X-rays and virtual taphonomy resolve the first Cissus (Vitaceae) macrofossils from Africa as early diverging members of the genus

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Fossilized seeds similar to Cissus (Vitaceae) have been recognized from the Miocene of Kenya, though some were previously assigned to the Menispermaceae. We undertook a comparative survey of extant African Cissus seeds to identify the fossils and consider their implications for the evolution and biogeography of Cissus and for African early Miocene paleoenvironments. METHODS: Micro-computed tomography (µCT) and synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) were used to study seed morphology and anatomy. Virtual taphonomy, using SRXTM data sets, produced digital fossils to elucidate seed taphonomy. Phylogenetic relationships within Cissus were reconstructed using existing and newly produced DNA sequences for African species. Paleobiology and paleoecology were inferred from African nearest living relatives. KEY RESULTS: The fossils were assigned to four new Cissus species, related to four modern clades. The fossil plants were interpreted as climbers inhabiting a mosaic of riverine woodland and forest to more open habitats. Virtual taphonomy explained how complex mineral infill processes concealed key seed features, causing the previous taxonomic misidentification. Newly sampled African species, with seeds most similar to the fossils, belong to four clades within core Cissus, two of which are early diverging. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual taphonomy, combined with X-ray imaging, has enabled recognition of the first fossil Cissus and Vitaceae from Africa. Early-divergent members of the core Cissus clade were present in Africa by at least the early Miocene, with an African origin suggested for the Cissus sciaphila clade. The fossils provide supporting evidence for mosaic paleoenvironments inhabited by early Miocene hominoids

Cell distribution after intracoronary bone marrow stem cell delivery in damaged and undamaged myocardium: implications for clinical trials

International audienceABSTRACT : INTRODUCTION : Early randomized clinical trials of autologous bone marrow cardiac stem cell therapy have reported contradictory results highlighting the need for a better evaluation of protocol designs. This study was designed to quantify and compare whole body and heart cell distribution after intracoronary or peripheral intravenous injection of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells in a porcine acute myocardial infarction model with late reperfusion. METHODS : Myocardial infarction was induced using balloon inflation in the left coronary artery in domestic pigs. At seven days post-myocardial infarction, 1 x 10(8) autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells were labeled with fluorescent marker and/or 99mTc radiotracer, and delivered using intracoronary or peripheral intravenous injection (leg vein). RESULTS : Scintigraphic analyses and Upsilon-emission radioactivity counting of harvested organs showed a significant cell fraction retained within the heart after intracoronary injection (6 +/- 1.7% of injected radioactivity at 24 hours), whereas following peripheral intravenous cell injection, no cardiac homing was observed at 24 hours and cells were mainly detected within the lungs. Importantly, no difference was observed in the percentage of retained cells within the myocardium in the presence or absence of myocardial infarction. Histological evaluation did not show arterial occlusion in both animal groups and confirmed the presence of bone marrow mononuclear cells within the injected myocardium area. CONCLUSIONS : Intravenous bone marrow mononuclear cell injection was ineffective to target myocardium. Myocardial cell distribution following intracoronary injection did not depend on myocardial infarction presence, a factor that could be useful for cardiac cell therapy in patients with chronic heart failure of non-ischemic origin or with ischemic myocardium without myocardial infarction

What do we (not) know about research software engineering?

As recognition of the vital importance of software for contemporary research is increasing, Research Software Engineering (RSE) is emerging as a discipline in its own right. We present an inventory of relevant research questions about RSE as a basis for future research and initiatives to advance the field, highlighting selected literature and initiatives. This work is the outcome of a RSE community workshop held as part of the 2020 International Series of Online Research Software Events (SORSE) which identified and prioritized key questions across three overlapping themes: people, policy and infrastructure. Almost half of the questions focus on the people theme, which addresses issues related to career paths, recognition and motivation; recruitment and retention; skills; and diversity, equity and inclusion. However, the people and policy themes have the same number of prioritized questions. We recommend that different types of stakeholders, such as RSE employers and policy makers, take responsibility for supporting or encouraging answering of these questions by organizations that have an interest. Initiatives such as the International Council of RSE Associations should also be engaged in this work

What Do We (Not) Know About Research Software Engineering?

As recognition of the vital importance of software for contemporary research is increasing, Research Software Engineering (RSE) is emerging as a discipline in its own right. We present an inventory of relevant research questions about RSE as a basis for future research and initiatives to advance the field, highlighting selected literature and initiatives. This work is the outcome of a RSE community workshop held as part of the 2020 International Series of Online Research Software Events (SORSE) which identified and prioritized key questions across three overlapping themes: people, policy and infrastructure. Almost half of the questions focus on the people theme, which addresses issues related to career paths, recognition and motivation; recruitment and retention; skills; and diversity, equity and inclusion. However, the people and policy themes have the same number of prioritized questions. We recommend that different types of stakeholders, such as RSE employers and policy makers, take responsibility for supporting or encouraging answering of these questions by organizations that have an interest. Initiatives such as the International Council of RSE Associations should also be engaged in this work

The gravitational wave detector VIRGO

International audienc

The Virgo data acquisition system

International audienc

Search for non-Gaussian events in the data of the VIRGO E4 engineering run

International audienc

The Influence of Manga on the Graphic Novel

This material has been published in The Cambridge History of the Graphic Novel edited by Jan Baetens, Hugo Frey, Stephen E. Tabachnick. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © Cambridge University PressProviding a range of cogent examples, this chapter describes the influences of the Manga genre of comics strip on the Graphic Novel genre, over the last 35 years, considering the functions of domestication, foreignisation and transmedia on readers, markets and forms

Les centres publics des sites urbains du Malpaís de Zacapu, Michoacán, Mexique : exemples d'espaces hiérarchisés et/ou hiérarchisant ?

National audienceThe pre-tarascan urban complex of the Malpaís of Zacapu (1250-1500 A.D.), located in the actual state of Michoacán, Mexico, presents numerous civic-ceremonial areas, formed by diagnostic structures like pyramids, plazas, altars and several important residential shape buildings named "great houses". These public areas and their components are, as religious and political supports of power, a fundamental element of space and social structure. They have to be observed meticulously in order to understand the social and political context of the early formative Tarascan state. But in spite of the components similarity, the organization of these areas doesn't seem to follow a clear and systematic model. This study will attempt to precise some of the implantation tendencies of these centers, observing different examples of them, particularly those from the archaeological settlements of the Malpaís Prieto. Such tendencies, if they exist, can give us the first keys to the comprehension of the structural part of the public areas in the settings of a social and political urban space.Les établissements urbains du Malpaís de Zacapu (1250-1500 apr. J.-C.) présentent de nombreuses zones à vocation civico-cérémonielle, marquées par la présence de structures caractéristiques tels que des soubassements pyramidaux, des places, des autels et de très grandes " maisons ". Malgré ces composantes similaires, ces secteurs publics ne semblent pas correspondre à un modèle d'organisation claire et systématique. Ils n'en restent pas moins, en tant que supports du pouvoir religieux et politique de ces sites, un élément fondamental de la structure de l'espace et de la société. En ce fondant sur l'examen des différents exemples de centres publics, en particulier ceux présents sur le site du Malpaís Prieto, cette étude cherchera à déterminer les critères d'implantation de ces ensembles, puis à préciser leur fonctionnement dans l'espace du site et surtout les uns par rapport aux autres, afin de mieux comprendre leur(s) rôle(s) structurel(s) dans la mise en place d'un espace social et politique

Parution du numéro 7 de la revue Consecutio Temporum "Verità e Politica"

Le numéro 7 de la revue en ligne Consecutio Temporum. Hegeliana/Marxiana/Freudina Rivista critica della postmodernità vient de paraître. SOMMAIRE Editoriale Tra la verità e la politica: la possibilità della critica di Giovanni Campailla, Guido Grassadonio e Roberto Bravi Hegeliana Dalla “Rappresentanza” alla “Rappresentazione”: l’involuzione della politica nel capitalismo flessibile di Roberto Finelli Hegel: totalità e libertà in un mondo trasformato dalla prassi di Giorgio Cesarale Marxiana ..