Muddied waters: suspended sediment impacts on gill structure and aerobic scope in an endangered native and an invasive freshwater crayfish

Suspended sediment (SS) loadings in freshwater habitats have increased over the past century and SS is now a significant environmental stressor. Greater tolerance to environmental stressors has been proposed as a factor in the success of aquatic invasive species. Further, parasites may interact with environmental stressors to increase host susceptibility to loss of fitness and mortality. We compared the effects of SS exposure on the gill structure and aerobic scope of the endangered white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), and the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), and assessed impacts in relation to parasite burden. SS caused gill fouling and reduction in aerobic scope in both species, though A. pallipes was more susceptible than invasive P. leniusculus. The parasite Branchiobdella astaci, a crayfish worm that infests the gills, interacted with the sediment to affect gill structure whereas infection with the microsporidian parasite Thelohania contejeani had no effect on crayfish response to SS. Juvenile P. lenisuculus had a higher standard metabolic rate than A. pallipes, which may be linked to competitive advantages such as higher growth rate and behavioural dominance. Conservation of A. pallipes often involves relocation of threatened populations to isolated stillwaters; our findings suggest that SS levels should be assessed before relocation

Amplification and expression of recombinant genes in serum-independent Chinese hamster ovary cells

AbstractCHO SSF3 cells grow as a suspension culture in unmodified commercial medium with only low-molecular weight ingredients. Continuous serum-free culture unexpectedly induced expression of a low dihydrofolate reductase activity in the originally dhfr− CHO cells. Nevertheless, it was possible with methotrexate to induce amplification of a gene coding for the hybrid plasminogen activator K2tu-PA cotransfected with a dhfr gene. Expression of K2tu-PA expression was proportionally increased to that of dhfr, which was measured with fluorescent methotrexate. Because no serum proteases were present, secreted K2tu-PA was not converted to the enzymatically active form, but was exclusively recovered in proenzyme form

Calculating the mass fraction of primordial black holes

We reinspect the calculation for the mass fraction of primordial black holes (PBHs) which are formed from primordial perturbations, finding that performing the calculation using the comoving curvature perturbation c in the standard way vastly overestimates the number of PBHs, by many orders of magnitude. This is because PBHs form shortly after horizon entry, meaning modes significantly larger than the PBH are unobservable and should not affect whether a PBH forms or not - this important effect is not taken into account by smoothing the distribution in the standard fashion. We discuss alternative methods and argue that the density contrast, Δ, should be used instead as super-horizon modes are damped by a factor k2. We make a comparison between using a Press-Schechter approach and peaks theory, finding that the two are in close agreement in the region of interest. We also investigate the effect of varying the spectral index, and the running of the spectral index, on the abundance of primordial black holes

Expanded Monomeric Intermediate upon Cold and Heat Unfolding of Phosphofructokinase-2 from Escherichia coli

AbstractFolding studies have been focused mainly on small, single-domain proteins or isolated single domains of larger proteins. However, most of the proteins present in biological systems are composed of multiple domains, and to date, the principles that underlie its folding remain elusive. The unfolding of Pfk-2 induced by GdnHCl has been described by highly cooperative three-state equilibrium (N2↔2I↔2U). This is characterized by a strong coupling between the subunits’ tertiary structure and the integrity of the dimer interface because “I” represents an unstructured and expanded monomeric intermediate. Here we report that cold and heat unfolding of Pfk-2 resembles the N2↔2I step of chemically induced unfolding. Moreover, cold unfolding appears to be as cooperative as that induced chemically and even more so than its heat-unfolding counterpart. Because Pfk-2 is a large homodimer of 66 kDa with a complex topology consisting of well-defined domains, these results are somewhat unexpected considering that cold unfolding has been described as a special kind of perturbation that decouples the cooperative unfolding of several proteins

Political Ideology, Trust, and Cooperation: In-group Favoritism among Republicans and Democrats during a US National Election

Theories suggest that political ideology relates to cooperation, with conservatives being more likely to pursue selfish outcomes, and liberals more likely to pursue egalitarian outcomes. In study 1, we examine how political ideology and political party affiliation (Republican vs. Democrat) predict cooperation with a partner who self-identifies as Republican or Democrat in two samples before (n = 362) and after (n = 366) the 2012 US presidential election. Liberals show slightly more concern for their partners’ outcomes compared to conservatives (study 1), and in study 2 this relation is supported by a meta-analysis (r =.15). However, in study 1, political ideology did not relate to cooperation in general. Both Republicans and Democrats extend more cooperation to their in-group relative to the out-group, and this is explained by expectations of cooperation from in-group versus out-group members. We discuss the relation between political ideology and cooperation within and between groups

Quantization on Curves

Deformation quantization on varieties with singularities offers perspectives that are not found on manifolds. Essential deformations are classified by the Harrison component of Hochschild cohomology, that vanishes on smooth manifolds and reflects information about singularities. The Harrison 2-cochains are symmetric and are interpreted in terms of abelian $*$-products. This paper begins a study of abelian quantization on plane curves over \Crm, being algebraic varieties of the form R2/I where I is a polynomial in two variables; that is, abelian deformations of the coordinate algebra C[x,y]/(I). To understand the connection between the singularities of a variety and cohomology we determine the algebraic Hochschild (co-)homology and its Barr-Gerstenhaber-Schack decomposition. Homology is the same for all plane curves C[x,y]/(I), but the cohomology depends on the local algebra of the singularity of I at the origin.Comment: 21 pages, LaTex format. To appear in Letters Mathematical Physic

How participatory design works:mechanisms and effects

We argue that the distinguishing features of Participatory Design are not the participatory activities as such but the mechanisms used, the effects produced and the way in which these are sustained. We use program theory to illuminate how participatory design works and how it may be understood as more than a collection of methods or a matter of configuring user participation. Program theory operates by formulating the causal relations between the planned inputs, the process and the effects in terms of output, outcome and impact. While participatory design might appear similar to co-design or user-centered design on the level of design activities, PD differs in terms of the mechanisms employed and how effects and their sustainment are conceived. Looking at participatory design through the lens of program theory highlights how particular mechanisms work towards not only the designed product but also towards generating gains and lasting effects for participants