225 research outputs found
Geology of the Falcón Basin (NW Venezuela)
This paper presents a geological map and cross-section of the Falcón Basin based both on published and unpublished work and on new data collected in the northern and southern basin margins. The geological map covers an area of 4600 km2 at 1:100,000 scale. The cross- section is oriented NNW-SSE, traversing perpendicular to the main structures. In general, the structure of the study area results from the inversion of a graben (Oligocene-early Miocene back-arc basin), that started in the middle Miocene due to the convergence between the Caribbean and South American plates. The map, the cross-section and the observations made in the field have been used to generate a tectonostratigraphic reconstruction of the Falcón Basin. The Oligocene-early Miocene sedimentary succession mapped and described is relevant to the hydrocarbon exploration in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Venezuela, where new hydrocarbon resources have recently been discovered (i.e. Perla gas field)
Adhesion of freshwater sponge cells mediated by carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions requires low environmental calcium
Marine ancestors of freshwater sponges had to undergo a
series of physiological adaptations to colonize harsh and
heterogeneous limnic environments. Besides reduced salinity,
river-lake systems also have calcium concentrations far lower
than seawater. Cell adhesion in sponges is mediated by
calcium-dependent multivalent self-interactions of sulfated
polysaccharides components of membrane-bound proteoglycans named
aggregation factors. Cells of marine sponges require seawater
average calcium concentration (10\xC2\xA0mM) to sustain adhesion
promoted by aggregation factors. We demonstrate here that the
freshwater sponge Spongilla alba can thrive in a calcium-poor
aquatic environment and that their cells are able to aggregate
and form primmorphs with calcium concentrations 40-fold lower
than that required by marine sponges cells. We also find that
their gemmules need calcium and other micronutrients to hatch
and generate new sponges. The sulfated polysaccharide purified
from S. alba has sulfate content and molecular size notably
lower than those from marine sponges. Nuclear magnetic resonance
analyses indicated that it is composed of a central backbone of
non- and 2-sulfated \xCE\xB1- and \xCE\xB2-glucose units
decorated with branches of \xCE\xB1-glucose. Assessments with
atomic force microscopy/single-molecule force spectroscopy show
that S. alba glucan requires 10-fold less calcium than sulfated
polysaccharides from marine sponges to self-interact
efficiently. Such an ability to retain multi-cellular morphology
with low environmental calcium must have been a crucial
evolutionary step for freshwater sponges to successfully
colonize inland waters
Calcisponges have a ParaHox gene and dynamic expression of dispersed NK homeobox genes
This study was funded by the Sars Centre core budget to M. Adamska. Sequencing was performed at the Norwegian High Throughput Sequencing Centre funded by the Norwegian Research Council. O.M.R. and D.E.K.F. acknowledge support from the BBSRC and the School of Biology, University of St Andrews.Sponges are simple animals with few cell types, but their genomes paradoxically contain a wide variety of developmental transcription factors1,2,3,4, including homeobox genes belonging to the Antennapedia (ANTP) class5,6, which in bilaterians encompass Hox, ParaHox and NK genes. In the genome of the demosponge Amphimedon queenslandica, no Hox or ParaHox genes are present, but NK genes are linked in a tight cluster similar to the NK clusters of bilaterians5. It has been proposed that Hox and ParaHox genes originated from NK cluster genes after divergence of sponges from the lineage leading to cnidarians and bilaterians5,7. On the other hand, synteny analysis lends support to the notion that the absence of Hox and ParaHox genes in Amphimedon is a result of secondary loss (the ghost locus hypothesis)8. Here we analysed complete suites of ANTP-class homeoboxes in two calcareous sponges, Sycon ciliatum and Leucosolenia complicata. Our phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that these calcisponges possess orthologues of bilaterian NK genes (Hex, Hmx and Msx), a varying number of additional NK genes and one ParaHox gene, Cdx. Despite the generation of scaffolds spanning multiple genes, we find no evidence of clustering of Sycon NK genes. All Sycon ANTP-class genes are developmentally expressed, with patterns suggesting their involvement in cell type specification in embryos and adults, metamorphosis and body plan patterning. These results demonstrate that ParaHox genes predate the origin of sponges, thus confirming the ghost locus hypothesis8, and highlight the need to analyse the genomes of multiple sponge lineages to obtain a complete picture of the ancestral composition of the first animal genome.PostprintPeer reviewe
Octopamine Neuromodulation Regulates Gr32a-Linked Aggression and Courtship Pathways in \u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Males
Chemosensory pheromonal information regulates aggression and reproduction in many species, but how pheromonal signals are transduced to reliably produce behavior is not well understood. Here we demonstrate that the pheromonal signals detected by Gr32a-expressing chemosensory neurons to enhance male aggression are filtered through octopamine (OA, invertebrate equivalent of norepinephrine) neurons. Using behavioral assays, we find males lacking both octopamine and Gr32a gustatory receptors exhibit parallel delays in the onset of aggression and reductions in aggression. Physiological and anatomical experiments identify Gr32a to octopamine neuron synaptic and functional connections in the suboesophageal ganglion. Refining the Gr32a-expressing population indicates that mouth Gr32a neurons promote male aggression and form synaptic contacts with OA neurons. By restricting the monoamine neuron target population, we show that three previously identified OA-FruM neurons involved in behavioral choice are among the Gr32a-OA connections. Our findings demonstrate that octopaminergic neuromodulatory neurons function as early as a second-order step in this chemosensory-driven male social behavior pathway
Two-dimensional hole precession in an all-semiconductor spin field effect transistor
We present a theoretical study of a spin field-effect transistor realized in
a quantum well formed in a p--doped ferromagnetic-semiconductor-
nonmagnetic-semiconductor-ferromagnetic-semiconductor hybrid structure. Based
on an envelope-function approach for the hole bands in the various regions of
the transistor, we derive the complete theory of coherent transport through the
device, which includes both heavy- and light-hole subbands, proper modeling of
the mode matching at interfaces, integration over injection angles, Rashba spin
precession, interference effects due to multiple reflections, and gate-voltage
dependences. Numerical results for the device current as a function of
externally tunable parameters are in excellent agreement with approximate
analytical formulae.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure
El nitrat de les fonts del Lluçanès: efectes sobre les comunitats de briòfits (molses i hepàtiques) = Nitrate in natural springs in Lluçanès region: Effects on the communities of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts)
Semi-natural springs contain complex communities of living organisms that look for
constant water supplies. However, an excess of nitrate in the underlying aquifers
could affect species richness, especially
of those groups that are sensitive to pollution such as bryophytes (mosses and liverworts). In this study, we analyse water
characteristics and presence of bryophytes
in 93 natural springs in Lluçanès region.
We find that although a few species can
cope with a relative nitrate excess, most of
them do not tolerate it, meaning that species richness decreases in the most polluted
sources, showing an adverse effect of water
pollution on the biodiversity of bryophyte
The Kuiper Belt and Other Debris Disks
We discuss the current knowledge of the Solar system, focusing on bodies in
the outer regions, on the information they provide concerning Solar system
formation, and on the possible relationships that may exist between our system
and the debris disks of other stars. Beyond the domains of the Terrestrial and
giant planets, the comets in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud preserve some
of our most pristine materials. The Kuiper belt, in particular, is a
collisional dust source and a scientific bridge to the dusty "debris disks"
observed around many nearby main-sequence stars. Study of the Solar system
provides a level of detail that we cannot discern in the distant disks while
observations of the disks may help to set the Solar system in proper context.Comment: 50 pages, 25 Figures. To appear in conference proceedings book
"Astrophysics in the Next Decade
N-Methyl-D-aspartic Acid (NMDA) in the nervous system of the amphioxus Branchiostoma lanceolatum
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>NMDA (<it>N</it>-methyl-D-aspartic acid) is a widely known agonist for a class of glutamate receptors, the NMDA type. Synthetic NMDA elicits very strong activity for the induction of hypothalamic factors and hypophyseal hormones in mammals. Moreover, endogenous NMDA has been found in rat, where it has a role in the induction of GnRH (Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone) in the hypothalamus, and of LH (Luteinizing Hormone) and PRL (Prolactin) in the pituitary gland.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we show evidence for the occurrence of endogenous NMDA in the amphioxus <it>Branchiostoma lanceolatum</it>. A relatively high concentration of NMDA occurs in the nervous system of this species (3.08 ± 0.37 nmol/g tissue in the nerve cord and 10.52 ± 1.41 nmol/g tissue in the cephalic vesicle). As in rat, in amphioxus NMDA is also biosynthesized from D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) by a NMDA synthase (also called D-aspartate methyl transferase).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Given the simplicity of the amphioxus nervous and endocrine systems compared to mammalian, the discovery of NMDA in this protochordate is important to gain insights into the role of endogenous NMDA in the nervous and endocrine systems of metazoans and particularly in the chordate lineage.</p
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