A new model for the formation of microbial polygons in a coastal sabkha setting

The stratigraphic record of microbially induced sedimentary structures spans most of the depositional record. Today, microbes continue to generate, bind and modify sediments in a vast range of depositional environments. One of the most cited of these settings is the coastal microbial mat system of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. In this setting, an extensive zone of microbial mat polygons has previously been interpreted as resulting from desiccation‐related contraction during episodic drying. This study employs 15 years of field‐based monitoring of the interaction between environmental factors and the development and evolution of polygon morphologies to test the desiccation model in this setting. On the basis of these observations, a new model is proposed that accounts for the genesis and development of microbial polygons without the need for desiccation‐induced shrinkage. Conversely, the formation, development and erosion of microbial polygons is a direct result of the production of large amounts of organic matter in a healthy, yet spatially limited, microbial community. The recognition of microbial polygons has previously been applied as a diagnostic tool for the reconstruction of ancient depositional environments. The present study calls these interpretations into doubt. It is inferred that preservation of the microbial polygons as a recognizable form would be rare. Biological degradation and compaction will reduce polygons to produce the ‘wispy’ laminae that are a common feature of ancient sabkha lithofacies

What Attracts Men Who Batter to Their Partners? An Exploratory Study

Men who batter, because of particular personality traits and sense of entitlement, may select partners whom they perceive will be dependent on them, meet their emotional needs, or be “objects” of physical attractiveness. During treatment intake, 181 offenders responded to the question, “What attracted you to her (your partner)?” We explored whether men who mentioned their own needs or her physical traits would engage in more frequent and severe violence and would have specific forms of personality disorder dimensions or personality traits. Six categories of attraction, including “her physical traits” and “his needs,” were derived from the men’s responses. The results showed that men who focused on their partners’ physical attractiveness were more likely to be violent after treatment. Men who cited their own needs for their attraction had higher scores on borderline personality, alcohol abuse, and psychotic thinking and lower scores on compulsive-conformingPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89970/1/Saunders-Kurko-Barlow-Crane 2011 What Attracts Men Who Batter to Their Partners JIV.pd

Erosion‐initiated stromatolite and thrombolite formation in a present‐day coastal sabkha setting

Laminated microbial mats and microbialites have been documented from a variety of coastal marine environments. This study aims to provide the first detailed descriptions of intertidal pools, along with their hosted thrombolite and stromatolite structures, from Abu Dhabi, and to propose a model for their formation and evolution. It is proposed that the development of pools within the upper intertidal zone was initiated by localized erosion of the laminated microbial mats during high energy events. The removal of the protective mats permitted erosion of the underlying unconsolidated sediment to produce erosional scours that continued to develop to create the pools observed today. The margins of the newly‐created submerged environment were colonized by a cyanobacteria dominated microbial community. The precipitation of aragonite cement, associated with the cyanobacteria, stabilized the pool walls and cemented the microbial communities to form stromatolitic and thrombolitic fabrics. Syndepositional cementation was further enhanced by the precipitation of marine cements as a result of evaporation‐driven Ca2+ and Mg2+ supersaturation. Erosion behind and below the cemented pool wall eventually resulted in rim‐collapse and the formation of the observed pool margin parallel thrombolite bands. Successive generations of lithification and erosion increased the area of the pool with the earliest thrombolites eroding and becoming increasingly isolated. In summary, the resultant microbialites developed through the complex interplay of erosion, abiotic early lithification and microbially‐mediated processes, and represent a continuum between unlithified laminated microbial mats and domal microbialites. These features are most likely produced during a sea‐level scenario of stillstand or transgression and, as such, may be useful as a diagnostic tool to elucidate the onset of transgression. The newly proposed model for stromatolite formation has significant implications for the recognition and interpretation of similar structures observed in the fossil record

Associations between depressive symptoms and disease progression in older patients with chronic kidney disease: results of the EQUAL study

Background Depressive symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, few small studies have examined this association in patients with earlier phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied associations between baseline depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in older patients with advanced CKD and examined whether these associations differed depending on sex. Methods CKD patients (>= 65 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate <= 20 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) were included from a European multicentre prospective cohort between 2012 and 2019. Depressive symptoms were measured by the five-item Mental Health Inventory (cut-off <= 70; 0-100 scale). Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to study associations between depressive symptoms and time to dialysis initiation, all-cause mortality and these outcomes combined. A joint model was used to study the association between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time. Analyses were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results Overall kidney function decline in 1326 patients was -0.12 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/month. A total of 515 patients showed depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time (P = 0.08). Unlike women, men with depressive symptoms had an increased mortality rate compared with those without symptoms [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.93)]. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with a higher hazard of dialysis initiation, or with the combined outcome (i.e. dialysis initiation and all-cause mortality). Conclusions There was no significant association between depressive symptoms at baseline and decline in kidney function over time in older patients with advanced CKD. Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a higher mortality rate in men

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Molecular Cloning of the Baboon UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase 2B Gene Family and Their Activity in Conjugating Morphine

Glucuronidation by UDP-glucuronyltransferase 2B enzymes (UGT2Bs) is a major pathway for the elimination of endobiotics and xenobiotics, including therapeutic drugs. Morphine, a probe drug for UGT2B7, is metabolized to morphine-3-β-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-β-glucuronide (M6G) in humans. Morphine has been used in a series of experiments in the baboon to characterize developmental changes in fetal glucuronidation. This study identifies the baboon UGT2B family of enzymes, compares them with that of the human and the monkey (Macaca fascicularis), and measures the activity of the individual baboon UGT2Bs toward morphine. UGT2B cDNAs were cloned from the liver of adult and newborn baboons and expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. The UGT activity toward morphine was assessed by the rate of formation of M3G and M6G by high-performance liquid chromatography. Eight baboon UGT2Bs were cloned and identified: UGT2B41 and UGT2B42, which are 90% homologous to human UGT2B4; UGT2B43, which is 93% homologous to human UGT2B15; and UGT2B39, UGT2B40, UGT2B44, UGT2B45, and UGT2B46, which are 89 to 91% homologous to human UGT2B7. Homology between baboon and monkey UGT2B ranged from 92.6 to 99.1%, with the primary protein structure of UGT2B43 being 99.1% identical to monkey UGT2B20, including a unique R96I substitution. Gene conversion interfered with the phylogenetic signal in the baboon UGT2B7-like and the monkey UGT2B4-like groups and led to concerted evolution of these enzymes. All of the baboon UGT2Bs metabolized morphine to both M3G and M6G. This study lays the foundation for investigating the regulation of UGT2B enzymes during fetal and neonatal development in the baboon

Erosion-initiated stromatolite formation in a recent hypersaline sabkha setting (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

Laminated microbial mats and microbialites are documented from a variety of coastal marine environments. These features form through: a) the combination of trapping and binding of allochthonous grains, and b) microbially-mediated or controlled precipitation of a variety of minerals, including high-magnesium calcite and dolomite. Intertidal pools and associated microbial features have been previously documented from the coastal sabkha of Abu Dhabi, but have not been studied in detail. This study therefore aims to provide the first detailed descriptions of thrombolite and stromatolite structures in the coastal sabkha complex of Abu Dhabi. These detailed descriptions will be utilised to develop a new model for their formation, and to consider the implications for the interpretation of similar features from the depositional record. It is proposed here that the development of intertidal pools within the laminated microbial mat zone is the result of localised erosion as a result of storm surges and tides. The formation of erosional scours, which continued to develop into the pools observed today, led to a switch in microbial communities from filamentous cyanobacterial mats into coccoid cyanobacterial mats as a result of reduced environmental stress under conditions of permanent flooding. In addition, the continuous circulation of seawater initiated the abiotic lithification of submerged microbial mat and carbonate rudstone by acicular aragonite cements. Simultaneously, (proto-)dolomite was formed in the stromatolites between individual laminae that were enclosed by a bacterial extra-polymeric substance. These structures therefore developed through the combined effects of erosion, abiotic early lithification and microbially-mediated processes, and may actively respond to changes in sea level. The thrombolites and stromatolites therefore represent a link between unlithified laminated microbial mats and domal stromatolites. This model of stromatolite formation has strong implications for the interpretation of similar fossil structures observed in ancient stratigraphic sequences