Orientation of \u3ci\u3eHylobius Pales\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ePachylobius Picivorus\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to Visual Cues

Pitfall traps with above-ground silhouettes of various colors and diameters were used in field tests to evaluate the role of vision in host orientation by adult pales weevils, Hylobius pales, and pitch-eating weevils, Pachylobius picivorus. White traps (11 em outer diameter) baited with ethanol and turpentine caught significantly more weevils than similarly baited black or green traps (11 cm outer diameter). Trap diameter (range of 6-22 cm outer diameter) did not affect trap catch. Pitfall traps can be used to monitor root weevil populations in young pine plantations and Christmas tree farms, where they are major pests. These results demonstrate that visual and chemical cues can be integrated to improve trap efficiency

Jurassic rifting to post-rift subsidence analysis in the Central High Atlas and its relation to salt diapirism

et. al.The subsidence evolution of the Tethyan Moroccan Atlas Basin, presently inverted as the Central High Atlas, is characterized by an Early Jurassic rifting episode, synchronous with salt diapirism of the Triassic evaporite-bearing rocks. Two contrasting regions of the rift basin – with and without salt diapirism – are examined to assess the effect of salt tectonics in the evolution of subsidence patterns and stratigraphy. The Djebel Bou Dahar platform to basin system, located in the southern margin of the Atlas Basin, shows a Lower Jurassic record of normal faulting and lacks any evidence of salt diapirism. In contrast, the Tazoult ridge and adjacent Amezraï basin, located in the centre of the Atlas Basin, reveals spectacular Early Jurassic diapirism. In addition, we analyse alternative Central High Atlas post-Middle Jurassic geohistories based on new thermal and burial models (GENEX® 4.0.3 software), constrained by new vitrinite reflectance data from the Amezraï basin. The comparison of the new subsidence curves from the studied areas with published subsidence curves from the Moroccan Atlas, the Saharan Atlas (Algeria) and Tunisian Atlas show that fast subsidence peaks were diachronous along the strike, being younger towards the east from Early–Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. This analysis also evidences a close relationship between these high subsidence rate episodes and salt diapirism.This study was part of a collaborative research project funded by Statoil Research Centre, Bergen (Norway) and by the CSIC-FSE 2007-2013 JAE-Doc post-doctoral research contract (E.S.). The Spanish Ministry of Education and Science provided additional funding (MEC) through the projects Intramural Especial (CSIC 201330E030) and MITE (CGL 2014-59516). This research was supported by the Grup Consolidat de Recerca “Geologia Sediment aria” de la Generalitat de Catalunya (2014GSR251).Peer reviewedPreprin

Myofibroblast transdifferentiation is associated with changes in cellular and extracellular vesicle miRNA abundance

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), a pro-fibrotic tumour-derived factor promotes fibroblast differentiation in the tumour microenvironment and is thought to contribute to the development of pro-tumourigenic cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) by promoting myofibroblast differentiation. miRNA dysregulation has been demonstrated in myofibroblast transdifferentiation and CAF activation, however, their expression varies among cell types and with the method of fibroblast induction. Here, the expression profile of miRNA in human primary oral fibroblasts treated with TGF-β1, to derive a myofibroblastic, CAF-like phenotype, was determined compared to untreated fibroblasts. Myofibroblast transdifferentiation was determined by the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibronectin-1 extra domain A (FN-EDA1) using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The formation of stress fibres was assessed by fluorescence microscopy, and associated changes in contractility were assessed using collagen contraction assays. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) were purified by using size exclusion chromatography and ultracentrifugation and their size and concentration were determined by nanoparticle tracking analysis. miRNA expression profiling in oral fibroblasts treated with TGF-β1 and their extracellular vesicles was carried out using tiling low-density array cards. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) was used to perform functional and pathway enrichment analysis of target genes. In this study, TGF-β1 induced a myofibroblastic phenotype in normal oral fibroblasts as assessed by expression of molecular markers, the formation of stress fibres and increased contractility. TaqMan Low-Density Array (TLDA) analysis demonstrated that miR-503 and miR-708 were significantly upregulated, while miR-1276 was significantly downregulated in TGF-β1-treated oral fibroblasts (henceforth termed experimentally-derived CAF, eCAF). The gene functional enrichment analysis showed that the candidate miRNAs have the potential to modulate various pathways; including the Ras associated protein 1 (Rap1), PI3K-Akt, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) signalling pathways. In addition, altered levels of several miRNAs were detected in eCAF EV, including miR-142 and miR-222. No differences in size or abundance of EV were detected between eCAF and normal oral fibroblast (NOF). Little overlap was observed between changes in cellular and EV miRNA profiles, suggesting the possibility of selective loading of EV miRNA. The study reveals miRNA expression signature could be involved in myofibroblast transdifferentiation and the miRNA cargo of their EV, providing novel insight into the involvement of miRNA in CAF development and function

Diapiric growth within an Early Jurassic rift basin: The Tazoult salt wall (central High Atlas, Morocco)

The central High Atlas (Morocco) constitutes a diapiric province that hosts a complex array of elongated diapirs and minibasins that formed during the Lower Jurassic rift of the Atlas Basin. This paper aims to study the structure and growth evolution of the Tazoult diapiric wall, located in the central High Atlas, by means of structural and sedimentological fieldwork integrated with remote sensing mapping. The Tazoult salt wall is a 20km long×3km wide NE-SW trending ridge that exposes Upper Triassic red beds and basalts along its core. The succession flanking the salt wall ranges from Hettangian to Bajocian ages displaying spectacular sedimentary wedges in the SE and NW flanks. The Hettangian-early Sinemurian carbonates mainly crop out as blocks embedded in the core rocks. The ~1km thick Pliensbachian platform carbonates display large subvertical flap structures along the flanks of the Tazoult salt wall with unconformities bounding tapered composite halokinetic sequences. In contrast, the ~2.5km thick late Pliensbachian-Aalenian mixed deposits form tabular composite halokinetic sequences displaying small-scale hook halokinetic sequences. Passive diapirism resulted in the lateral extrusion of the evaporite-bearing rocks to form an allochthonous salt sheet toward the adjacent SE Amezraï minibasin. The Bajocian platform carbonates partially fossilized the Tazoult salt wall and thus constitute a key horizon to constrain the timing of diapir growth and discriminate diapirism from Alpine shortening. The Pliensbachian carbonate platform evolved as a long flap structure during the early growth of the Tazoult salt wall, well before the onset of the Alpine shortening. © 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.Additional funding was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) through the projects Intramural Especial (CSIC 201330E030) and 201530E082), Atiza (CGL2009-1355), Tecla (CGL2011-26670), and the postdoctoral research contract to E.S. (CSIC-FSE 2007-2013 JAE-Doc), as well as by the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014GSR251).Peer reviewe

Fault & Fracture Development in Foreland Fold and Thrust Belts - Insight from the Lurestan Province, Zagros Mountains, Iran

Second Arabian Plate Geology Workshop Abu Dhabi, UAE, 24 - 27 January 2010The Simply Folded Belt of the Zagros Mountains, Iran, represents one of the best examples of foreland fold and thrust belt. A regional fault and fracture analysis of the Cenomanian ¿ Coniacian Ilam and Sarvak formations, exposed in southern Lurestan Province, is presented as a case study for fault and fracture development in folded belts. The area is characterised by the occurrence of gentle to tight anticlines and synclines whose NW-SE axial traces are parallel to the general trend of the belt. Fold style is intimately related to both vertical and lateral facies distribution. The two formations belong to the Bangestan Group and, in this area, they represent the oldest strata exposed in the core of most anticlines outcropping at surface. Distribution, kinematics and timing of faults and fractures have been characterised through extensive fieldwork and interpretation of orthorectified QuickBird imagery and 3-D virtual outcrop models based on LiDAR technology. Data have been collected from 10 anticlines covering an area of approximately 150 x 150 km. Key outcrops for fracture and fault kinematics interpretations are presented. Field observations and interpretation of QuickBird and 3-D photorealistic models suggest a complex fault and fracture geometry and timing relationship. Both fractures and faults record pre-folding to uplift-related deformations. Pre-folding structures are typically represented by small-scale, flat-ramp-flat geometry thrusts, systematic veins and stylolites, which are superimposed on inherited syn-sedimentary normal faults. Folding-related structures generally reactivated pre-existing fracture and fault planes. Strike-slip faulting is typically recorded as the last faulting event and is probably related to late stage of fold tightening. All structures are geometrically and kinematically consistent with the trend of the Arabian passive margin and its subsequent tectonic inversion. Uplift and stress release induced opening and propagation of through-going fractures. Faults and fracture orientations generally change accordingly with local fold trend. Symmetry between fracture and fold orientation, although commonly interpreted as evidence for folding-related fracture development, is here interpreted as evidence of syn- to post-folding local vertical axis passive rotation

The glassy response of solid He-4 to torsional oscillations

We calculated the glassy response of solid He-4 to torsional oscillations assuming a phenomenological glass model. Making only a few assumptions about the distribution of glassy relaxation times in a small subsystem of otherwise rigid solid He-4, we can account for the magnitude of the observed period shift and concomitant dissipation peak in several torsion oscillator experiments. The implications of the glass model for solid He-4 are threefold: (1) The dynamics of solid He-4 is governed by glassy relaxation processes. (2) The distribution of relaxation times varies significantly between different torsion oscillator experiments. (3) The mechanical response of a torsion oscillator does not require a supersolid component to account for the observed anomaly at low temperatures, though we cannot rule out its existence.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, presented at QFS200

Defects and glassy dynamics in solid He-4: Perspectives and current status

We review the anomalous behavior of solid He-4 at low temperatures with particular attention to the role of structural defects present in solid. The discussion centers around the possible role of two level systems and structural glassy components for inducing the observed anomalies. We propose that the origin of glassy behavior is due to the dynamics of defects like dislocations formed in He-4. Within the developed framework of glassy components in a solid, we give a summary of the results and predictions for the effects that cover the mechanical, thermodynamic, viscoelastic, and electro-elastic contributions of the glassy response of solid He-4. Our proposed glass model for solid He-4 has several implications: (1) The anomalous properties of He-4 can be accounted for by allowing defects to freeze out at lowest temperatures. The dynamics of solid He-4 is governed by glasslike (glassy) relaxation processes and the distribution of relaxation times varies significantly between different torsional oscillator, shear modulus, and dielectric function experiments. (2) Any defect freeze-out will be accompanied by thermodynamic signatures consistent with entropy contributions from defects. It follows that such entropy contribution is much smaller than the required superfluid fraction, yet it is sufficient to account for excess entropy at lowest temperatures. (3) We predict a Cole-Cole type relation between the real and imaginary part of the response functions for rotational and planar shear that is occurring due to the dynamics of defects. Similar results apply for other response functions. (4) Using the framework of glassy dynamics, we predict low-frequency yet to be measured electro-elastic features in defect rich He-4 crystals. These predictions allow one to directly test the ideas and very presence of glassy contributions in He-4.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figure

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe