Oxidation and metal-insertion in molybdenite surfaces: evaluation of charge-transfer mechanisms and dynamics

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a layered transition-metal dichalcogenide, has been of special importance to the research community of geochemistry, materials and environmental chemistry, and geotechnical engineering. Understanding the oxidation behavior and charge-transfer mechanisms in MoS2 is important to gain better insight into the degradation of this mineral in the environment. In addition, understanding the insertion of metals into molybdenite and evaluation of charge-transfer mechanism and dynamics is important to utilize these minerals in technological applications. Furthermore, a detailed investigation of thermal oxidation behavior and metal-insertion will provide a basis to further explore and model the mechanism of adsorption of metal ions onto geomedia

Citizen Science Reveals Unexpected Continental-Scale Evolutionary Change in a Model Organism

Organisms provide some of the most sensitive indicators of climate change and evolutionary responses are becoming apparent in species with short generation times. Large datasets on genetic polymorphism that can provide an historical benchmark against which to test for recent evolutionary responses are very rare, but an exception is found in the brown-lipped banded snail (Cepaea nemoralis). This species is sensitive to its thermal environment and exhibits several polymorphisms of shell colour and banding pattern affecting shell albedo in the majority of populations within its native range in Europe. We tested for evolutionary changes in shell albedo that might have been driven by the warming of the climate in Europe over the last half century by compiling an historical dataset for 6,515 native populations of C. nemoralis and comparing this with new data on nearly 3,000 populations. The new data were sampled mainly in 2009 through the Evolution MegaLab, a citizen science project that engaged thousands of volunteers in 15 countries throughout Europe in the biggest such exercise ever undertaken. A known geographic cline in the frequency of the colour phenotype with the highest albedo (yellow) was shown to have persisted and a difference in colour frequency between woodland and more open habitats was confirmed, but there was no general increase in the frequency of yellow shells. This may have been because snails adapted to a warming climate through behavioural thermoregulation. By contrast, we detected an unexpected decrease in the frequency of Unbanded shells and an increase in the Mid-banded morph. Neither of these evolutionary changes appears to be a direct response to climate change, indicating that the influence of other selective agents, possibly related to changing predation pressure and habitat change with effects on micro-climate

A geographic cline induced by negative frequency-dependent selection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Establishment of geographic morph frequency clines is difficult to explain in organisms with limited gene flow. Balancing selection, such as negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS), is instead suggested to establish a morph frequency cline on a geographic scale at least theoretically. Here we tested whether a large-scale smooth cline in morph frequency is established by NFDS in the female-dimorphic damselfly, <it>Ischnura senegalensis</it>, where andromorphs and gynomorphs are maintained by NFDS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a large-scale latitudinal cline in the morph frequency: andromorph frequency ranged from 0.05 (South) to 0.79 (North). Based on the empirical data on the numbers of eggs, the number of ovariole, abdomen length and latitude, the potential fitness of andromorphs was estimated to be lower than that of gynomorphs in the south, and higher in the north, suggesting the gene-by-environment interaction. From the morph-specific latitudinal cline in potential fitness, the frequency of andromorphs was expected to shift from 0 to 1 without NFDS, because a morph with higher potential fitness wins completely and the two morphs will switch at some point. In contrast, NFDS led to the coexistence of two morphs with different potential fitness in a certain geographic range along latitude due to rare morph advantage, and resulted in a smooth geographic cline of morph frequency.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results provide suggestive evidence that the combination of NFDS and gene-by-environment interaction, i.e., multi-selection pressure on color morphs, can explain the geographic cline in morph frequency in the current system.</p