Main Features of Sedimentogenesis and Ecogenesis in Late Paleozoic Sea Pools of Northeast Asia

The main characteristics of the Late Paleozoic sediments and ecogenesis in the Late Paleozoic basins of Northeast Asia are considered. The authigenic bacterial nature of carbonate bodies, previously considered as detrital, was revealed. The assumption about the lithotrophic nature of the Late Paleozoic ecosystems of the region is substantiated, the basis of the trophic chains of which are prokaryotes. As it turned out, a feature of the Late Paleozoic benthic biota is associated not with climatic factors but with the trophic nature of the communities. Similar types of paleoecosystems in the same age layers of Gondwana are indicated

Exposure to Parathion Effect on General Population and Asthmatics

There has been much lay and medical concern regarding toxic effects of insecticides on the general population. In addition to direct toxic effects, it is suspected that insecticidal application has deleterious physical effects on persons with respiratory diseases. To evaluate some of these problems, the authors have attempted to quantitate actual absorption, symptoms, and laboratory evidence of intoxication in persons with varying degrees of exposure to parathion. By means of controlled observations, the respiratory effect of application of this compound on persons with bronchial asthma was also measured. The results suggest that the effect of this chemical on the general population is negligible

New records of the Late Carboniferous ammonoid genus Eoshumardites in the Kolyma–Omolon Region, and notes on the evolution of Eoshumarditidae

© 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.A new species, Eoshumardites popowi Kutygin sp. nov., is described from the Upper Carboniferous of the upper reaches of the Paren’ River in the Gizhiga Province of the Kolyma–Omolon Region. The ontogeny of the sutural and shell morphology of the new species is described. In the level of sutural organization, E. popowi occupies an intermediate position between E. lenensis (Popow) and E. sublenensis Klets. It has been suggested that Eoshumardites evolved from the genus Syngastrioceras rather than Aktubites and, on this basis, a new monotypic endemic family, Eoshumarditidae, has been proposed. This family existed in the Kasimovian synchronously with members of the family Parashumarditidae

Deleterious variants in TRAK1 disrupt mitochondrial movement and cause fatal encephalopathy

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this record.The corrigendum to this article is in ORE: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/33588Cellular distribution and dynamics of mitochondria are regulated by several motor proteins and a microtubule network. In neurons, mitochondrial trafficking is crucial because of high energy needs and calcium ion buffering along axons to synapses during neurotransmission. The trafficking kinesin proteins (TRAKs) are well characterized for their role in lysosomal and mitochondrial trafficking in cells, especially neurons. Using whole exome sequencing, we identified homozygous truncating variants in TRAK1 (NM_001042646:c.287-2A > C), in six lethal encephalopathic patients from three unrelated families. The pathogenic variant results in aberrant splicing and significantly reduced gene expression at the RNA and protein levels. In comparison with normal cells, TRAK1-deficient fibroblasts showed irregular mitochondrial distribution, altered mitochondrial motility, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, and diminished mitochondrial respiration. This study confirms the role of TRAK1 in mitochondrial dynamics and constitutes the first report of this gene in association with a severe neurodevelopmental disorder.D.M.E. and J.K. are supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Grant N000141410538. M.S. is supported by the BBSRC (BB/K006231/1), a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Award (WT097835MF, WT105618MA), and a Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) action PerFuMe (316723). M.C.V.M., J.S., H.P., C.F., T.V. and W.A.G. are supported by the NGHRI Intramural Research Program. G.R. is supported by the Kahn Family Foundation and the Israeli Centers of Excellence (I-CORE) Program (ISF grant no. 41/11)

Deleterious variants in TRAK1 disrupt mitochondrial movement and cause fatal encephalopathy

Cellular distribution and dynamics of mitochondria are regulated by several motor proteins and a microtubule network. In neurons, mitochondrial trafficking is crucial because of high energy needs and calcium ion buffering along axons to synapses during neurotransmission. The trafficking kinesin proteins (TRAKs) are well characterized for their role in lysosomal and mitochondrial trafficking in cells, especially neurons. Using whole exome sequencing, we identified homozygous truncating variants in TRAK1 (NM_001042646:c.287-2A > C), in six lethal encephalopathic patients from three unrelated families. The pathogenic variant results in aberrant splicing and significantly reduced gene expression at the RNA and protein levels. In comparison with normal cells, TRAK1-deficient fibroblasts showed irregular mitochondrial distribution, altered mitochondrial motility, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, and diminished mitochondrial respiration. This study confirms the role of TRAK1 in mitochondrial dynamics and constitutes the first report of this gene in association with a severe neurodevelopmental disorder

Differences in online course usage and IP geolocation bias by local economic profile

This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2019Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 82-86).Although Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have the promise to make rigorous higher education accessible to everyone, prior research has shown that registrants tend to come from backgrounds of higher socioeconomic status. In this work, I study geographically granular economic patterns in registration for HarvardX and MITx courses, and in the accuracy of identifying users' locations from their IP addresses. Using ZIP Codes identified by the MaxMind IP geolocation database, I find that per-capita registration rates correlate with economic prosperity and population density. Comparing these ZIP Codes with user-provided mailing addresses, I find evidence of bias in MaxMind geolocation: it makes greater errors, both geographically and economically, for users from more economically distressed areas; it disproportionately geolocates users to prosperous areas; and it underestimates the regressive pattern in MOOC registration. Similar economic biases may affect IP geolocation in other academic, commercial, and legal contexts.by Daniela Ida Ganelin.M. Eng.M.Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Scienc