Undulatory swimming in shear-thinning fluids: Experiments with C. elegans

The swimming behaviour of microorganisms can be strongly influenced by the rheology of their fluid environment. In this manuscript, we experimentally investigate the effects of shear-thinning viscosity on the swimming behaviour of an undulatory swimmer, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Tracking methods are used to measure the swimmer's kinematic data (including propulsion speed) and velocity fields. We find that shear-thinning viscosity modifies the velocity fields produced by the swimming nematode but does not modify the nematode's speed and beating kinematics. Velocimetry data show significant enhancement in local vorticity and circulation and an increase in fluid velocity near the nematode's tail compared to Newtonian fluids of similar effective viscosity. These findings are compared to recent theoretical and numerical results

Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe without Boltzmann or Kadanoff-Baym

We present a formalism that allows the computation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe from first principles of statistical physics and quantum field theory that is applicable to certain types of beyond the Standard Model physics (such as the neutrino Minimal Standard Model -- $\nu$MSM) and does not require the solution of Boltzmann or Kadanoff-Baym equations. The formalism works if a thermal bath of Standard Model particles is very weakly coupled to a new sector (sterile neutrinos in the $\nu$MSM case) that is out-of-equilibrium. The key point that allows a computation without kinetic equations is that the number of sterile neutrinos produced during the relevant cosmological period remains small. In such a case, it is possible to expand the formal solution of the von Neumann equation perturbatively and obtain a master formula for the lepton asymmetry expressed in terms of non-equilibrium Wightman functions. The master formula neatly separates CP-violating contributions from finite temperature correlation functions and satisfies all three Sakharov conditions. These correlation functions can then be evaluated perturbatively; the validity of the perturbative expansion depends on the parameters of the model considered. Here we choose a toy model (containing only two active and two sterile neutrinos) to illustrate the use of the formalism, but it could be applied to other models.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure

L'accumulation et l'élimination de cadmium par deux mousses aquatiques, Fontinalis dalecarlica et Platyphypnidium ripariodes : Influence de la concentration de Cd, du temps d'exposition, de la dureté de l'eau et de l'espèce de mousses

Cette étude en laboratoire traite de l'accumulation et de l'élimination du Cd réalisées par deux mousses aquatiques indigènes du Québec, Fontinalis dalecarlica et Platyhypnidium riparioides. Les expositions au Cd étaient de 0 (témoin), 0,8, 2 et 10 µg·L-1, concentrations retrouvées en milieu naturel (non contaminé) et contaminé. Les expériences ont été réalisées à trois niveaux de dureté de l'eau (10 à 15, 40 à 50, 80 à 100 mg·L-1 de CaCO3), à alcalinité constante (80 à 100 mg·L-1 de CaCO3) et à pH stable (7,30) durant une période de 28 jours. Les facteurs d'augmentation des concentrations (FAC) ont démontré une diminution de l'accumulation totale de Cd dans les mousses dans 75% des cas lorsque la dureté de l'eau passe de très douce à dure. Les facteurs de contamination résiduelle (FCR) démontrent la lenteur de l'élimination du Cd par les mousses, et ce, indépendamment de la dureté de l'eau ou de la contamination préalablement subie. Deux équations de régression multiple par étape (Stepwise) ont été établies pour expliquer les facteurs influençant l'accumulation et l'élimination de Cd réalisées par les mousses. Les variables indépendantes incluses dans les équations linéaires de prédiction pour l'accumulation et l'élimination étaient la concentration de Cd dans l'eau, le temps d'exposition, la dureté de l'eau, l'espèce de mousses utilisée et/ou les interactions de ces variables. Les équations linéaires de prédiction pour l'accumulation et l'élimination ont permis d'expliquer respectivement 92% et 71% de la variance observée. Cette identification des principaux facteurs influençant l'accumulation et l'élimination du Cd dans les mousses est d'une grande importance pour la compréhension des processus complexes dirigeant l'absortion des métaux lourds par des organismes vivants. Les équations permettent également de mieux expliquer les interactions engendrées par la variation de divers paramètres sur l'accumulation et l'élimination du Cd par les mousses aquatiques.Aquatic mosses have played a large part in the assessment of toxic elements in water. The advantage of mosses over direct water sampling is that the use of the former lessens spatial and temporal variations, enhances the level of contaminant identification by concentrating toxic elements, and provides information relative to the bioavailable portion. However, the concentration of metals that can be measured in mosses is not a reliable indicator of the concentration of toxic elements in the water, which is why we need to model the bioaccumulation phenomenon.The present laboratory study deals with the accumulation and elimination of Cd by two indigenous Quebec aquatic mosses: Fontinalis dalecarlica and Platyhypnidium riparioides. The previously acclimatized mosses were treated with different concentrations of Cd, three different levels of water hardness, a constant alkalinity and constant pH level for a period of 28 days, in order to establish their bioaccumulative capacity. Cd exposure concentrations were 0 (control), 0.8, 2 and 10 mg·L-1, with a replication at 10 mg·L-1. The experiments were carried out at three levels of water hardness (10 to 15, 40 to 50, 80 to 100 mg·L-1 of CaCO3), with a constant degree of alkalinity (80 to 100 mg·L-1 of CaCO3) and stable pH (7.30). The mosses subsequently went through an elimination period (Cd-free water) of 28 days. The triplicate moss samples were mineralized using nitric acid and all Cd measurements were made by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results indicate that the water chemistry conditions remained stable and were properly controlled. The aquatic mosses demonstrated a considerable ability to absorb and adsorb Cd: the measured Cd water concentrations were less than the nominal concentrations. Nonetheless, moss uptake of Cd improves with an increase in Cd contamination and the concentration factors (CF) range from 6 to 122. For the same exposure concentration, the CF drops in some 63% of those instances where water hardness rises from very soft, through soft, to hard. In 75% of the cases there is a drop in CF when water hardness increases directly from very soft to hard. With a stable concentration (e.g. 2 mg·L-1), F. dalecarlica has respective CFs of 26.3, 22.2 and 18, which demonstrates the negative gradation of Cd accumulation as water hardness increases. The residual contamination factors (RCF) bear witness to the slow rate of Cd elimination by the mosses, irrespective of the level of water hardness or of any previous contamination. The elimination factor for RCF is never greater than 2. Mosses take up metals faster than they can eliminate them and have a memory of past contaminations, which is an advantage when it comes to studying ad hoc and/or sporadic contamination phenomena.Two stepwise multiple regression equations have been set up to explain the factors that impact on accumulation and elimination of Cd by mosses. The variables included in the equations were: level of Cd concentration in the water; exposure time; water hardness; the moss species involved, and/or the interactions between these variables. The predictive linear equations for the accumulation and elimination provided explanations for 92% and 71% respectively of the observed variances. The predictive linear equation for accumulation establishes that the length of exposure is the principal parameter responsible for the uptake of Cd by the aquatic mosses. It shows that the accumulation of Cd by the mosses is initially influenced by the level of Cd concentration in the water, but also depends on the length of time over which the bryophytes are exposed to this concentration. Thus, the higher the Cd concentration, the shorter the exposure time for the moss contamination, and vice versa. The second variable is the effect of water hardness taken together with the exposure time. This is a negative variable: the greater the increase in water hardness, the greater the exposure time required to obtain the same degree of moss contamination. This is indicative of the impact of Ca++ and Mg++ on moss uptake. The impact of water hardness is probably the consequence of the availability of or preference of plant-binding sites for Ca++ and Mg++ ions, thus reducing the number of available locations for Cd accumulation. Water hardness and Cd concentration levels are the third variable in this equation and are probably linked to the effect of water hardness on the bioavailability of Cd for the mosses. This variable may also explain why the increase in Cd concentration levels in the water lessens the impact of water hardness on the total accumulation of Cd in the mosses. Finally, the equation identifies a greater level of accumulation in the P. riparoides.Release linear regression shows that the absence of Cd in the water is the major parameter in the elimination of Cd by aquatic mosses. We should remember that the bryophytes are seeking to achieve a steady state condition with their environment, since the Cd is an element that is neither regulated or essential. Its elimination has little to do with water hardness, but is caused by the inversion of a diffusion gradient when the environment is no longer Cd contaminated. During the elimination process, the Ca++ and Mg++ ions have no real impact on the release of Cd by the mosses. The length of prior exposure does affect elimination: the greater it is, the longer the release period required for moss decontamination. Exposure time is less important during elimination than during accumulation. Elimination is a very slow process, and a longer study would probably have shown that this is a major factor in the elimination of moss-accumulated Cd.The present identification of the major factors impacting on the accumulation and elimination of Cd in mosses is extremely important if we are to understand the complex processes that determine the absorption of heavy metals by living organisms. The equations also allow us to better explain the interactions caused by variations in the different parameters with respect to the accumulation and elimination of Cd by aquatic mosses

Changes in Metallothionein Levels in Freshwater Mussels Exposed to Urban Wastewaters: Effects from Exposure to Heavy Metals?

Municipal effluents are complex mixtures of compounds such as heavy metals, aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and micro-organisms and are released in aquatic ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to verify whether changes in metallothioneins (MT) were associated with the accumulation of labile metals in tissue of freshwater mussels exposed to the dispersion plume of a major municipal effluent. Mussels were placed in experimental cages deployed at sites 1.5 km upstream, 8 km downstream and 12 km downstream of the outfall of a major, primary-treated municipal effluent in the St. Lawrence River (Québec, Canada). Mussels were analysed for MT and labile zinc levels in their gonads, gills and digestive glands. Lipogenic enzyme (isocitrate and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) and arachidonic acid cyclooxygenase (COX) activities were also measured in gonad and gill tissues. Although MT was induced in all the tissues examined, the results showed that labile zinc levels were significantly reduced in gill and gonad tissues, with an increase observed only at the 12 km downstream site in the digestive gland. COX activity was readily induced in gills and gonads. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was reduced at both downstream sites, but isocitrate dehydrogenase activity was significantly induced at the farthest (12 km) site. Analysis of covariance revealed that MT levels in gills were more influenced by COX activity than with distance in the dispersion plume and was negatively correlated with labile zinc levels. In conclusion, MT induction was inversely related to the levels of labile zinc but positively so with the inflammation biomarker COX. Hence, the induction of MT in mussels exposed to the municipal effluent of a large city appears to be associated with either inflammatory processes or as compensation for the loss of labile essential metals. We propose that the simple and complimentary parameters of labile zinc and COX evaluations be used to link MT induction with divalent heavy metal exposure in environmental studies dealing with various type of contaminants in such complex contaminant mixture effluents

Carbonic anhydrase, coral calcification and a new model of stable isotope vital effects

The stable isotope compositions of biogenic carbonates have been used for paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic reconstructions for decades, and produced some of the most iconic records in the field. However, we still lack a fully mechanistic understanding of the stable isotope proxies, especially the biological overprint on the environmental signals termed “vital effects”. A ubiquitous feature of stable isotope vital effects in marine calcifying organisms is a strong correlation between δ^(18)O and δ^(13)C in a range of values that are depleted from inorganic calcite/aragonite. Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain this correlation, one based on kinetic isotope effects during CO_2(aq)-HCO_3− inter-conversion, the other based on equilibrium isotope exchange during pH dependent speciation of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool. Neither mechanism explains all the stable isotope features observed in biogenic carbonates. Here we present a fully kinetic model of biomineralization and its isotope effects using deep-sea corals as a test organism. A key component of our model is the consideration of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase in catalyzing the CO2(aq)-HCO_3− inter-conversion reactions in the extracellular calcifying fluid (ECF). We find that the amount of carbonic anhydrase not only modulates the carbonate chemistry of the calcifying fluid, but also helps explain the slope of the δ^(18)O-δ^(13)C correlation. Differences in CA activity in the biomineralization process can possibly explain the observed range of δ^(18)O-δ^(13)C slopes in different calcifying organisms. A mechanistic understanding of stable isotope vital effects with numerical models can help us develop better paleoceanographic tracers

Seawater transport during coral biomineralization

Cation transport during skeletal growth is a key process controlling metal/calcium (Me/Ca) paleoproxy behavior in coral. To characterize this transport, cultured corals were transferred into seawater enriched in the rare earth element Tb^(3+) as well as stable isotopes of calcium, strontium, and barium. Subsequent NanoSIMS ion images of each coral skeleton were used to follow uptake dynamics. These images show a continuous region corresponding to new growth that is homogeneously enriched in each tracer. Isotope ratio profiles across the new growth boundary transition rapidly from natural abundance ratios to a ratio matching the enriched culture solution. The location of this transition is the same for each element, within analytical resolution. The synchronous incorporation of all these cations, including the dissimilar ion terbium, which has no known biological function in coral, suggests that: (1) there is cation exchange between seawater and the calcifying fluid, and (2) these elements are influenced by similar transport mechanisms consistent with direct and rapid seawater transport to the site of calcification. Measured using isotope ratio profiles, seawater transport rates differ from place to place on the growing coral skeleton, with calcifying fluid turnover times from 30 min to 5.7 h. Despite these differences, all the elements measured in this study show the same transport dynamics at each location. Using an analytical geochemical model of biomineralization that includes direct seawater transport we constrain the role of active calcium pumping during calcification and we show that the balance between seawater transport and precipitation can explain observed Me/Ca variability in deep-sea coral

Limits on Lorentz Violation from the Highest Energy Cosmic Rays

We place several new limits on Lorentz violating effects, which can modify particles' dispersion relations, by considering the highest energy cosmic rays observed. Since these are hadrons, this involves considering the partonic content of such cosmic rays. We get a number of bounds on differences in maximum propagation speeds, which are typically bounded at the 10^{-21} level, and on momentum dependent dispersion corrections of the form v = 1 +- p^2/Lambda^2, which typically bound Lambda > 10^{21} GeV, well above the Planck scale. For (CPT violating) dispersion correction of the form v = 1 + p/Lambda, the bounds are up to 15 orders of magnitude beyond the Planck scale.Comment: 24 pages, no figures. Added references, very slight changes. Version published in Physical Review