Record of thermoluminescence in sea sediments in the last millennia

The profile of thermoluminescence (TL) has been measured in the Ionian shallow-water core GT89-3 with a resolution of 3.096 years (corresponding to a sampling interval of 2 mm) during the last 1800 years. A similar TL record was previously obtained in the core GT14, taken from the same area, with a resolution of 3.87 years (corresponding to a sampling interval of 2.5 mm). We present here the comparison of the TL profiles. We confirm the presence of the centennial and the decennial cycles earlier identified in the TL signal, corresponding to cyclicities appearing to exist in the solar-activity records. We discuss the origin of the TL signal by comparison with the cosmogenic isotopes 14C and 10Be records

On the solar origin of the 200 y Suess wiggles: Evidence from thermoluminescence in sea sediments

In order to understand the origin of the Suess wiggles, present in the tree ring 14C record, we have studied the thermoluminescence (TL) of a shallow-water Ionian sea core, in an attempt to provide a record of an indicator responding to the solar output more promptly than 14C in tree rings. The spectral content of the TL and radiocarbon records is very similar; neverthless, in addition to the 207 y Suess wave (A43.6% ), the TL record shows the second harmonic (103.5 y; A42.4% ), in phase with the envelope of the 11 y solar cycles. This result, obtained by different spectral methods, in particular by Superposition of Epochs (SE) and by Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA), strongly supports the solar origin of the 200 y Suess wiggles

Renewable beta-elemene based cyclic carbonates for the preparation of oligo(hydroxyurethane)s

Conversion of β-elemene into new β-elemene dicarbonates through epoxidation and halide salt-catalyzed CO2 cycloaddition reactions is reported. Step-growth polyaddition of this dicarbonate to five different, commercial diamines was investigated under neat conditions at 150 °C yielding non-isocyanate-based low molecular weight oligo(hydroxyurethane)s with 1.3≤Mn≤6.3 kDa and 1.3≤Ð≤2.1, and with glass transition temperatures ranging from −59 to 84 °C. The preparation of one selected polyhydroxyurethane material, obtained in the presence of Jeffamine® D-2010 was scaled-up to 43 g. The latter, when combined in a formulation using Irgacure® 2100 and Laromer® LR 9000 allowed the preparation of coatings that were analyzed with several techniques showing the potential of these biobased oligourethanes towards the preparation of commercially relevant materials

Corticosterone stress response of Greater rhea (Rhea americana) during short-term road transport

The effect of transport stress on blood corticosterone levels in captive Greater Rheas was investigated. Twelve adult individuals (7 males; 5 females) were loaded in pairs inside wooden crates and transported along a paved road for 30 min. Blood samples were taken before the individuals were introduced into the crate (baseline value) and immediately after they were unloaded (30 min after capture). To assess whether corticosterone levels were affected by the blood sampling procedure per se, another 6 (nontransport) control birds (3 males; 3 females) were also captured and sampled at the same times as their transported counterparts. Plasma corticosterone concentrations were measured using a commercially available corticosterone 125I radio-immunoassay kit. Baseline corticosterone levels were similar in the control and transported birds (9.0 ± 1.6 and 10.4 ± 0.8 ng/mL, respectively). Transportation induced a highly significant (P < 0.001), more than 40-fold increase in the corticosterone levels (433.6 ± 35.4 ng/mL) that was about 5 times higher (P < 0.001) than in their nontransported counterparts (88.4 ± 14.8 ng/mL). The present findings suggest that Greater Rhea is a species highly sensitive to stressful manipulations. Both blood sampling and transportation induced highly significant adrenocortical responses. Considering that transportation is one of the unavoidable common practices in the management of Greater Rheas and, as shown in the present study, that it induces a significant 40-fold corticosterone stress response, efforts should focus on helping to generate management transport standards for optimization of the welfare of this ratite.Fil: Leche, Alvina. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoologia Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Della Costa, Natalia Soledad. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoologia Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Hansen, C.. Laboratorio de Análisis Clínicos Especializados; ArgentinaFil: Navarro, Joaquin Luis. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoologia Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Marin, Raul Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Martella, Monica Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoologia Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; Argentin

The C-Terminal Domain of CENP-C Displays Multiple and Critical Functions for Mammalian Centromere Formation

CENP-C is a fundamental component of functional centromeres. The elucidation of its structure-function relationship with centromeric DNA and other kinetochore proteins is critical to the understanding of centromere assembly. CENP-C carries two regions, the central and the C-terminal domains, both of which are important for the ability of CENP-C to associate with the centromeric DNA. However, while the central region is largely divergent in CENP-C homologues, the C-terminal moiety contains two regions that are highly conserved from yeast to humans, named Mif2p homology domains (blocks II and III). The activity of these two domains in human CENP-C is not well defined. In this study we performed a functional dissection of C-terminal CENP-C region analyzing the role of single Mif2p homology domains through in vivo and in vitro assays. By immunofluorescence and Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (ChIP) we were able to elucidate the ability of the Mif2p homology domain II to target centromere and contact alpha satellite DNA. We also investigate the interactions with other conserved inner kinetochore proteins by means of coimmunoprecipitation and bimolecular fluorescence complementation on cell nuclei. We found that the C-terminal region of CENP-C (Mif2p homology domain III) displays multiple activities ranging from the ability to form higher order structures like homo-dimers and homo-oligomers, to mediate interaction with CENP-A and histone H3. Overall, our findings support a model in which the Mif2p homology domains of CENP-C, by virtue of their ability to establish multiple contacts with DNA and centromere proteins, play a critical role in the structuring of kinethocore chromatin

Assessing a sleep interviewing chatbot to improve subjective and objective sleep: protocol for an observational feasibility study

BACKGROUND: Sleep disorders are common among the aging population and people with neurodegenerative diseases. Sleep disorders have a strong bidirectional relationship with neurodegenerative diseases, where they accelerate and worsen one another. Although one-to-one individual cognitive behavioral interventions (conducted in-person or on the internet) have shown promise for significant improvements in sleep efficiency among adults, many may experience difficulties accessing interventions with sleep specialists, psychiatrists, or psychologists. Therefore, delivering sleep intervention through an automated chatbot platform may be an effective strategy to increase the accessibility and reach of sleep disorder intervention among the aging population and people with neurodegenerative diseases. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to (1) determine the feasibility and usability of an automated chatbot (named MotivSleep) that conducts sleep interviews to encourage the aging population to report behaviors that may affect their sleep, followed by providing personalized recommendations for better sleep based on participants' self-reported behaviors; (2) assess the self-reported sleep assessment changes before, during, and after using our automated sleep disturbance intervention chatbot; (3) assess the changes in objective sleep assessment recorded by a sleep tracking device before, during, and after using the automated chatbot MotivSleep. METHODS: We will recruit 30 older adult participants from West London for this pilot study. Each participant will have a sleep analyzer installed under their mattress. This contactless sleep monitoring device passively records movements, heart rate, and breathing rate while participants are in bed. In addition, each participant will use our proposed chatbot MotivSleep, accessible on WhatsApp, to describe their sleep and behaviors related to their sleep and receive personalized recommendations for better sleep tailored to their specific reasons for disrupted sleep. We will analyze questionnaire responses before and after the study to assess their perception of our proposed chatbot; questionnaire responses before, during, and after the study to assess their subjective sleep quality changes; and sleep parameters recorded by the sleep analyzer throughout the study to assess their objective sleep quality changes. RESULTS: Recruitment will begin in May 2023 through UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre organized community outreach. Data collection will run from May 2023 until December 2023. We hypothesize that participants will perceive our proposed chatbot as intelligent and trustworthy; we also hypothesize that our proposed chatbot can help improve participants' subjective and objective sleep assessment throughout the study. CONCLUSIONS: The MotivSleep automated chatbot has the potential to provide additional care to older adults who wish to improve their sleep in more accessible and less costly ways than conventional face-to-face therapy. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/45752

Novel compound mutations in the mitochondrial translation elongation factor (TSFM) gene cause severe cardiomyopathy with myocardial fibro-adipose replacement

Primary mitochondrial dysfunction is an under-appreciated cause of cardiomyopathy, especially when cardiac symptoms are the unique or prevalent manifestation of disease. Here, we report an unusual presentation of mitochondrial cardiomyopathy, with dilated phenotype and pathologic evidence of biventricular fibro-adipose replacement, in a 33-year old woman who underwent cardiac transplant. Whole exome sequencing revealed two novel compound heterozygous variants in the TSFM gene, coding for the mitochondrial translation elongation factor EF-Ts. This protein participates in the elongation step of mitochondrial translation by binding and stabilizing the translation elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). Bioinformatics analysis predicted a destabilization of the EF-Ts variants complex with EF-Tu, in agreement with the dramatic steady-state level reduction of both proteins in the clinically affected myocardium, which demonstrated a combined respiratory chain enzyme deficiency. In patient fibroblasts, the decrease of EF-Ts was paralleled by up-regulation of EF-Tu and induction of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, along with increased expression of respiratory chain subunits and normal oxygen consumption rate. Our report extends the current picture of morphologic phenotypes associated with mitochondrial cardiomyopathies and confirms the heart as a main target of TSFM dysfunction. The compensatory response detected in patient fibroblasts might explain the tissue-specific expression of TSFM-associated disease

Heliospheric behavior in the past by Titanium-44 measurement in chondrites

This article does not have an abstract

High-spin states and band terminations in v 49

High-spin states in 49 V have been studied through the 28 Si(28 Si, α3p) reaction using the EUROBALL γ-ray detector array. The 49 V level scheme has been extended up to 13.1 MeV including 21 new states. Both negative and positive parity states have been interpreted in the framework of theShell Model. The 27/2− and the 31/2+ band termination states have been observed in agreement with theoretical predictions.Fil: Rodrigues Ferreira Maltez, Dario Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Hojman, Daniel Leonardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lenzi, Silvia M.. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; Italia. Università di Padova; ItaliaFil: Cardona, Maria Angelica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología; ArgentinaFil: Fernea, Enrico. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Axiotis, M.. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Beck, C.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Bednarczyk, P.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Bizzetti, P. G.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Bizzetti Sona, A. M.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Della Vedova, F.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Grebosz, J.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Haas, F.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Kmiecik, M.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Maj, A.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Męczyński, W.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Napoli, D. R.. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Nespolo, M.. Università di Padova; Italia. Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare.; ItaliaFil: Papka, P.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Sánchez i Zafra, A.. Université de Strasbourg; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Styczen, J.. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Thummerer, S.. Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung; AlemaniaFil: Ziębliński, M.. Polish Academy of Sciences; Argentin

Volcanic CO2 tracks the incubation period of basaltic paroxysms

The ordinarily benign activity of basaltic volcanoes is periodically interrupted by violent paroxysmal explosions ranging in size from Hawaiian to Plinian in the most extreme examples. These paroxysms often occur suddenly and with limited or no precursors, leaving their causal mechanisms still incompletely understood. Two such events took place in summer 2019 at Stromboli, a volcano otherwise known for its persistent mild open-vent activity, resulting in one fatality and damage to infrastructure. Here, we use a post hoc analysis and reinterpretation of volcanic gas compositions and fluxes acquired at Stromboli to show that the two paroxysms were preceded by detectable escalations in volcanic plume CO2 degassing weeks to months beforehand. Our results demonstrate that volcanic gas CO2 is a key driver of explosions and that the preparatory periods ahead of explosions in basaltic systems can be captured by precursory CO2 leakage from deeply stored mafic magma