Tapping Environmental History to Recreate America’s Colonial Hydrology

To properly remediate, improve, or predict how hydrological systems behave, it is vital to establish their histories. However, modern-style records, assembled from instrumental data and remote sensing platforms, hardly exist back more than a few decades. As centuries of data is preferable given multidecadal fluxes of both meteorology/climatology and demographics, building such a history requires resources traditionally considered only useful in the social sciences and humanities. In this Feature, Pastore et al. discuss how they have undertaken the synthesis of historical records and modern techniques to understand the hydrology of the Northeastern U.S. from Colonial times to modern day. Such approaches could aid studies in other regions that may require heavier reliance on qualitative narratives. Further, a better insight as to how historical changes unfolded could provide a “past is prologue” methodology to increase the accuracy of predictive environmental models

Riverine nitrogen source and yield in urban systems

Although human reshaping of the nitrogen (N) cycle is well established, contributions of individual N sources to riverine and coastal eutrophication are less certain. Urban N fluxes are potentially substantial, particularly from sewer overflows. Results from four longitudinal surveys in rivers in and around the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were used to characterize N chemistry and isotopic composition and were compared with LOADEST-model-derived total N (TN) flux budgets from three urban areas along the Ohio River (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Louisville, Kentucky). Triple nitrate isotopes reveal that riverine nitrate in the Pittsburgh region is dominated by wastewater inputs despite high atmospheric deposition rates. Our budget estimates demonstrate that the magnitude of urban N yields is comparable to yields reported for agricultural watersheds and that these high urban N yields cannot consist of permitted, point-source discharges alone. Our results reveal that nonpoint sources in urban systems represent an important but overlooked source of TN to overall riverine budgets

Kinetic consequences of the endogenous ligand to molybdenum in the DMSO reductase family: a case study with periplasmic nitrate reductase

The molybdopterin enzyme family catalyzes a variety of substrates and plays a critical role in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, arsenic, and selenium. The dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR) subfamily is the most diverse family of molybdopterin enzymes and the members of this family catalyze a myriad of reactions that are important in microbial life processes. Enzymes in the DMSOR family can transform multiple substrates; however, quantitative information about the substrate preference is sparse, and, more importantly, the reasons for the substrate selectivity are not clear. Molybdenum coordination has long been proposed to impact the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Specifically, the molybdenum-coordinating residue may tune substrate preference. As such, molybdopterin enzyme periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap) is utilized as a vehicle to understand the substrate preference and delineate the kinetic underpinning of the differences imposed by exchanging the molybdenum ligands. To this end, NapA from Campylobacter jejuni has been heterologously overexpressed, and a series of variants, where the molybdenum coordinating cysteine has been replaced with another amino acid, has been produced. The kinetic properties of these variants are discussed and compared with those of the native enzyme, providing quantitative information to understand the function of the molybdenum-coordinating residue

Moral expansiveness:Examining variability in the extension of the moral world

The nature of our moral judgments—and the extent to which we treat others with care—depend in part on the distinctions we make between entities deemed worthy or unworthy of moral consideration—our moral boundaries. Philosophers, historians, and social scientists have noted that people’s moral boundaries have expanded over the last few centuries, but the notion of moral expansiveness has received limited empirical attention in psychology. This research explores variations in the size of individuals’ moral boundaries using the psychological construct of moral expansiveness and introduces the Moral Expansiveness Scale (MES), designed to capture this variation. Across 6 studies, we established the reliability, convergent validity, and predictive validity of the MES. Moral expansiveness was related (but not reducible) to existing moral constructs (moral foundations, moral identity, “moral” universalism values), predictors of moral standing (moral patiency and warmth), and other constructs associated with concern for others (empathy, identification with humanity, connectedness to nature, and social responsibility). Importantly, the MES uniquely predicted willingness to engage in prosocial intentions and behaviors at personal cost independently of these established constructs. Specifically, the MES uniquely predicted willingness to prioritize humanitarian and environmental concerns over personal and national self-interest, willingness to sacrifice one’s life to save others (ranging from human out-groups to animals and plants), and volunteering behavior. Results demonstrate that moral expansiveness is a distinct and important factor in understanding moral judgments and their consequences

Toward a Psychology of Moral Expansiveness

Theorists have long noted that people's moral circles have expanded over the course of history, with modern people extending moral concern to entities-both human and nonhuman-that our ancestors would never have considered including within their moral boundaries. In recent decades, researchers have sought a comprehensive understanding of the psychology of moral expansiveness. We first review the history of conceptual and methodological approaches in understanding our moral boundaries, with a particular focus on the recently developed Moral Expansiveness Scale. We then explore individual differences in moral expansiveness, attributes of entities that predict their inclusion in moral circles, and cognitive and motivational factors that help explain what we include within our moral boundaries and why they may shrink or expand. Throughout, we highlight the consequences of these psychological effects for real-world ethical decision making

Late-Holocene Indian summer monsoon variability revealed from a 3300-year-long lake sediment record from Nir’pa Co, southeastern Tibet

Sedimentological and geochemical results from Nir’pa Co, an alpine lake on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, detail late-Holocene Indian summer monsoon (ISM) hydroclimate during the last 3300 years. Constrained by modern calibration, elevated silt and lithics and low sand and clay between 3.3 and 2.4 ka and 1.3 ka and the present indicate two pluvial phases with lake levels near their current overflow elevation. Between 2.4 and 1.3 ka, a sharp increase in sand and corresponding decrease in lithics and silt suggest drier conditions and lower lake levels at Nir’pa Co. Hydroclimate expressions in the sedimentological proxies during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) are not statistically significant, suggesting that these events were minor compared to the millennial scale variability on which they were superimposed. However, decreasing sand and increasing lithics and silt during the MCA between 950 and 800 cal. yr BP may suggest briefly wetter conditions, while increasing sand and reduced lithics and silt from 500 to 200 cal. yr BP suggest potentially drier conditions during the LIA. Similarities with regional records from lake sediment and ice cores and speleothem records from the central and eastern Tibetan Plateau, India, and the Arabian Sea, suggest generally coherent late-Holocene ISM variability in these regions. Increased late-Holocene ISM intensity occurred during times when Tibetan Plateau surface air temperatures were warmer, Indo-Pacific sea surface temperatures were elevated, and the tropical Pacific was in a La Niña–like mean state. Conversely, aridity between 2.4 and 1.3 ka occurred in concert with cooling on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Indo-Pacific with more El Niño–like conditions in the tropical Pacific. Differences with western Tibetan records may reflect a weakened ISM and stronger westerlies in this region during the late-Holocene

Bringing bioinformatics to schools with the 4273pi project

The work was supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) under Grants STFC ST/R000328/1 (including salary to S.A.B., D.B., H.P., T.R.M. and non-salary costs) and STFC ST/T000872/1 (including salary to S.A.B., D.B., K.C., T.R.M. and non-salary costs), the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh (https://darwintrust.bio.ed.ac.uk; including salary to S.A.B. and H.P. and non-salary costs), the Wellcome Trust-University of Edinburgh Institutional Strategic Support Fund under Wellcome Trust Grant number 204804/Z/16/Z (salary to H.P.), a Public Engagement with Genetics Tier 2 Grant from the Genetics Society (https://genetics.org.uk; non-salary costs), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under Grant NE/P000592/1 (including salary to N.C. and M.G.R. and non-salary costs), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) under Grant BB/S018506/1 (including salary to F.A. and non-salary costs), the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh (https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology; including salary to S.A.B. and H.P. and non-salary costs) and its Institute of Evolutionary Biology (https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/evolutionary-biology; non-salary costs), the Access for Rural Communities project (ARC) at University of St Andrews (https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/access/projects/arc; non-salary costs) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under Grant EP/V52038X/1 (including salary to S.A.B. and non-salary costs). E.W.J.W. is supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society [208779/Z/17/Z] (including salary to E.W.J.W.).Over the last few decades, the nature of life sciences research has changed enormously, generating a need for a workforce with a variety of computational skills such as those required to store, manage, and analyse the large biological datasets produced by next-generation sequencing. Those with such expertise are increasingly in demand for employment in both research and industry. Despite this, bioinformatics education has failed to keep pace with advances in research. At secondary school level, computing is often taught in isolation from other sciences, and its importance in biological research is not fully realised, leaving pupils unprepared for the computational component of Higher Education and, subsequently, research in the life sciences. The 4273pi Bioinformatics at School project (https://4273pi.org) aims to address this issue by designing and delivering curriculum-linked, hands-on bioinformatics workshops for secondary school biology pupils, with an emphasis on equitable access. So far, we have reached over 180 schools across Scotland through visits or teacher events, and our open education resources are used internationally. Here, we describe our project, our aims and motivations, and the practical lessons we have learned from implementing a successful bioinformatics education project over the last 5 years.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Shear-Mediated Dilation of the Internal Carotid Artery Occurs Independent of Hypercapnia.

Evidence for shear stress as a regulator of carotid artery dilation in response to increased arterial carbon dioxide was recently demonstrated in humans during sustained elevations in CO2 (hypercapnia); however, the relative contributions of CO2 and shear stress to this response remains unclear. We examined the hypothesis that, following a 30-second transient increase in arterial CO2 tension and consequent increase in internal carotid artery shear stress, internal carotid artery diameter would increase, indicating shear-mediated dilation, in the absence of concurrent hypercapnia. In 27 healthy participants the partial pressures of end-tidal O2 and CO2, ventilation (pneumotachography), blood pressure (finger-photoplethysmography), heart-rate (electrocardiogram), internal carotid artery flow, diameter and shear stress (high resolution duplex ultrasound) and middle cerebral artery blood velocity (transcranial Doppler) were measured during 4-minute steady state and transient 30-second hypercapnic tests (both +9mmHg CO2). Internal carotid artery dilation was lower in the transient, compared to the steady state hypercapnia (3.3±1.9% vs. 5.3±2.9%, respectively; P<0.03). Increases in internal carotid artery shear stress preceded increases in diameter in both the transient (time: 16.8±13.2s vs. 59.4±60.3s; P<0.01) and steady state (time: 18.2±14.2s vs. 110.3±79.6s; P<0.01) tests. Internal carotid artery dilation was positively correlated with shear rate area under the curve in the transient (r(2)=0.44; P<0.01), but not steady state (r(2)=0.02; P=0.53) trial. Collectively, these results suggest that hypercapnia induces shear-mediated dilation of the internal carotid artery in humans. This study further promotes the application and development of hypercapnia as a clinical strategy for the assessment of cerebrovascular vasodilatory function and health in humans

Non-canonical signalling mediates changes in fungal cell wall PAMPs that drive immune evasion

Data Availability The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper (and its supplementary information files). Acknowledgements We are grateful to Raif Yuecel, Linda Duncan, Kimberley Sim and Ailsa Laird in the Iain Fraser Cytometry Centre, and to Kevin MacKenzie, Debbie Wilkinson, Gillian Milne and Lucy Wight in our Microscopy and Histology Core Facility for their superb support. We thank Katja Schafer and Angela Lopez for help with the design of primers and for providing CRISPR-Cas9 protocols for mutant construction. We also thank our colleagues in the Candida community, and in particular Jan Quinn, Guanghua Huang, Suzanne Noble, Karl Kuchler, Patrick van Dijck, Rich Calderone and Malcolm Whiteway for providing strains used in this study. This work was funded by a programme grant from the UK Medical Research Council [www.mrc.ac.uk: MR/M026663/1], and by PhD studentships from the University of Aberdeen to AP, DL. The work was also supported by the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology and the University of Aberdeen [MR/N006364/1], by the European Commission [FunHoMic: H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018-812969], and by the Wellcome Trust via Investigator, Collaborative, Equipment, Strategic and Biomedical Resource awards [www.wellcome.ac.uk: 075470, 086827, 093378, 097377, 099197, 101873, 102705, 200208]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Straightforward and controlled synthesis of porphyrin-phthalocyanine-porphyrin heteroleptic triple-decker assemblies

A versatile and straightforward protocol is disclosed for controlled synthesis of complex lanthanide-bridged heteroleptic porphyrin–phthalocyanine triple-decker assemblies. Two porphyrins, linked by a flexible spacer chain of intermediate length, sequentially capture lanthanide ions and a phthalocyanine to efficiently form the triple-decker complex. The bridge directs assembly, but also controls the mobility of the central macrocycle and further imparts a fully eclipsed arrangement of all three rings