Enhanced climate instability in the North Atlantic and southern Europe during the Last Interglacial.

Considerable ambiguity remains over the extent and nature of millennial/centennial-scale climate instability during the Last Interglacial (LIG). Here we analyse marine and terrestrial proxies from a deep-sea sediment sequence on the Portuguese Margin and combine results with an intensively dated Italian speleothem record and climate-model experiments. The strongest expression of climate variability occurred during the transitions into and out of the LIG. Our records also document a series of multi-centennial intra-interglacial arid events in southern Europe, coherent with cold water-mass expansions in the North Atlantic. The spatial and temporal fingerprints of these changes indicate a reorganization of ocean surface circulation, consistent with low-intensity disruptions of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The amplitude of this LIG variability is greater than that observed in Holocene records. Episodic Greenland ice melt and runoff as a result of excess warmth may have contributed to AMOC weakening and increased climate instability throughout the LIG

Insights into Protein Aggregation by NMR Characterization of Insoluble SH3 Mutants Solubilized in Salt-Free Water

Protein aggregation in vivo has been extensively associated with a large spectrum of human diseases. On the other hand, mechanistic insights into protein aggregation in vitro were incomplete due to the inability in solubilizing insoluble proteins for high-resolution biophysical investigations. However, a new avenue may be opened up by our recent discovery that previously-thought insoluble proteins can in fact be solubilized in salt-free water. Here we use this approach to study the NMR structural and dynamic properties of an insoluble SH3 mutant with a naturally-occurring insertion of Val22 at the tip of the diverging turn. The obtained results reveal: 1) regardless of whether the residue is Val, Ala, Asp or Arg, the insertion will render the first hNck2 SH3 domain to be insoluble in buffers. Nevertheless, all four mutants could be solubilized in salt-free water and appear to be largely unfolded as evident from their CD and NMR HSQC spectra. 2) Comparison of the chemical shift deviations reveals that while in V22-SH3 the second helical region is similarly populated as in the wild-type SH3 at pH 2.0, the first helical region is largely unformed. 3) In V22-SH3, many non-native medium-range NOEs manifest to define non-native helical conformations. In the meanwhile a small group of native-like long-range NOEs still persists, indicating the existence of a rudimentary native-like tertiary topology. 4) Although overall, V22-SH3 has significantly increased backbone motions on the ps-ns time scale, some regions still own restricted backbone motions as revealed by analyzing 15N relaxation data. Our study not only leads to the establishment of the first high-resolution structural and dynamic picture for an insoluble protein, but also shed more light on the molecular events for the nonhierarchical folding mechanism. Furthermore, a general mechanism is also proposed for in vivo protein aggregation triggered by the genetic mutation and posttranslational modification

Genomic Characterization of the Taylorella Genus

The Taylorella genus comprises two species: Taylorella equigenitalis, which causes contagious equine metritis, and Taylorella asinigenitalis, a closely-related species mainly found in donkeys. We herein report on the first genome sequence of T. asinigenitalis, analyzing and comparing it with the recently-sequenced T. equigenitalis genome. The T. asinigenitalis genome contains a single circular chromosome of 1,638,559 bp with a 38.3% GC content and 1,534 coding sequences (CDS). While 212 CDSs were T. asinigenitalis-specific, 1,322 had orthologs in T. equigenitalis. Two hundred and thirty-four T. equigenitalis CDSs had no orthologs in T. asinigenitalis. Analysis of the basic nutrition metabolism of both Taylorella species showed that malate, glutamate and alpha-ketoglutarate may be their main carbon and energy sources. For both species, we identified four different secretion systems and several proteins potentially involved in binding and colonization of host cells, suggesting a strong potential for interaction with their host. T. equigenitalis seems better-equipped than T. asinigenitalis in terms of virulence since we identified numerous proteins potentially involved in pathogenicity, including hemagluttinin-related proteins, a type IV secretion system, TonB-dependent lactoferrin and transferrin receptors, and YadA and Hep_Hag domains containing proteins. This is the first molecular characterization of Taylorella genus members, and the first molecular identification of factors potentially involved in T. asinigenitalis and T. equigenitalis pathogenicity and host colonization. This study facilitates a genetic understanding of growth phenotypes, animal host preference and pathogenic capacity, paving the way for future functional investigations into this largely unknown genus

Ideal stoichiometric technetium nitrides under pressure: A first-principles study

Technetium nitrides with various ideal stoichiometries have been investigated with the first-principle method at the pressures between 0–60 GPa. It have been found that there could be many stable technetium nitrides including Tc₃N, Tc₂N, TcN, Tc₂N₃, TcN₂, TcN₃, and TcN₄, among which Tc₃N and Tc₂N sub-nitrides are synthesizable at zero pressure and could be applied to nuclear waste management, such as separate radioactive 99Tc from nuclear fuel cycle. Moreover, N-rich TcN₃ and TcN₄ exhibit remarkable bulk properties and can be potential ultrastiff and hard materials.Нітриди технеція з різною ідеальної стехіометрією досліджені із застосуванням методу перших принципів при тисках від 0 до 60 ГПа. Встановлено, що може бути багато стабільних нітридів технеція, включаючи Tc₃N, Tc₂N, ТКС, Tc₂N₃, TcN₂, TcN₃ і TcN₄, серед яких субнітриди Tc₃N і Tc₂N синтезуються при нульовому тиску і можуть бути використані для обробки ядерних відходів, таких як виділений при ядерному паливному циклі радіоактивний 99Tc. Більш того, TcN₃ і TcN₄, збагачені N, демонструють чудові об’ємні властивості і можуть бути потенційними ультражорсткими і твердими матеріалами.Нитриды технеция с различной идеальной стехиометрией исследованы с применением метода первых принципов при давлениях от 0 до 60 ГПа. Установлено, что может быть много стабильных нитридов технеция, включая Tc₃N, Tc₂N, ТКС, Tc₂N₃, TcN₂, TcN₃ и TcN₄, среди которых субнитриды Tc₃N и Tc₂N синтезируются при нулевом давлении и могут быть использованы для обработки ядерных отходов, таких как выделенный при ядерном топливном цикле радиоактивный 99Tc. Более того, TcN₃ и TcN₄, обогащенные N, демонстрируют замечательные объемные свойства и могут быть потенциальными ультражесткими и твердыми материалами

Sex on the move: Gender, subjectivity and differential inclusion

Heterosexuality and patriarchal social arrangements built within immigration regulations signal the undiminished urgency of feminist engagement to rethink migration through the perspective of sexuality and gender. At the same time, feminist analysis of contemporary migration remains bound to the analytical framework centred on control, and approaches borders and immigration regulations primarily in terms of exclusion. Yet, the contemporary transformations of state borders, labour relations and citizenship question the currency and adequacy of the exclusion-based interpretative model. This article brings together feminist and queer migration studies with literature on the transformation of borders, sovereignty and citizenship as developed in critical political theory with the aim of broadening the interpretative scope and political relevance of feminist and queer migration scholarship. The stakes are both theoretical and political in that such a reading allows for a more nuanced account of the changing forms of governing as well as of emerging political subjectivity