An ancient bison from the mouth of the Rauchua River (Chukotka, Russia)

An incomplete carcass of an extinct bison, Bison ex gr. priscus, was discovered in 2012 in the mouth of the Rauchua River (69°30'N, 166°49'E), Chukotka. The carcass included the rump with two hind limbs, ribs, and large flap of hide from the abdomen and sides, several vertebrae, bones of the forelimbs and anterior autopodia, stomach with its contents, and wool. The limb bones are relatively gracile, which is unusual in bison, and a SEM study of the hair microstructure suggests higher insulating capacity than in extant members of the genus. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the Rauchua bison belonged to a distinct and previously unidentified lineage of steppe bison. Two radiocarbon dates suggest a Holocene age for the bison: a traditional 14C date provided an estimate of 8030±70 14C yr BP (SPb-743) and an AMS radiocarbon date provided an age of 9497±92 14C yr BP (AA101271). These dates make this the youngest known bison from Chukotka. Analysis of stomach contents revealed a diet of herbaceous plants (meadow grasses and sedges) and shrubs, suggesting that the early Holocene vegetation near the mouth of the Rauchua River was similar to that of the present day: tundra-associated vegetation with undersized plants

Pharmacogenetics of statin therapy and the endothelial function parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aim. To investigate the association of variation in lipid-lowering response and endothelial function (EF) parameters after atorvastatin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with genetic markers of atherosclerosis. Methods. We included 97 patients with T2DM who were prescribed atorvastatin. Fasting lipid profiles and EF parameters were assessed before and after 12 months of statin therapy. For EF evaluation, we performed pulse-wave analysis during reactive hyperaemia. The genotypes for polymorphic markers were identified by real-time polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan probes. The statistical analysis included Wilcoxon, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests. P-values 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. With statin therapy, PPARG2Pro/Pro patients had significantly lower TC and LDL-C levels than PPARG2 Pro/Ala and PPARG2 Ala/Ala patients (TC: 20.74% vs. 4.6% and 5.61%; p = 0.04 and LDL-C: 26.00% vs. 6.11% and 7.32%; p = 0.029). Patients with АРОЕЕ4/Е4 had significantly lower TC and TG levels than other АРОЕ patients (TC: -46.25% for Е4/Е4 vs. +33.33% for Е4/Е2, +5.73% for Е3/Е2, +11.80% for Е3/Е4, -10.92% for Е3/Е3, р = 0,01; TG: -56.52% for Е4/Е4 vs. +24.43% for Е4/Е2, +19.63% for Е3/Е2, +8.05% for Е3/Е4, -20.00% for Е3/Е3, р = 0.04). The patients with GG for TNFα G(238)A and GA for TNFα G(308)A had significantly greater amplitude of post-occlusive wave increase (Apw) than patients with GA for TNFα G(238)A and GG for TNFα G(308)A (+8.16 % vs. -0.93%, р = 0,04; +44% vs. -4.4%, p = 0.004, respectively). Conclusion. PPARG2Pro12Ala and АРОЕE2/Е3/Е4 polymorphism contributed to the between-patient variability in the response to statin therapy in patients with T2DM. Significant associations of the TNFαgene polymorphism with EF in patients with T2DM suggest an important role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of MVD

Structural coordinates: A novel approach to predict protein backbone conformation

Motivation Local protein structure is usually described via classifying each peptide to a unique class from a set of pre-defined structures. These classifications may differ in the number of structural classes, the length of peptides, or class attribution criteria. Most methods that predict the local structure of a protein from its sequence first rely on some classification and only then proceed to the 3D conformation assessment. However, most classification methods rely on homologous proteins' existence, unavoidably lose information by attributing a peptide to a single class or suffer from a suboptimal choice of the representative classes. Results To alleviate the above challenges, we propose a method that constructs a peptide's structural representation from the sequence, reflecting its similarity to several basic representative structures. For 5-mer peptides and 16 representative structures, we achieved the Q16 classification accuracy of 67.9%, which is higher than what is currently reported in the literature. Our prediction method does not utilize information about protein homologues but relies only on the amino acids' physicochemical properties and the resolved structures' statistics. We also show that the 3D coordinates of a peptide can be uniquely recovered from its structural coordinates, and show the required conditions under various geometric constraints

The 2003 edition of the GEISA/IASI spectroscopic database

The content of the current (2003) version, GEISA/IASI-03, of the computer-accessible spectroscopic database, GEISA/IASI, is described. This "system" or database is comprised of three independent spectroscopic archives, which are (a) a database of individual spectral line parameters on 14 molecules, H2O, CO2, O3, N2O, CO, CH4, O2, NO, SO2, NO2, HNO3, OCS, C2H2, N2, and the related 51 isotopomers and isotopologues, representing 702,550 entries, in the spectral range 599-3001 cm-1, (b) a database of spectral absorption cross-sections (6,572,329 entries related to six molecules, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-14, HCFC-22, N2O5, CCl4), and a catalogue of microphysical and optical properties (mainly, the refractive indices) of atmospheric aerosols. The modifications and improvements, which have been implemented since the earlier editions of this database, in terms of content and management, have been explained in detail. GEISA/IASI has been created with the specific purpose of assessing the capability of measurement by the IASI instrument within the designated goals of ISSWG in the frame of the CNES/EUMETSAT European Polar System preparation. All the archived data can be handled through a user-friendly associated management software, which is posted on the ARA/LMD group web site at http://ara.lmd.polyechnique.fr. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The 1997 spectroscopic GEISA databank

The current version GEISA-97 of the computer-accessible database system GEISA (Gestion et Etude des Informations Spectroscopiques Atmosphériques: Management and Study of Atmospheric Spectroscopic Information) is described. This catalogue contains 1,346,266 entries. These are spectroscopic parameters required to describe adequately the individual spectral lines belonging to 42 molecules (96 isotopic species) and located between 0 and 22,656 cm-1. The featured molecules are of interest in studies of the terrestrial as well as the other planetary atmospheres, especially those of the Giant Planets. GEISA-97 contains also a catalog of absorption cross-sections of molecules such as chlorofluorocarbons which exhibit unresolvable spectra. The modifications and improvements made to the earlier edition (GEISA-92) and the data management software are described. GEISA-97 and the associated management software are accessible from the ARA/LMD (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du CNRS, France) web site: http://ara01.polytechnique.fr/registration. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The GEISA spectroscopic database: Current and future archive for Earth and planetary atmosphere studies

The development of Gestion et Etude des Informations Spectroscopiques Atmosphériques (GEISA: Management and Study of Spectroscopic Information) was started over three decades at Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) in France. GEISA is a computer accessible spectroscopic database, designed to facilitate accurate forward radiative transfer calculations using a line-by-line and layer-by-layer approach. More than 350 users have been registered for on-line use of the GEISA facilities. The current 2003 edition of GEISA (GEISA-03) is a system comprising three independent sub-databases devoted respectively to: line transition parameters, infrared and ultraviolet/visible absorption cross-sections, microphysical and optical properties of atmospheric aerosols. Currently, GEISA is involved in activities related to the assessment of the capabilities of IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer on board of the METOP European satellite) through the GEISA/IASI database derived from GEISA. The GEISA-03 content is presented, placing emphasis on molecular species of interest for Earth and planetary atmosphere studies, with details on the updated 2008 archive underway. A critical assessment on the needs, in terms of molecular parameters archive, related with recent satellite astrophysical missions is made. Detailed information on free on-line GEISA and GEISA/IASI access is given at http://ara.lmd.polytechnique.fr and http://ether.ipsl.jussieu.fr. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Study of strange matter production in the heavy ion collisions at NUCLOTRON

It is proposed to install an experimental setup in the fixed-target hall of the Nuclotron with the final goal to perform a research program focused on the production of strange matter in heavyion collisions at beam energies between 2 and 6 A GeV. The basic setup will comprise a large acceptance dipole magnet with inner tracking detector modules based on double-sided Silicon micro-strip sensors and GEMs. The outer tracking will be based on the drift chambers and straw tube detector. Particle identification will be based on the time-of-flight measurements. This setup will be sufficient perform a comprehensive study of strangeness production in heavy-ion collisions, including multi-strange hyperons, multi-strange hypernuclei, and exotic multi-strange heavy objects. These pioneering measurements would provide the first data on the production of these particles in heavy-ion collisions at Nuclotron beam energies, and would open an avenue to explore the third (strangeness) axis of the nuclear chart. The extension of the experimental program is related with the study of in-medium effects for vector mesons decaying in hadronic modes. The studies of the NN and NA reactions for the reference is assumed