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The maintenance of standing genetic variation: Gene flow vs. selective neutrality in Atlantic stickleback fish

Adaptation to derived habitats often occurs from standing genetic variation. The maintenance within ancestral populations of genetic variants favourable in derived habitats is commonly ascribed to long-term antagonism between purifying selection and gene flow resulting from hybridization across habitats. A largely unexplored alternative idea based on quantitative genetic models of polygenic adaptation is that variants favoured in derived habitats are neutral in ancestral populations when their frequency is relatively low. To explore the latter, we first identify genetic variants important to the adaptation of threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to a rare derived habitat-nutrient-depleted acidic lakes-based on whole-genome sequence data. Sequencing marine stickleback from six locations across the Atlantic Ocean then allows us to infer that the frequency of these derived variants in the ancestral habitat is unrelated to the likely opportunity for gene flow of these variants from acidic-adapted populations. This result is consistent with the selective neutrality of derived variants within the ancestor. Our study thus supports an underappreciated explanation for the maintenance of standing genetic variation, and calls for a better understanding of the fitness consequences of adaptive variation across habitats and genomic backgrounds

Sequential localization of a complex electron fluid

Complex and correlated quantum systems with promise for new functionality often involve entwined electronic degrees of freedom. In such materials, highly unusual properties emerge and could be the result of electron localization. Here, a cubic heavy fermion metal governed by spins and orbitals is chosen as a model system for this physics. Its properties are found to originate from surprisingly simple low-energy behavior, with two distinct localization transitions driven by a single degree of freedom at a time. This result is unexpected, but we are able to understand it by advancing the notion of sequential destruction of an SU(4) spin-orbital-coupled Kondo entanglement. Our results implicate electron localization as a unified framework for strongly correlated materials and suggest ways to exploit multiple degrees of freedom for quantum engineering.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures (preprint format

Comparison of ammonia emissions related to nitrogen use efficiency of livestock production in Europe

The increasing global demand for food and the environmental effects of reactive nitrogen losses in the food production chain, increase the need for efficient use of nitrogen (N). Of N harvested in agricultural plant products, 80% is used to feed livestock. Because the largest atmospheric loss of reactive nitrogen from livestock production systems is ammonia (NH3), the focus of this paper is on N lost as NH3 during the production of animal protein. The focus of this paper is to understand the key factors explaining differences in Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) of animal production among various European countries. Therefore we developed a conceptual framework to describe the NUE defined as the amount of animal-protein N per N in feed and NH3–N losses in the production of milk, beef, pork, chicken meat and eggs in The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Denmark. The framework describes how manure management and animal-related parameters (feed, metabolism) relate to NH3 emissions and NUE. The results showed that the animal product with the lowest NUE had the largest NH3 emissions and vice versa, which agrees with the reciprocal relationship between NUE and NH3 within the conceptual framework. Across animal products for the countries considered, about 20% of the N in feed is lost as NH3. The significant smallest proportion (12%) of NH3–N per unit of Nfeed is from chicken production. The proportions for other products are 17%, 19%, 20% and 22% for milk, pork, eggs and beef respectively. These differences were not significantly different due to the differences among countries. For all countries, NUE was lowest for beef and highest for chicken. The production of 1 kg N in beef required about 5 kg N in feed, of which 1 kg N was lost as NH3–N. For the production of 1 kg N in chicken meat, 2 kg N in feed was required and 0.2 kg was lost as NH3. The production of 1 kg N in milk required 4 kg N in feed with 0.6 kg NH3–N loss, the same as pork and eggs, but those needed 3 and 3.5 kg N in feed per kg N in product respectively. Except for beef, the differences among these European countries were mainly caused by differences in manure management practices and their emission factors, rather than by animal-related factors including feed and digestibility influencing the excreted amount of ammoniacal N (TAN). For beef, both aspects caused important differences. Based on the results, we encourage the expression of N losses as per N in feed or per N in product, in addition to per animal place, when comparing production efficiency and NUE. We consider that disaggregating emission factors into a diet/animal effect and a manure management effect would improve the basis for comparing national NH3 emission inventories. © 2018 The Author

Does the Constitution Provide More Ballot Access Protection for Presidential Elections Than for U.S. House Elections?

Both the U.S. Constitution and The Federalist Papers suggest that voters ought to have more freedom to vote for the candidate of their choice for the U.S. House of Representatives than they do for the President or the U.S. Senate. Yet, strangely, for the last thirty-three years, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have ruled that the Constitution gives voters more freedom to vote for the candidate of their choice in presidential elections than in congressional elections. Also, state legislatures, which have been writing ballot access laws since 1888, have passed laws that make it easier for minor-party and independent candidates to get on the ballot for President than for the U.S. House. As a result, voters in virtually every state invariably have far more choices on their general election ballots for the President than they do for the House. This Article argues that the right of a voter to vote for someone other than a Democrat or a Republican for the House is just as important as a voter’s right to do so for President, and that courts should grant more ballot access protection to minor-party and independent candidates for the House

Determination of the atmospheric lifetime and global warming potential of sulfur hexafluoride using a three-dimensional model

We have used the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), with an updated treatment of loss processes, to determine the atmospheric lifetime of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The model includes the following SF6 removal processes: photolysis, electron attachment and reaction with mesospheric metal atoms. The Sodankylä Ion Chemistry (SIC) model is incorporated into the standard version of WACCM to produce a new version with a detailed D region ion chemistry with cluster ions and negative ions. This is used to determine a latitude- and altitude-dependent scaling factor for the electron density in the standard WACCM in order to carry out multi-year SF6 simulations. The model gives a mean SF6 lifetime over an 11-year solar cycle (τ) of 1278 years (with a range from 1120 to 1475 years), which is much shorter than the currently widely used value of 3200 years, due to the larger contribution (97.4 %) of the modelled electron density to the total atmospheric loss. The loss of SF6 by reaction with mesospheric metal atoms (Na and K) is far too slow to affect the lifetime. We investigate how this shorter atmospheric lifetime impacts the use of SF6 to derive stratospheric age of air. The age of air derived from this shorter lifetime SF6 tracer is longer by 9 % in polar latitudes at 20 km compared to a passive SF6 tracer. We also present laboratory measurements of the infrared spectrum of SF6 and find good agreement with previous studies. We calculate the resulting radiative forcings and efficiencies to be, on average, very similar to those reported previously. Our values for the 20-, 100- and 500-year global warming potentials are 18 000, 23 800 and 31 300, respectively

Fusion of Bacterial Flagellin to a Dendritic Cell-Targeting αCD40 Antibody Construct Coupled With Viral or Leukemia-Specific Antigens Enhances Dendritic Cell Maturation and Activates Peptide-Responsive T Cells

Conventional dendritic cell (DC) vaccine strategies, in which DCs are loaded with antigens ex vivo, suffer biological issues such as impaired DC migration capacity and laborious GMP production procedures. In a promising alternative, antigens are targeted to DC-associated endocytic receptors in vivo with antibody–antigen conjugates co-administered with toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists as adjuvants. To combine the potential advantages of in vivo targeting of DCs with those of conjugated TLR agonists, we generated a multifunctional antibody construct integrating the DC-specific delivery of viral- or tumor-associated antigens and DC activation by TLR ligation in one molecule. We validated its functionality in vitro and determined if TLR ligation might improve the efficacy of such a molecule. In proof-of-principle studies, an αCD40 antibody containing a CMV pp65-derived peptide as an antigen domain (αCD40CMV) was genetically fused to the TLR5-binding D0/D1 domain of bacterial flagellin (αCD40.FlgCMV). The analysis of surface maturation markers on immature DCs revealed that fusion of flagellin to αCD40CMV highly increased DC maturation (3.4-fold elevation of CD80 expression compared to αCD40CMV alone) by specifically interacting with TLR5. Immature DCs loaded with αCD40.FlgCMV induced significantly higher CMVNLV-specific T cell activation and proliferation compared to αCD40CMV in co-culture experiments with allogeneic and autologous T cells (1.8-fold increase in % IFN-γ/TNF-α+ CD8+ T cells and 3.9-fold increase in % CMVNLV-specific dextramer+ CD8+ T cells). More importantly, we confirmed the beneficial effects of flagellin-dependent DC stimulation using a tumor-specific neoantigen as the antigen domain. Specifically, the acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-specific mutated NPM1 (mNPM1)-derived neoantigen CLAVEEVSL was delivered to DCs in the form of αCD40mNPM1 and αCD40.FlgmNPM1 antibody constructs, making this study the first to investigate mNPM1 in a DC vaccination context. Again, αCD40.FlgmNPM1-loaded DCs more potently activated allogeneic mNPM1CLA-specific T cells compared to αCD40mNPM1. These in vitro results confirmed the functionality of our multifunctional antibody construct and demonstrated that TLR5 ligation improved the efficacy of the molecule. Future mouse studies are required to examine the T cell-activating potential of αCD40.FlgmNPM1 after targeting of dendritic cells in vivo using AML xenograft models

Situación del arruí —«Ammotragus lervia» (Pallas, 1777)— en la sierra de Mariola (SE español) : distribución y aspectos ecológicos

El principal objetivo de esta investigación es conocer aspectos ecológicos y distribución del arruí — Ammotragus lervia (Pallas, 1777)— dentro de la sierra de Mariola. El área de estudio es un parque natural de 17.500 hectáreas situado en el sur de la Comunidad Valenciana. Un mejor conocimiento de su distribución será de interés para la definición de medidas de gestión de fauna del parque. En 2009, utilizando técnicas de trampeo fotográfico, se recopilaron 29.941 imágenes con algún contacto animal. De estas imágenes, el 0,09% de las fotografías registradas son de arruí y se ha detectado su presencia en 7 de las 63 cuadrículas (2 × 2 km) del Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola (el 11,11%). El periodo de muestreo se prolongó desde agosto de 2008 hasta mayo de 2010. Este estudio ha permitido integrar la información recopilada en campo con las bases de datos existentes para confirmar la colonización y la expansión del arruí en la sierra de Mariola.The main objective of this research was to determine the ecological aspects and distribution of Ammotragus lervia (Pallas, 1777) in the Sierra de Mariola. The study area is a natural park with 17,500 hectares located in the southern region of Valencia. Better knowledge of their distribution will aid in defining management measures in the natural park. In 2009, camera traps were used to collect 29,941 images of animal contact. A total of 0.09% of these registered photographs are of Barbary sheep, whose presence was detected in 7 of the 63 grids (2 × 2 km) of Sierra de Mariola (11.11%). Sampling was performed from August 2008 to May 2010. The study has allowed us to integrate the information collected in the field with existing databases and confirm the colonization and expansion of Barbary sheep in the Sierra de Mariola.L'objectiu principal d'aquesta recerca és conèixer els aspectes ecològics i la distribució de l'arruí — Ammotragus lervia (Pallas, 1777)— dins la serra de Mariola. L'àrea d'estudi és un parc natural de 17.500 hectàrees situat al sud de la Comunitat Valenciana. Un millor coneixement de la seva distribució serà d'interès per a la definició de mesures de gestió de fauna del parc. El 2009, utilitzant tècniques de parany fotogràfic, es van recopilar 29.941 imatges amb algun contacte animal. D'aquestes imatges, el 0,09% de les fotografies registrades són d'arruí i se n'ha detectat la presència en 7 de las 63 quadrícules (2 × 2 km) del Parc Natural de la Serra de Mariola (l'11,11%). El període de mostreig es va prolongar des de l'agost de 2008 fins al maig de 2010. Aquest estudi ha permès integrar la informació recopilada al camp amb les bases de dades existents per confirmar la colonització i l'expansió de l'arruí a la serra de Mariola

Comparison of ammonia emissions related to nitrogen use efficiency of livestock production in Europe

The increasing global demand for food and the environmental effects of reactive nitrogen losses in the food production chain, increase the need for efficient use of nitrogen (N). Of N harvested in agricultural plant products, 80% is used to feed livestock. Because the largest atmospheric loss of reactive nitrogen from livestock production systems is ammonia (NH3), the focus of this paper is on N lost as NH3 during the production of animal protein. The focus of this paper is to understand the key factors explaining differences in Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) of animal production among various European countries. Therefore we developed a conceptual framework to describe the NUE defined as the amount of animal-protein N per N in feed and NH3-N losses in the production of milk, beef, pork, chicken meat and eggs in The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Denmark. The framework describes how manure management and animal-related parameters (feed, metabolism) relate to NH3 emissions and NUE. The results showed that the animal product with the lowest NUE had the largest NH3 emissions and vice versa, which agrees with the reciprocal relationship between NUE and NH3 within the conceptual framework. Across animal products for the countries considered, about 20% of the N in feed is lost as NH3. The significant smallest proportion (12%) of NH3-N per unit of Nfeed is from chicken production. The proportions for other products are 17%, 19%, 20% and 22% for milk, pork, eggs and beef respectively. These differences were not significantly different due to the differences among countries. For all countries, NUE was lowest for beef and highest for chicken. The production of 1 kg N in beef required about 5 kg N in feed, of which 1 kg N was lost as NH3-N. For the production of 1 kg N in chicken meat, 2 kg N in feed was required and 0.2 kg was lost as NH3. The production of 1 kg N in milk required 4 kg N in feed with 0.6 kg NH3-N loss, the same as pork and eggs, but those needed 3 and 3.5 kg N in feed per kg N in product respectively. Except for beef, the differences among these European countries were mainly caused by differences in manure management practices and their emission factors, rather than by animal-related factors including feed and digestibility influencing the excreted amount of ammoniacal N (TAN). For beef, both aspects caused important differences. Based on the results, we encourage the expression of N losses as per N in feed or per N in product, in addition to per animal place, when comparing production efficiency and NUE. We consider that disaggregating emission factors into a diet/animal effect and a manure management effect would improve the basis for comparing national NH3 emission inventories

MIPAS IMK/IAA CFC-11 (CCl₃F) and CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂) measurements: accuracy, precision and long-term stability

Profiles of CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2) of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) abord the European satellite Envisat have been retrieved from versions MIPAS/4.61–MIPAS/4.62 and MIPAS/5.02–MIPAS/5.06 level-1b data using the scientific level-2 processor run by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA). These profiles have been compared to measurements taken by the balloon borne Cryosampler, Mark IV (MkIV) and MIPAS-Balloon (MIPAS-B), the airborne MIPAS stratospheric aircraft (MIPAS-STR), the satellite borne Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and the High Resolution Dynamic Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) as well as the ground based Halocarbon and other Atmospheric Trace Species (HATS) network for the reduced spectral resolution period (RR: January 2005–April 2012) of MIPAS Envisat. ACE-FTS, MkIV and HATS also provide measurements during the high spectral resolution period (FR: July 2002–March 2004) and were used to validate MIPAS Envisat CFC-11 and CFC-12 products during that time, as well as ILAS-II profiles. In general, we find that MIPAS Envisat shows slightly higher values for CFC-11 at the lower end of the profiles (below ~ 15 km) and in a comparison of HATS ground-based data and MIPAS Envisat measurements at 3 km below the tropopause. Differences range from approximately 10–50 pptv (~ 5–20 %) during the RR period. In general, differences are slightly smaller for the FR period. An indication of a slight high-bias at the lower end of the profile exists for CFC-12 as well, but this bias is far less pronounced than for CFC-11, so that differences at the lower end of the profile (below ~ 15 km) and in the comparison of HATS and MIPAS Envisat measurements taken at 3 km below the tropopause mainly stay within 10–50 pptv (~ 2–10 %) for the RR and the FR period. Above approximately 15 km, most comparisons are close to excellent, apart from ILAS-II, which shows large differences above ~ 17 km. Overall, percentage differences are usually smaller for CFC-12 than for CFC-11. For both species – CFC-11 and CFC-12 – we find that differences at the lower end of the profile tend to be larger at higher latitudes than in tropical and subtropical regions. In addition, MIPAS Envisat profiles have a maximum in the mixing ratio around the tropopause, which is most obvious in tropical mean profiles. Estimated measurement noise alone can, in most cases, not explain the standard deviation of the differences. This is attributed to error components not considered in the error estimate and also to natural variability which always plays a role when the compared instruments do not measure exactly the same air mass. Investigations concerning the temporal stability show very small negative drifts in MIPAS Envisat CFC-11 measurements. These drifts vary between ~ 1–3 % decade−1. For CFC-12, the drifts are also negative and close to zero up to ~ 30 km. Above that altitude larger drifts of up to ~ 50 % decade−1 appear which are negative up to ~ 35 km and positive, but of a similar magnitude, above