Oxidative elemental cycling under the low O₂ Eoarchean atmosphere

The Great Oxidation Event signals the first large-scale oxygenation of the atmosphere roughly 2.4 Gyr ago. Geochemical signals diagnostic of oxidative weathering, however, extend as far back as 3.3–2.9 Gyr ago. 3.8–3.7 Gyr old rocks from Isua, Greenland stand as a deep time outpost, recording information on Earth’s earliest surface chemistry and the low oxygen primordial biosphere. Here we find fractionated Cr isotopes, relative to the igneous silicate Earth reservoir, in metamorphosed banded iron formations (BIFs) from Isua that indicate oxidative Cr cycling 3.8–3.7 Gyr ago. Elevated U/Th ratios in these BIFs relative to the contemporary crust, also signal oxidative mobilization of U. We suggest that reactive oxygen species were present in the Eoarchean surface environment, under a very low oxygen atmosphere, inducing oxidative elemental cycling during the deposition of the Isua BIFs and possibly supporting early aerobic biology

Self-selecting Entrepreneurial Students: Reflecting on a University Selection Event

Objectives: This case study examines the development, design and staff perspectives of selection events for an undergraduate degree in Entrepreneurial Business Management. Aspects of design and delivery promoting student self-selection and individual assessment of fit are described which are intended to have a positive impact on recruitment and retention. Prior Work: This work-based programme is based on the Finnish ‘Team Academy’ model (Tiimiakatemia, 2013) where participants work in teams as business owners and learning takes place in the context of establishing and managing those businesses. It was introduced at Northumbria University in September 2013 and, since its introduction, events have been held to support the recruitment of three consecutive student cohorts. This study focuses on the most recent sets of two one-day events conducted in March 2014 and March 2015. The selection events were developed to provide an immersive experience that informed, inspired and energised prospective candidates so as to increase ‘best-fit’ enrolment, optimise their course selection and career development decisions, and enable better informed self-selection. Literature exploring the themes of the growth of entrepreneurial education, the importance of ‘fit’ between HE programmes and applicants, factors impacting enrolment and admission decisions and why UCAS points alone may not offer a satisfactory criteria for the selection of prospective entrepreneurial students have been reviewed. Approach: A mixed method was adopted taking quantitative information from a brief applicant satisfaction questionnaire, and qualitative data drawn from the reflections of staff members involved in the selection events, including some of the authors. Results: Applicant data indicated the events had been interesting, useful and enjoyable and offered several ways in which future events could be enhanced. From a staff member perspective, there were concerns about how well the team working and coaching aspects of the programme were conveyed. Implications and Value: This case study will be of interest to those developing selection events for undergraduate programmes for which traditional academic performance and UCAS application forms serve as imperfect means of discriminating between applicants. Shifting the pressure of the selection decision from the programme team to the applicants may help to achieve a better student:programme fit, and it is likely that events which allow for two-way selection decisions will prove to be most operationally realistic. This case study encapsulates the early research stage of a longitudinal study to track applicants through the selection process to eventual graduation and post-graduation. Although small-scale, the findings reported here would indicate that there may be merit in selection events which enable self-selection across a range of this type of non-traditional programmes

Conserved Chromosomal Positions of Dual Domains of the ets Protooncogene in Cats, Mice, and Humans

The mammalian protooncogene homologue of the avian v-ets sequence from the E26 retrovirus consists of two sequentially distinct domains located on different chromosomes. Using somatic cell hybrid panels, we have mapped the mammalian homologue of the 5\u27 v-ets-domain to chromosome 11 (ETS1) in man, to chromosome 9 (Ets-1) in mouse, and to chromosome D1 (ETS1) in the domestic cat. The mammalian homologue of the 3\u27 v-ets domain was similarly mapped to human chromosome 21 (ETS2), to mouse chromosome 16 (Ets-2), and to feline chromosome C2 (ETS2). Both protooncogenes fell in syntenic groups of homologous linked loci that were conserved among the three species. The occurrence of two distinct functional protooncogenes and their conservation of linkage positions in the three mammalian orders indicate that these two genes have been separate since before the evolutionary divergence of mammals

Evidence-based Toxicology for the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges

The Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC) was established recently to translate evidence-based approaches from medicine and health care to toxicology in an organized and sustained effort. The EBTC held a workshop on “Evidence-based Toxicology for the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges” in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA on January 24-25, 2012. The presentations largely reflected two EBTC priorities: to apply evidence-based methods to assessing the performance of emerging pathwaybased testing methods consistent with the 2007 National Research Council report on “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century” as well as to adopt a governance structure and work processes to move that effort forward. The workshop served to clarify evidence-based approaches and to provide food for thought on substantive and administrative activities for the EBTC. Priority activities include conducting pilot studies to demonstrate the value of evidence-based approaches to toxicology, as well as conducting educational outreach on these approaches

Evidence-based Toxicology for the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges

The Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC) was established recently to translate evidence-based approaches from medicine and health care to toxicology in an organized and sustained effort. The EBTC held a workshop on “Evidence-based Toxicology for the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges” in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA on January 24-25, 2012. The presentations largely reflected two EBTC priorities: to apply evidence-based methods to assessing the performance of emerging pathwaybased testing methods consistent with the 2007 National Research Council report on “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century” as well as to adopt a governance structure and work processes to move that effort forward. The workshop served to clarify evidence-based approaches and to provide food for thought on substantive and administrative activities for the EBTC. Priority activities include conducting pilot studies to demonstrate the value of evidence-based approaches to toxicology, as well as conducting educational outreach on these approaches

Impressionnisme : du plein air au territoire

L'histoire de l'art a presque toujours tenté d'assigner aux divers mouvements artistiques une inscription territoriale privilégiée. Dans le cas de l'impressionnisme, cette inscription, incontestable pour certains peintres ou certaines périodes de leur vie, apparaît difficilement conciliable avec la multiplicité de leurs déplacements et la diversité de leurs inspirations : Paris (les grands boulevards, Montmartre) mais également la vallée de la Seine, de l'Oise, ou le Loing de Sisley ; Rouen, Giverny, la Normandie, mais encore la Bretagne et l'Océan ; Londres et la Hollande, mais aussi et à nouveau Venise, l'Italie et la Méditerranée (Monet, Renoir). L'interprétation de la peinture impressionniste a, dès lors, oscillé entre au moins trois tendances, suscitant de multiples tentatives d'appropriations nécessairement concurrentielles : pluri-territorialisation (les sources étrangères, anglaises ou japonaises, de l'impressionnisme ; sa réception ultérieure dans les multiples variantes nationales, européennes ou américaines), déterritorialisation (l'impressionnisme comme répertoire de thèmes universels et style international), ou encore réflexes divers de reterritorialisation (écoles locales, revendication d 'un enracinement régional, usages nationalistes ou patriotiques de l'art de Monet, etc.). Cette publication se propose d'interroger, grâce au concours d'historiens de l'art, d'historiens et de géographes, la relation entre un mouvement artistique, qui naît dans le cadre des nationalismes européens et dans le contexte de l'affirmation républicaine, et son inscription, réelle ou construite, dans un espace géographique, territorial, mais aussi institutionnel et politique qui se révèle pluriel et contradictoire. Dans le cadre de la première édition du Festival Normandie impressionniste, deux volumes ont déjà été publiés en 2012 : Normandie sensible. Regards croisés de géographes et de plasticiens (PUC) et Impressionnisme et littérature (PURH). À paraître : L'Impressionnisme, les arts, la fluidité (PURH)

Genomic Analyses of Acute Flaccid Myelitis Cases among a Cluster in Arizona Provide Further Evidence of Enterovirus D68 Role

Enteroviruses frequently result in respiratory and gastrointestinal illness; however, multiple subtypes, including poliovirus, can cause severe neurologic disease. Recent biennial increases (i.e., 2014, 2016, and 2018) in cases of non-polio acute flaccid paralysis have led to speculations that other enteroviruses, specifically enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), are emerging to fill the niche that was left from poliovirus eradication. A cluster of 11 suspect cases of pediatric acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) was identified in 2016 in Phoenix, AZ. Multiple genomic analyses identified the presence of EV-D68 in the majority of clinical AFM cases. Beyond limited detection of herpesvirus, no other likely etiologies were found in the cluster. These findings strengthen the likelihood that EV-D68 is a cause of AFM and show that the rapid molecular assays developed for this study are useful for investigations of AFM and EV-D68.Enteroviruses are a common cause of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness, and multiple subtypes, including poliovirus, can cause neurologic disease. In recent years, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been associated with serious neurologic illnesses, including acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), frequently preceded by respiratory disease. A cluster of 11 suspect cases of pediatric AFM was identified in September 2016 in Phoenix, AZ. To determine if these cases were associated with EV-D68, we performed multiple genomic analyses of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) material from the patients, including real-time PCR and amplicon sequencing targeting the EV-D68 VP1 gene and unbiased microbiome and metagenomic sequencing. Four of the 11 patients were classified as confirmed cases of AFM, and an additional case was classified as probable AFM. Real-time PCR and amplicon sequencing detected EV-D68 virus RNA in the three AFM patients from which NP swabs were collected, as well as in a fourth patient diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a disease that commonly follows bacterial or viral infections, including enterovirus. No other obvious etiological causes for AFM were identified by 16S or RNA and DNA metagenomic sequencing in these cases, strengthening the likelihood that EV-D68 is an etiological factor. Herpes simplex viral DNA was detected in the CSF of the fourth case of AFM and in one additional suspect case from the cluster. Multiple genomic techniques, such as those described here, can be used to diagnose patients with suspected EV-D68 respiratory illness, to aid in AFM diagnosis, and for future EV-D68 surveillance and epidemiology