis? Journal of Experimental Botany, 56(411), 375-382. doi:10.1093/jxb/eri056O’Brien, H. E., Miadlikowska, J., & Lutzoni, F. (2005). Assessing host specialization in symbiotic cyanobacteria associated with four closely related species of the lichen fungusPeltigera. European Journal of Phycology, 40(4), 363-378. doi:10.1080/09670260500342647Ohmura, Y., Kawachi, M., Kasai, F., Watanabe, M. M., & Takeshita, S. (2006). Genetic combinations of symbionts in a vegetatively reproducing lichen,Parmotrema tinctorum, based on ITS rDNA sequences. The Bryologist, 109(1), 43-59. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2006)109[0043:gcosia]2.0.co;2Piercey-Normore, M. D. (2005). 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Slow algae, fast fungi: exceptionally high nucleotide substitution rate differences between lichenized fungi Omphalina and their symbiotic green algae Coccomyxa. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 29(3), 629-640. doi:10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00215-

Deuteron photo-disintegration with polarised photons in the energy range 30 - 50 MeV

The reaction d(\vec\gamma,np) has been studied using the tagged and polarised LADON gamma ray beam at an energy 30 - 50 MeV to investigate the existence of narrow dibaryonic resonances recently suggested from the experimental measurements in a different laboratory. The beam was obtained by Compton back-scattering of laser light on the electrons of the storage ring ADONE. Photo-neutron yields were measured at five neutron angle \vartheta_n = 22, 55.5, 90, 125 and 157 degrees in the center of mass system.Our results do not support the existence of such resonances.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, 22 figures, 1 table. Nucl. Phys. A to appea

Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes

Species occurring in sympatry and relying on similar and limited resources may partition resource use to avoid overlap and interspecific competition. Aotearoa, New Zealand hosts an extraordinarily rich marine megafauna, including 50% of the world’s cetacean species. In this study, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes as ecological tracers to investigate isotopic niche overlap between 21 odontocete (toothed whale) species inhabiting neritic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic waters. Results showed a clear niche separation for the bathypelagic Gray’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon grayi) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), but high isotopic niche overlap and potential interspecific competition for neritic and mesopelagic species. For these species, competition could be reduced via temporal or finer-scale spatial segregation or differences in foraging behaviour. This study represents the first insights into the coexistence of odontocetes in a biodiverse hotspot. The data presented here provide a critical baseline to a system already ongoing ecosystem change via ocean warming and subsequent effects on prey abundance and distributions

Mimesis stories: composing new nature music for the shakuhachi

Nature is a widespread theme in much new music for the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). This article explores the significance of such music within the contemporary shakuhachi scene, as the instrument travels internationally and so becomes rooted in landscapes outside Japan, taking on the voices of new creatures and natural phenomena. The article tells the stories of five compositions and one arrangement by non-Japanese composers, first to credit composers’ varied and personal responses to this common concern and, second, to discern broad, culturally syncretic traditions of nature mimesis and other, more abstract, ideas about the naturalness of sounds and creative processes (which I call musical naturalism). Setting these personal stories and longer histories side by side reveals that composition creates composers (as much as the other way around). Thus it hints at much broader terrain: the refashioning of human nature at the confluence between cosmopolitan cultural circulations and contemporary encounters with the more-than-human world

Limits on light-speed anisotropies from Compton scattering of high-energy electrons

The possibility of anisotropies in the speed of light relative to the limiting speed of electrons is considered. The absence of sidereal variations in the energy of Compton-edge photons at the ESRF's GRAAL facility constrains such anisotropies representing the first non-threshold collision-kinematics study of Lorentz violation. When interpreted within the minimal Standard-Model Extension, this result yields the two-sided limit of 1.6 x 10^{-14} at 95% confidence level on a combination of the parity-violating photon and electron coefficients kappa_{o+} and c. This new constraint provides an improvement over previous bounds by one order of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

High binding yet accelerated guest rotation within a cucurbit[7]uril complex. Toward paramagnetic gyroscopes and rolling nanomachines †

International audienceThe (15-oxo-3,7,11-triazadispiro[5.1.5.3]hexadec-7-yl)oxidanyl, a bis-spiropiperidinium nitroxide derived from TEMPONE, can be included in cucurbit[7]uril to form a strong (K a ∼ 2 × 10 5 M −1) CB[7]@bPTO complex. EPR and MS spectra, DFT calculations, and unparalleled increased resistance (a factor of ∼10 3) toward ascorbic acid reduction show evidence of deep inclusion of bPTO inside CB[7]. The unusual shape of the CB[7]@bPTO EPR spectrum can be explained by an anisotropic Brownian rotational diffusion, the global tumbling of the complex being slower than rotation of bPTO around its " long molecular axis " inside CB[7]. The CB[7] (stator) with the encapsulated bPTO (rotator) behaves as a supramolecular para-magnetic rotor with increased rotational speed of the rotator that has great potential for advanced nano-scale machines requiring wheels such as cucurbiturils with virtually no friction between the wheel and the axle for optimum wheel rotation (i.e. nanopulleys and nanocars)