Subsurface investigation in the Gulf of Corinth (GoC), Greece

Master's thesis in Petroleum Geosciences EngineeringCorinth Rift is an excellent rift laboratory to study the rift processes occurring during the early and late stages of continental extension due to exposure of a series of half-graben structures at the southern margin. Segmentation and lateral variation along the strike in the rift were observed in several studies, where the lateral correlation is hard to obtain as the W-E faults terminated in the valleys and became difficult to trace. The boundaries between the segments were less emphasized and developed as the main focus of the previous studies was the N-S direction of the rift. The structure geometry is still an going debate and has been interpreted in several ways with some of the studies proposed it to be a relay ramp, and others suggested a transfer zone. 2D seismic, bathymetry, earthquake, and onshore data was used to investigate if the segmentation continues offshore. Furthermore, to reveal the structures the boundaries between the segments, where W-E lines were the main focus throughout this study. The evidence of the segmentation of the Gulf was substantial as several NNE-SSW faults were traced in W-E seismic lines, some of those faults were correlatable with proposed previous studies boundaries. In total ten transfer faults are proposed; four major, three minor and three sub-minor. The basement structure varies along the strike and today's structures are inherited structure where the stepping of the W-E faults could be related to the structural variation of the basement. The geometry of today structure of the gulf seems to correlate with the proposed transfer faults model by Lister et al. (1986), where seismic line presented each segment of the model.submittedVersio

Transphobia in Class, Anti-trans Legislation at the State: A Commentary on Navigating Harm and Hope in a Social Work Education Program

EG (they/them): I was misgendered on day one of my BSW program; isolation and transphobia continued for two years. While I did my best to advocate for myself, I learned that you can\u27t fight institutionally entrenched oppression alone. MP (they/them): EG joined my class mid-semester after repeated incidents of transphobia. For two years, during an onslaught of anti-trans policies across the U.S., we advocated for changes in our school and social work education. EG’s experience is not unique. Numerous studies document transphobia experienced by transgender and gender expansive (TGE) social work students and the lack of TGE content, visibility, and support for TGE students in social work education programs. Through a narrative reflection of our own experiences situated within the context of research on TGE students in social work, this commentary issues a call to action for social work education within the broader contexts of a national anti-trans political climate and the values and core competencies of social work education

The South Asia Book Award: Fostering Partnerships between NRCs and K-12 Educators

Presentation slides from the December 1st, 2016 Area Studies & Outreach Conference in Washington, D.C.. This presentation from Panel 1: Innovative Resources and Services discusses the South Asia Book Award (SABA) initiative. Visit www.southasiabookaward.org for more information.Ope

The transcriptomic evolution of mammalian pregnancy:gene expression innovations in endometrial stromal fibroblasts

The endometrial stromal fibroblast (ESF) is a cell type present in the uterine lining of therian mammals. In the stem lineage of eutherian mammals, ESF acquired the ability to differentiate into decidual cells in order to allow embryo implantation. We call the latter cell type “neo-ESF” in contrast to “paleo-ESF” which is homologous to eutherian ESF but is not able to decidualize. In this study, we compare the transcriptomes of ESF from six therian species: Opossum (Monodelphis domestica; paleo-ESF), mink, rat, rabbit, human (all neo-ESF), and cow (secondarily nondecidualizing neo-ESF). We find evidence for strong stabilizing selection on transcriptome composition suggesting that the expression of approximately 5,600 genes is maintained by natural selection. The evolution of neo-ESF from paleo-ESF involved the following gene expression changes: Loss of expression of genes related to inflammation and immune response, lower expression of genes opposing tissue invasion, increased markers for proliferation as well as the recruitment of FOXM1, a key gene transiently expressed during decidualization. Signaling pathways also evolve rapidly and continue to evolve within eutherian lineages. In the bovine lineage, where invasiveness and decidualization were secondarily lost, we see a re-expression of genes found in opossum, most prominently WISP2, and a loss of gene expression related to angiogenesis. The data from this and previous studies support a scenario, where the proinflammatory paleo-ESF was reprogrammed to express anti-inflammatory genes in response to the inflammatory stimulus coming from the implanting conceptus and thus paving the way for extended, trans-cyclic gestation

Palm Leaf Manuscripts in South Asia

Many thousands of palm leaf manuscripts, in South Asia and elsewhere, are currently in danger of being lost due to physical deterioration. These manuscripts contain irreplaceable cultural, religious, scientific, and artistic works. Palm leaf manuscripts, which can be centuries old, are found in numerous private collections, temples, monasteries, libraries and museums. The sheer number and wide dispersal of palm leaf manuscripts provide significant challenges to conservation and preservation, including both ethical and technical considerations. A literature search and examination of palm leaf manuscripts shed light on the urgent need to proceed worldwide along two fronts simultaneously: rapid digitization of critical palm leaf manuscripts as well as physical stabilization of other manuscripts deemed high priority for possible digitization or future treatment. After a review of the historical and cultural significance of palm leaf manuscripts, as well as their basic physical structure and construction, some specific conservation issues were considered including loss compensation, consolidation, and protection from insect and fungal attack. Some traditional treatments for manuscripts, including herbs and oils, were discussed, as well as more recent approaches including chemicals, vapor humidification, and leaf casting. Although a number of national and international projects are beginning to address the massive numbers of decaying manuscripts, these efforts are not enough to stop the ongoing loss of cultural treasures and knowledge. Further research is needed into efficient and effective methods of surveying and prioritizing palm leaf manuscripts for treatment, best practices in physical stabilization, and addressing culturally sensitive issues

Uterine selection of human embryos at implantation

Human embryos frequently harbor large-scale complex chromosomal errors that impede normal development. Affected embryos may fail to implant although many first breach the endometrial epithelium and embed in the decidualizing stroma before being rejected via mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here we show that developmentally impaired human embryos elicit an endoplasmic stress response in human decidual cells. A stress response was also evident upon in vivo exposure of mouse uteri to culture medium conditioned by low-quality human embryos. By contrast, signals emanating from developmentally competent embryos activated a focused gene network enriched in metabolic enzymes and implantation factors. We further show that trypsin, a serine protease released by pre-implantation embryos, elicits Ca2+ signaling in endometrial epithelial cells. Competent human embryos triggered short-lived oscillatory Ca2+ fluxes whereas low-quality embryos caused a heightened and prolonged Ca2+ response. Thus, distinct positive and negative mechanisms contribute to active selection of human embryos at implantation

Genetic diversity of Saudi native chicken breeds segregating for naked neck and frizzle genes using microsatellite markers

Objective Recently, there has been an increasing interest in conservation of native genetic resources of chicken on a worldwide basis. Most of the native chicken breeds are threatened by extinction or crossing with ecotypes. Methods Six Saudi native chicken breeds including black naked neck, brown frizzled, black, black barred, brown and gray were used in the current study. The aim of the current study was to evaluate genetic diversity, relationship and population structure of Saudi native chicken breeds based on 20 microsatellite markers. Results A total of 172 alleles were detected in Saudi native chicken breeds across all 20 microsatellite loci. The mean number of alleles per breed ranged from 4.35 in gray breed to 5.45 in normally feathered black with an average of 8.6 alleles. All breeds were characterized by a high degree of genetic diversity, with the lowest heterozygosity found in the brown breed (72%) and the greatest in the frizzled and black barred populations (78%). Higher estimate of expected heterozygosity (0.68) was found in both black breeds (normal and naked neck) compared to the other chicken populations. All studied breeds showed no inbreeding within breed (negative inbreeding coefficient [FIS]). The phylogenetic relationships of chickens were examined using neighbor-joining trees constructed at the level of breeds and individual samples. The neighbor-joining tree constructed at breed level revealed three main clusters, with naked neck and gray breeds in one cluster, and brown and frizzled in the second cluster leaving black barred in a separate one. Conclusion It could be concluded that the genetic information derived from the current study can be used as a guide for genetic improvement and conservation in further breeding programs. Our findings indicate that the Saudi native chicken populations have a rich genetic diversity and show a high polymorphism

Effect of genotype of growing rabbits on productive performance with special reference to residual feed intake at hot temperature

Objective Better feed efficiency can be achieved by selecting rabbit genotypes with lower residual feed intake (RFI) under high ambient temperatures. Methods Two genotypes of rabbits (Jabali, Saudi local breed and imported, Spanish V-line) were used to derive RFI and to investigate the relationship between RFI and productive traits. In total, 250 animals (125 each) were housed in individual wire mesh cages in a semi-closed rabbitry. Growth performance, feed criteria, carcass evaluation, biochemical blood analysis, and immune responses were determined. Results Superiority in growth performance, feed efficiency, carcass characteristics, and cellular immunity was recorded in the Jabali breed compared to the V-line genotype. According to regression analysis, a significant effect of daily body weight gain was found, upon computing the expected feed intake in both genotypes. Moreover, mid-body weight0.75 had a significant effect only in the Jabali breed. Positive correlation coefficients between RFI and dry matter feed intake or feed conversion ratio were found. The same trend in this relationship between RFI and productive traits was observed in some cases for both genotypes. An opposite trend in correlations was observed in the studied genotypes for some traits. Conclusion The results suggest that the relationship between RFI and productive traits must be taken into consideration in rabbit breeding programs under the prevailing environment. However, further studies are required to investigate the effect of rabbit genotype and environmental factors on computing RFI

Recurrent Modification of a Conserved Cis-Regulatory Element Underlies Fruit Fly Pigmentation Diversity

The development of morphological traits occurs through the collective action of networks of genes connected at the level of gene expression. As any node in a network may be a target of evolutionary change, the recurrent targeting of the same node would indicate that the path of evolution is biased for the relevant trait and network. Although examples of parallel evolution have implicated recurrent modification of the same gene and cis-regulatory element (CRE), little is known about the mutational and molecular paths of parallel CRE evolution. In Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, the Bric-à-brac (Bab) transcription factors control the development of a suite of sexually dimorphic traits on the posterior abdomen. Female-specific Bab expression is regulated by the dimorphic element, a CRE that possesses direct inputs from body plan (ABD-B) and sex-determination (DSX) transcription factors. Here, we find that the recurrent evolutionary modification of this CRE underlies both intraspecific and interspecific variation in female pigmentation in the melanogaster species group. By reconstructing the sequence and regulatory activity of the ancestral Drosophila melanogaster dimorphic element, we demonstrate that a handful of mutations were sufficient to create independent CRE alleles with differing activities. Moreover, intraspecific and interspecific dimorphic element evolution proceeded with little to no alterations to the known body plan and sex-determination regulatory linkages. Collectively, our findings represent an example where the paths of evolution appear biased to a specific CRE, and drastic changes in function were accompanied by deep conservation of key regulatory linkages. © 2013 Rogers et al