Room(s) for More: A Communal Dwelling or Family Home at Ephrata

According to the Chronicon Ephratense, the chronicle of Ephrata’s official history, edited and partially written by Peter Miller and published in 1786, the celibate sisters lived in three different communal structures at Ephrata. One surviving building at Ephrata raises questions about the possibility of an additional structure for multiple monastic residents. The building interpreted currently as the Weaver’s House at Ephrata Cloister has been viewed as a single-family house since the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission took ownership of the Ephrata Cloister. For about a hundred years before that it was known generically as the Parsonage, presumably for the minister of the German Seventh Day Baptist congregation at Ephrata. At the time when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took control of the property, the house was serving as a parsonage. The house has certain features that suggest that it was built for more than one family during the communal period of the Ephrata community. Architectural evidence suggests a structure for more than a single family. Documentary evidence offers some possibilities for the purpose of such a large building during the communal period. Based on this combination of evidence, the authors propose that the Weaver’s House is not a single family dwelling, and may have housed a group of celibates during part of the eighteenth century

A systematic analysis of the human immune response to Plasmodium vivax

Background. The biology of Plasmodium vivax is markedly different from that of P. falciparum; how this shapes the immune response to infection remains unclear. To address this shortfall, we inoculated human volunteers with a clonal field isolate of P. vivax and tracked their response through infection and convalescence. Methods. Participants were injected intravenously with blood-stage parasites and infection dynamics were tracked in real time by quantitative PCR. Whole blood samples were used for high dimensional protein analysis, RNA sequencing, and cytometry by time of flight, and temporal changes in the host response to P. vivax were quantified by linear regression. Comparative analyses with P. falciparum were then undertaken using analogous data sets derived from prior controlled human malaria infection studies. Results. P. vivax rapidly induced a type I inflammatory response that coincided with hallmark features of clinical malaria. This acute-phase response shared remarkable overlap with that induced by P. falciparum but was significantly elevated (at RNA and protein levels), leading to an increased incidence of pyrexia. In contrast, T cell activation and terminal differentiation were significantly increased in volunteers infected with P. falciparum. Heterogeneous CD4+ T cells were found to dominate this adaptive response and phenotypic analysis revealed unexpected features normally associated with cytotoxicity and autoinflammatory disease. Conclusion. P. vivax triggers increased systemic interferon signaling (cf P. falciparum), which likely explains its reduced pyrogenic threshold. In contrast, P. falciparum drives T cell activation far in excess of P. vivax, which may partially explain why falciparum malaria more frequently causes severe disease. Trial registration. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03797989. Funding. The European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, the Wellcome Trust, and the Royal Society

Patterns of Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) Postlarval Recruitment in the Carribbean: A CRTR Project

As part of the Coral Reef Targeted Research (CRTR) Program, a partnership between the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank, our research team examined the recruitment patterns of Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) postlarvae among regions in the Caribbean, with a particular focus on Mesoamerica. Our goal was to collect comparable information on postlarval supply among regions and to provide data to test predictions of connectivity generated from a coupled biophysical oceanographic model of lobster larval dispersal. Here we present the results of the postlarval recruitment monitoring program. We monitored the catch of postlarvae on Witham-style collectors at sites in the Caribbean from March 2006 to May 2009, although the duration and frequency of sampling varied among locations. Recruitment varied considerably among months and locations. It peaked in the Western Caribbean in the fall (Oct - Dec), whereas in Florida, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela peaks were in spring (Feb - April) with a smaller peak in the fall. Sites generally fell into two groups with respect to monthly variability in recruitment: low variability sites (e.g., Honduras, southern Mexico, Venezuela) and high variability sites (e.g., Florida, San Andres Islands, Puerto Rico, northern Mexico). Recruitment magnitude varied locally, but generally increased (lowest to highest) from Puerto Rico, San Andres Islands, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, to Florida. Recruitment trends mirrored fishery catch in some locations, implying a recruit-to-stock linkage. Recruitment was significantly correlated among several sites, suggesting similarity in their larval sources and oceanographic regimes

Repeat controlled human malaria infection of healthy UK adults with blood-stage plasmodium falciparum:Safety and parasite growth dynamics

In endemic settings it is known that natural malaria immunity is gradually acquired following repeated exposures. Here we sought to assess whether similar acquisition of blood-stage malaria immunity would occur following repeated parasite exposure by controlled human malaria infection (CHMI). We report the findings of repeat homologous blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum (3D7 clone) CHMI studies VAC063C (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03906474) and VAC063 (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02927145). In total, 24 healthy, unvaccinated, malaria-naïve UK adult participants underwent primary CHMI followed by drug treatment. Ten of these then underwent secondary CHMI in the same manner, and then six of these underwent a final tertiary CHMI. As with primary CHMI, malaria symptoms were common following secondary and tertiary infection, however, most resolved within a few days of treatment and there were no long term sequelae or serious adverse events related to CHMI. Despite detectable induction and boosting of anti-merozoite serum IgG antibody responses following each round of CHMI, there was no clear evidence of anti-parasite immunity (manifest as reduced parasite growth in vivo) conferred by repeated challenge with the homologous parasite in the majority of volunteers. However, three volunteers showed some variation in parasite growth dynamics in vivo following repeat CHMI that were either modest or short-lived. We also observed no major differences in clinical symptoms or laboratory markers of infection across the primary, secondary and tertiary challenges. However, there was a trend to more severe pyrexia after primary CHMI and the absence of a detectable transaminitis post-treatment following secondary and tertiary infection. We hypothesize that this could represent the initial induction of clinical immunity. Repeat homologous blood-stage CHMI is thus safe and provides a model with the potential to further the understanding of naturally acquired immunity to blood-stage infection in a highly controlled setting. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03906474, NCT02927145

Deficits in neurite density underlie white matter structure abnormalities in first-episode psychosis

Background: Structural abnormalities across multiple white matter tracts are recognised in people with early psychosis, consistent with dysconnectivity as a neuropathological account of symptom expression. We applied advanced neuroimaging techniques to characterise microstructural white matter abnormalities for a deeper understanding of the developmental aetiology of psychosis. Methods: Thirty-five first-episode psychosis patients, and 19 healthy controls, participated in a quantitative neuroimaging study using Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), a multi-shell diffusion-weighted MRI technique that distinguishes white matter fibre arrangement and geometry from changes in neurite density. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity images were also derived. Tract-based spatial statistics compared white matter structure between patients and controls and tested associations with age, symptom severity and medication. Results: Patients with first-episode psychosis had lower regional FA in multiple commissural, corticospinal, and association tracts. These abnormalities predominantly colocalized with regions of reduced neurite density, rather than aberrant fibre bundle arrangement (orientation dispersion index). There was no direct relationship with active symptomatology. FA decreased and orientation dispersion index increased with age in patients, but not controls, suggesting accelerated effects of white matter geometry change. Conclusions: Deficits in neurite density appear fundamental to abnormalities in white matter integrity in early psychosis. In the first application of NODDI in psychosis, we found that processes compromising axonal fibre number, density, and myelination, rather than processes leading to spatial disruption of fibre organisation, are implicated in the aetiology of the disorder. This accords with a neurodevelopmental origin of aberrant brain-wide structural connectivity predisposing individuals to psychosis

Protein Folding Activity of the Ribosome is involved in Yeast Prion Propagation.

6AP and GA are potent inhibitors of yeast and mammalian prions and also specific inhibitors of PFAR, the protein-folding activity borne by domain V of the large rRNA of the large subunit of the ribosome. We therefore explored the link between PFAR and yeast prion [PSI(+)] using both PFAR-enriched mutants and site-directed methylation. We demonstrate that PFAR is involved in propagation and de novo formation of [PSI(+)]. PFAR and the yeast heat-shock protein Hsp104 partially compensate each other for [PSI(+)] propagation. Our data also provide insight into new functions for the ribosome in basal thermotolerance and heat-shocked protein refolding. PFAR is thus an evolutionarily conserved cell component implicated in the prion life cycle, and we propose that it could be a potential therapeutic target for human protein misfolding diseases

Strain alleviation in an isomorphous series of lanthanide 2-nitroterephthalates [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]·2H2O (Ln = Pr – Lu, except Pm)

An extended series of trivalent lanthanide 2-nitroterephthalates, [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]•2H2O, (Ln = Pr through Lu, except Pm) were synthesized hydrothermally from Ln2O3 and 2-nitroterephthalic acid (H2TPNO2) at 170˚C in Teflon lined Parr steel autoclaves, and were characterized via single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analyses, and thermogravimetric analyses. All [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]•2H2O coordination polymers are isomorphous, crystallizing in the monoclinic crystal system with space group C2/c. The metal centers in all networks possess the coordination number 8, while forming a three-dimensional extended lattice. Two metal centers form Ln2O14 entities, comprising crystallographically identical LnO8 polyhedra, connected via edge-sharing, utilizing two carboxylate O-atoms. These Ln2O14 units are separated along the a and b-axes by individual 2-nitroterephthalate linkers, while being closely connected along the c axis via two carboxylate groups on each side. Compared to small inorganic anions, the rather flexible 2-nitroterephthalate seems to allow for the unobstructed decrease in size of the LnO8 polyhedra as Ln3+ ionic radii decrease towards the heavier Ln elements. Hence, the structural parameters of the crystal lattice adjust gradually without noticeable strain buildup along the series resulting in isomorphous arrangements for all networks. The thermogravimetric and FT-IR measurements seem to confirm the structural features

From Copernicus Big Data to Extreme Earth Analytics

Copernicus is the European programme for monitoring the Earth. It consists of a set of systems that collect data from satellites and in-situ sensors, process this data and provide users with reliable and up-to-date information on a range of environmental and security issues. The data and information processed and disseminated puts Copernicus at the forefront of the big data paradigm, giving rise to all relevant challenges, the so-called 5 Vs: volume, velocity, variety, veracity and value. In this short paper, we discuss the challenges of extracting information and knowledge from huge archives of Copernicus data. We propose to achieve this by scale-out distributed deep learning techniques that run on very big clusters offering virtual machines and GPUs. We also discuss the challenges of achieving scalability in the management of the extreme volumes of information and knowledge extracted from Copernicus data. The envisioned scientific and technical work will be carried out in the context of the H2020 project ExtremeEarth which starts in January 2019

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change.Peer reviewe