Zur Altersstellung der Torfe und Gyttjen von Herxheim, Jockgrim und Rheinzabern in der Vorderpfalz

Die in den Tongruben Herxheim, Jockgrim und Rheinzabern vorkommenden Torfe und Gyttjen wurden pollenanalytisch untersucht, um dem immer noch nicht geklärten Datierungsproblem der dort angeschnittenen Pleistozänserien näher zu kommen. Für die Ablagerung der Herxheimer Torfe ergab sich eine subarktische Klimaphase, die den Beginn oder das Ende einer Warmzeit, aber auch ein Interstadial während einer Kaltzeit bezeichnen kann. Die nähere Zuordnung zu einem bestimmten Interglazial bzw. Glazial ist nach den pollenanalytischen Ergebnissen allein jedoch nicht möglich. Die Torfe und Gyttjen der nur wenige Kilometer voneinander entfernt liegenden Tongruben Jockgrim und Rheinzabern sind gleichaltrig. Die spurenweise in ihnen enthaltenen tertiären Gattungen Tsuga, Castanea, Pterocarya und Carya sowie auch Fagus sprechen für ein frühpleistozänes Alter der Torfe. Da aus dem süddeutschen Raum bisher noch keine vollständigen Pollendiagramme aus dem Altpleistozän vorliegen, ist die sichere stratigraphische Einordnung der Jockgrimer und Rheinzaberner Torfe vorläufig nicht möglich.researc

Verlandete Altwässer auf der Niederterrasse bei Köln?: Die Entstehung des Linder Bruchs aufgrund einer Pollen- und Großrestanalyse

Das auf der rechten Niederterrasse des Rheins südlich Wahn gelegene Linder Bruch wurde pollenanalytisch untersucht und als Ergänzung eine Analyse der Makroflora durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die organischen Ablagerungen erst an der Pollengrenze X/XI (nach Overbeck & Schneider) beginnen, und daß sie nicht aus einem Altwasser hervorgegangen sind. Das Linder Bruch entstand vielmehr durch die sekundäre Versumpfung einer ausgetrockneten Flußrinne, die wahrscheinlich dem Rheinsystem angehört. Die zur Versumpfung notwendigen Wassermassen lieferte die unmittelbar benachbarte Mittelterrasse. Ungeklärt bleibt zunächst noch die Frage nach der unterschiedlichen Wasserzufuhr in das Linder Bruch. Hier könnten Beziehungen zu einer wechselnden Bewaldung in Verbindung mit der Besiedlung der Mittelterrasse bestehen. Auch die Ursachen der Verhinderung einer früheren Versumpfung bedürfen noch der Feststellung. Es wird die Vermutung ausgesprochen, daß das Merheimer Bruch bei Köln, das ähnlich wie das Linder Bruch in einer ehemaligen Flußrinne auf der rechten Niederterrasse des Rheins liegt, ebenfalls durch eine sekundäre Versumpfung entstanden ist.researc

Microplastic appraisal of soil, water, ditch sediment and airborne dust: the case of agricultural systems

Although microplastic pollution jeopardizes both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the movement of plastic particles through terrestrial environments is still poorly understood. Agricultural soils exposed to different managements are important sites of storage and dispersal of microplastics. This study aimed to identify the abundance, distribution, and type of microplastics present in agricultural soils, water, airborne dust, and ditch sediments. Soil health was also assessed using soil macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity. Sixteen fields were evaluated, 6 of which had been exposed to more than 5 years of compost application, 5 were exposed to at least 5 years of plastic mulch use, and 5 were not exposed to any specific management (controls) within the last 5 years. We also evaluated the spread of microplastics from the farms into nearby water bodies and airborne dust. We found 11 types of microplastics in soil, among which Light Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Light Density Polyethylene covered with pro-oxidant additives (PAC) were the most abundant. The highest concentrations of plastics were found in soils exposed to plastic mulch management (128.7 ± 320 MPs.g-1 soil and 224.84 ± 488 MPs.g-1 soil, respectively) and the particles measured from 50 to 150 μm. Nine types of microplastics were found in water, with the highest concentrations observed in systems exposed to compost. Farms applying compost had higher LDPE and PAC concentrations in ditch sediments as compared to control and mulch systems; a significant correlation between soil polypropylene (PP) microplastics with ditch sediment microplastics (r2 0.7 p < 0.05) was found. LDPE, PAC, PE (Polyethylene), and PP were the most abundant microplastics in airborne dust. Soil invertebrates were scarce in the systems using plastic mulch. A cocktail of microplastics was found in all assessed matrices

Numeracy and COVID-19: Examining interrelationships between numeracy, health numeracy and behaviour

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the globe have been exposed to large amounts of statistical data. Previous studies have shown that individuals mathematical understanding of health-related information affects their attitudes and behaviours. Here, we investigate the relation between (i) basic numeracy, (ii) COVID-19 health numeracy, and (iii) COVID-19 health-related attitudes and behaviours. An online survey measuring these three variables was distributed in Canada, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 2032). In line with predictions, basic numeracy was positively related to COVID-19 health numeracy. However, predictions, neither basic numeracy nor COVID-19 health numeracy was related to COVID-19 healthrelated attitudes and behaviours (e.g. follow experts recommendations on social distancing, wearing masks etc.). Multi-group analysis was used to investigate mean differences and differences in the strength of the correlation across countries. Results indicate there were no between-country differences in the correlations between the main constructs but there were between-country differences in latent means. Overall, results suggest that while basic numeracy is related to one s understanding of data about COVID-19, better numeracy alone is not enough to influence a population s health-related attitudes about disease severity and to increase the likelihood of following public health advice

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Endpoints in pediatric pain studies

Assessing pain intensity in (preverbal) children is more difficult than in adults. Tools to measure pain are being used as primary endpoints [e.g., pain intensity, time to first (rescue) analgesia, total analgesic consumption, adverse effects, and long-term effects] in studies on the effects of analgesic drugs. Here, we review current and promising new endpoints used in pediatric pain assessment studies

The Novel Candida albicans Transporter Dur31 Is a Multi-Stage Pathogenicity Factor

Candida albicans is the most frequent cause of oral fungal infections. However, the exact pathogenicity mechanisms that this fungus employs are largely unknown and many of the genes expressed during oral infection are uncharacterized. In this study we sought to functionally characterize 12 previously unknown function genes associated with oral candidiasis. We generated homozygous knockout mutants for all 12 genes and analyzed their interaction with human oral epithelium in vitro. Eleven mutants caused significantly less epithelial damage and, of these, deletion of orf19.6656 (DUR31) elicited the strongest reduction in pathogenicity. Interestingly, DUR31 was not only involved in oral epithelial damage, but in multiple stages of candidiasis, including surviving attack by human neutrophils, endothelial damage and virulence in vivo. In silico analysis indicated that DUR31 encodes a sodium/substrate symporter with 13 transmembrane domains and no human homologue. We provide evidence that Dur31 transports histatin 5. This is one of the very first examples of microbial driven import of this highly cytotoxic antimicrobial peptide. Also, in contrast to wild type C. albicans, dur31Δ/Δ was unable to actively increase local environmental pH, suggesting that Dur31 lies in the extracellular alkalinization hyphal auto-induction pathway; and, indeed, DUR31 was required for morphogenesis. In agreement with this observation, dur31Δ/Δ was unable to assimilate the polyamine spermidine

Pathogenetics of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins.

Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV) is a lethal lung developmental disorder caused by heterozygous point mutations or genomic deletion copy-number variants (CNVs) of FOXF1 or its upstream enhancer involving fetal lung-expressed long noncoding RNA genes LINC01081 and LINC01082. Using custom-designed array comparative genomic hybridization, Sanger sequencing, whole exome sequencing (WES), and bioinformatic analyses, we studied 22 new unrelated families (20 postnatal and two prenatal) with clinically diagnosed ACDMPV. We describe novel deletion CNVs at the FOXF1 locus in 13 unrelated ACDMPV patients. Together with the previously reported cases, all 31 genomic deletions in 16q24.1, pathogenic for ACDMPV, for which parental origin was determined, arose de novo with 30 of them occurring on the maternally inherited chromosome 16, strongly implicating genomic imprinting of the FOXF1 locus in human lungs. Surprisingly, we have also identified four ACDMPV families with the pathogenic variants in the FOXF1 locus that arose on paternal chromosome 16. Interestingly, a combination of the severe cardiac defects, including hypoplastic left heart, and single umbilical artery were observed only in children with deletion CNVs involving FOXF1 and its upstream enhancer. Our data demonstrate that genomic imprinting at 16q24.1 plays an important role in variable ACDMPV manifestation likely through long-range regulation of FOXF1 expression, and may be also responsible for key phenotypic features of maternal uniparental disomy 16. Moreover, in one family, WES revealed a de novo missense variant in ESRP1, potentially implicating FGF signaling in the etiology of ACDMPV