Vertical small scale variations of sorption and mineralization of three herbicides in subsurface limestone and sandy aquifer

International audienceVertical variation in sorption and mineralization potential of mecoprop (MCPP), isoproturon and acetochlor were investigated at low concentrations (μg-range) at the cm-scale in unsaturated sub-surface limestone samples and saturated sandy aquifer samples from an agricultural catchment in Brévilles, France. From two intact core drills, four heterogenic limestone sections were collected from 4.50 to 26.40 m below surface (mbs) and divided into 12 sub-samples of 8-25 cm length, and one sandy aquifer section from 19.20 to 19.53 m depth divided into 7 sub-samples of 4-5 cm length. In the sandy aquifer section acetochlor and isoproturon sorption increased substantially with depth; in average 78% (acetochlor) and 61% (isoproturon) per 5 cm. Also the number of acetochlor and isoproturon degraders (most-probable-number) was higher in the bottom half of the aquifer section (93-> 16 000/g) than in the upper half (4-71/g). One 50 cm long limestone section with a distinct shift in color showed a clear shift in mineralization, number of degraders and sorption: In the two brown, uppermost samples, up to 31% mecoprop and up to 9% isoproturon was mineralized during 231 days, the numbers of mecoprop and isoproturon degraders were 1300 to > 16 000/g, and the sorption of both isoproturon and acetochlor was more than three times higher, compared to the two deeper, grayish samples just below where mineralization (≤ 4%) and numbers of degraders (1-520/g) were low for all three herbicides. In both unsaturated limestone and sandy aquifer, variations and even distinct shifts in both mineralization, number of specific degraders and sorption were seen within just 4-15 cm of vertical distance. A simple conceptual model of herbicides leaching to groundwater through a 10 m unsaturated limestone was established, and calculations showed that a 30 cm active layer with the measured sorption and mineralization values hardly impacted the fate of the investigated herbicides, whereas a total thickness of layers of 1 m would substantially increase natural attenuation

FoxK1 and FoxK2 in insulin regulation of cellular and mitochondrial metabolism

A major target of insulin signaling is the FoxO family of Forkhead transcription factors, which translocate from the nucleus to the cytoplasm following insulin-stimulated phosphorylation. Here we show that the Forkhead transcription factors FoxK1 and FoxK2 are also downstream targets of insulin action, but that following insulin stimulation, they translocate from the cytoplasm to nucleus, reciprocal to the translocation of FoxO1. FoxK1/FoxK2 translocation to the nucleus is dependent on the Akt-mTOR pathway, while its localization to the cytoplasm in the basal state is dependent on GSK3. Knockdown of FoxK1 and FoxK2 in liver cells results in upregulation of genes related to apoptosis and down-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle and lipid metabolism. This is associated with decreased cell proliferation and altered mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism. Thus, FoxK1/K2 are reciprocally regulated to FoxO1 following insulin stimulation and play a critical role in the control of apoptosis, metabolism and mitochondrial function

A Web-based multimedia collaboratory. Empirical work studies in film archives

This report represents the latest study in the activity on Ecological Information Systems conducted in the Center for Human Machine Interaction situated at Ris National Laboratory and the University of Aarhus. The purpose of this activity is to give a description of the characteristics of work domains that will serve to outline the general context of concern to design of collaboratories. In addition, a set of preliminary implications for the design of a collaboratory are derived from the cognitive work analysis. To anticipate, further research on this approach to the design of collaboratories will show how the preceding analysis is likely to lead to a novel theoretical framework, called Ecological Collaborative Information Systems (ECIS), required for the design of collaboratories. The intention is to illustrate how the general principles of ECIS can be instantiated to develop a concrete design product: A crossdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboratory to support customer service and professional research in archives. A web based Collaboratory Numerous valuable historic and cultural films and their sources are scattered in various national archives. Knowledge and usage of the multinational film material are severely impeded by access problems. To fully exploit the cultural film heritage internationally, a high degree of cross-disciplinary and international collaboration among professionals working with the film media is required. The Collaboratory for Annotation, Indexing and Retrieval of Digitized Historical Archive Material (Collate) is intended to foster and support collaboration on research, cultural mediation and preservation of films through a distributed multimedia repository. The collaboratory will provide webbased tools and interfac..

Engineering nanoscale hypersonic phonon transport

Controlling the vibrations in solids is crucial to tailor their mechanical properties and their interaction with light. Thermal vibrations represent a source of noise and dephasing for many physical processes at the quantum level. One strategy to avoid these vibrations is to structure a solid such that it possesses a phononic stop band, i.e., a frequency range over which there are no available mechanical modes. Here, we demonstrate the complete absence of mechanical vibrations at room temperature over a broad spectral window, with a 5.3 GHz wide band gap centered at 8.4 GHz in a patterned silicon nanostructure membrane measured using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. By constructing a line-defect waveguide, we directly measure GHz localized modes at room temperature. Our experimental results of thermally excited guided mechanical modes at GHz frequencies provides an eficient platform for photon-phonon integration with applications in optomechanics and signal processing transduction

Novel de novo BRCA2 mutation in a patient with a family history of breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>BRCA2 </it>germ-line mutations predispose to breast and ovarian cancer. Mutations are widespread and unclassified splice variants are frequently encountered. We describe the parental origin and functional characterization of a novel <it>de novo BRCA2 </it>splice site mutation found in a patient exhibiting a ductal carcinoma at the age of 40.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Variations were identified by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) and sequencing of the <it>BRCA1 </it>and <it>BRCA2 </it>genes. The effect of the mutation on splicing was examined by exon trapping in COS-7 cells and by RT-PCR on RNA isolated from whole blood. The paternity was determined by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray analysis. Parental origin of the <it>de novo </it>mutation was determined by establishing mutation-SNP haplotypes by variant specific PCR, while <it>de novo </it>and mosaic status was investigated by sequencing of DNA from leucocytes and carcinoma tissue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A novel <it>BRCA2 </it>variant in the splice donor site of exon 21 (nucleotide 8982+1 G→A/c.8754+1 G→A) was identified. Exon trapping showed that the mutation activates a cryptic splice site 46 base pairs 3' of exon 21, resulting in the inclusion of a premature stop codon and synthesis of a truncated BRCA2 protein. The aberrant splicing was verified by RT-PCR analysis on RNA isolated from whole blood of the affected patient. The mutation was not found in any of the patient's parents or in the mother's carcinoma, showing it is a <it>de novo </it>mutation. Variant specific PCR indicates that the mutation arose in the male germ-line.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that the novel <it>BRCA2 </it>splice variant is a <it>de novo </it>mutation introduced in the male spermatozoa that can be classified as a disease causing mutation.</p