Astrometric observations of Phobos and Deimos during the 1971 opposition of Mars

Accurate positional measurements of planets and satellites are used to improve our knowledge of their dynamics and to infer the accuracy of planet and satellite ephemerides. In the framework of the FP7 ESPaCE project, we provide the positions of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos taken with the U.S. Naval Observatory 26-inch refractor during the 1971 opposition of the planet. These plates were measured with the digitizer of the Royal Observatory of Belgium and reduced through an optimal process that includes image, instrumental, and spherical corrections to provide the most accurate data. We compared the observed positions of the planet Mars and its satellites with the theoretical positions from INPOP10 and DE430 planetary ephemerides, and from NOE and MAR097 satellite ephemerides. The rms residuals in RA and Dec. of one position is less than 60 mas, or about 20 km at Mars. This accuracy is comparable to the most recent CCD observations. Moreover, it shows that astrometric data derived from photographic plates can compete with those of old spacecraft (Mariner 9, Viking 1 and 2).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The uneven weight distribution between predators and prey: Comparing gut fill between terrestrial herbivores and carnivores

The general observation that secondary consumers ingest highly digestible food and have simple short guts and small abdominal cavities intuitively results in the assumption that mammalian carnivores carry less digesta in their gut compared to herbivores. Due to logistic constraints, this assumption has not been tested quantitatively so far. In this contribution, we estimated the dry matter gut contents (DMC) for 25 species of the order Carnivora (including two strictly herbivorous ones, the giant and the red panda) using the physical ‘Occupancy Principle’, based on a literature data collection on dry matter intake (DMI), apparent dry matter digestibility (aD DM) and retention time (RT), and compared the results to an existing collection for herbivores. Scaling exponents with body mass (BM) for both carnivores and herbivores were in the same range with DMI ~ BM0.75; aD DM ~ BM0; RT ~ BM0.11 and DMC ~ BM0.88. The trophic level (carnivore vs herbivore) significantly affected all digestive physiology parameters except for RT. Numerically, the carnivore DMI level reached 77%, the RT 32% and DMC only 29% of the corresponding herbivore values, whereas the herbivore aD DM only reached 82% of that of carnivores. Thus, we quantitatively show that carnivores carry less inert mass or gut content compared to herbivores, which putatively benefits them in predator-prey interactions and might have contributed to the evolution towards unguligradism in herbivores. As expected, the two panda species appeared as outliers in the dataset with low aD DM and RT for a herbivore but extremely high DMI values, resulting in DMC in the lower part of the herbivore range. Whereas the difference in DMI and DMC scaling in herbivores might allow larger herbivores to compensate for lower diet quality by ingesting more, this difference may allow larger carnivores not to go for less digestible prey parts, but mainly to increase meal intervals, i.e. not having to hunt on a daily basis

Risks, benefits, and knowledge gaps of non-native tree species in Europe

Changing ecosystem conditions and diverse socio-economical events have contributed to an ingrained presence of non-native tree species (NNTs) in the natural and cultural European landscapes. Recent research endeavors have focused on different aspects of NNTs such as legislation, benefits, and risks for forestry, emphasizing that large knowledge gaps remain. As an attempt to fulfill part of these gaps, within the PEN-CAFoRR COST Action (CA19128) network, we established an open-access questionnaire that allows both academic experts and practitioners to provide information regarding NNTs from 20 European countries. Then, we integrated the data originating from the questionnaire, related to the country-based assessment of both peer-reviewed and grey literature, with information from available datasets (EUFORGEN and EU-Forest), which gave the main structure to the study and led to a mixed approach review. Finally, our study provided important insights into the current state of knowledge regarding NNTs. In particular, we highlighted NNTs that have shown to be less commonly addressed in research, raising caution about those characterized by an invasive behavior and used for specific purposes (e.g., wood production, soil recultivation, afforestation, and reforestation). NNTs were especially explored in the context of resilient and adaptive forest management. Moreover, we emphasized the assisted and natural northward migration of NNTs as another underscored pressing issue, which needs to be addressed by joint efforts, especially in the context of the hybridization potential. This study represents an additional effort toward the knowledge enhancement of the NNTs situation in Europe, aiming for a continuously active common source deriving from interprofessional collaboration. Copyright © 2022 Dimitrova, Csilléry, Klisz, Lévesque, Heinrichs, Cailleret, Andivia, Madsen, Böhenius, Cvjetkovic, De Cuyper, de Dato, Ferus, Heinze, Ivetić, Köbölkuti, Lazarević, Lazdina, Maaten, Makovskis, Milovanović, Monteiro, Nonić, Place, Puchalka and Montagnoli

Repercussion of megakaryocyte-specific Gata1 Loss on megakaryopoiesis and the hematopoietic precursor compartment

During hematopoiesis, transcriptional programs are essential for the commitment and differentiation of progenitors into the different blood lineages. GATA1 is a transcription factor expressed in several hematopoietic lineages and essential for proper erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis. Megakaryocyte-specific genes, such as GP1BA, are known to be directly regulated by GATA1. Mutations in GATA1 can lead to dyserythropoietic anemia and pseudo gray-platelet syndrome. Selective loss of Gata1 expression in adult mice results in macrothrombocytopenia with platelet dysfunction, characterized by an excess of immature megakaryocytes. To specifically analyze the impact of Gata1 loss in mature committed megakaryocytes, we generated Gata1-Lox|Pf4-Cre mice (Gata1cKOMK). Consistent with previous findings, Gata1cKOMK mice are macrothrombocytopenic with platelet dysfunction. Supporting this notion we demonstrate that Gata1 regulates directly the transcription of Syk, a tyrosine kinase that functions downstream of Clec2 and GPVI receptors in megakaryocytes and platelets. Furthermore, we show that Gata1cKOMK mice display an additional aberrant megakaryocyte differentiation stage. Interestingly, these mice present a misbalance of the multipotent progenitor compartment and the erythroid lineage, which translates into compensatory stress erythropoiesis and splenomegaly. Despite the severe thrombocytopenia, Gata1cKOMK mice display a mild reduction of TPO plasma levels, and Gata1cK-OMK megakaryocytes show a mild increase in Pf4 mRNA levels; such a misbalance might be behind the general hematopoietic defects observed, affecting locally normal TPO and Pf4 levels at hematopoietic stem cell niches. © 2016 Meinders et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Put My Skills to Use? Understanding the Joint Effect of Job Security and Skill Utilization on Job Satisfaction Between Skilled Migrants and Australian Born Workers in Australia

The topic of skilled migrants has gained importance in the past decade as they are increasingly becoming one of the main drivers for labor supply in developed countries like Australia. Although there is research on skilled migrants, most have been studied from the perspectives of (un)employment, wage and over-education. Some evidence suggests that skilled migrants are often less satisfied with their job compared to their local counterparts, yet little is known about why these differences exist. Using a nationally representative sample of Australian workers, we examine how two important job characteristics, job security and skill utilization, exert their differential interaction effect on job satisfaction for skilled migrants and Australian born workers. We found a differential moderation effect between job security and skill utilization for skilled migrants and Australian born workers. For skilled migrants, high job security did not lead to positive reaction (i.e., job satisfaction), as this effect was dependent on their skill utilization; while such moderation effect was not present for Australian born workers. This study highlights the need to take a more fine-tuned approach by understanding target sample groups (e.g., skilled migrants) when study the relationship between key job characteristics and job satisfaction. Furthermore, it highlights the importance for organizations to revisit their human resource management strategies and policies to recognize the needs for enhancing skill utilization for skilled migrants

Screening and early psychological intervention for depression in schools: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract Depression in children and adolescents is considerably undertreated, and the school may be a good setting for identifying and treating depression. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies in which students were screened for depression, and those with depressive symptoms were treated with a psychological intervention. Only randomised controlled trials were included. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Five studies focused on younger children (7–14 years) and three studies were aimed at adolescents (12–19 years). In total 5803 students were screened, of whom 7.2% were included in the intervention studies (95% CI: 7.1–7.3). The ‘numbers-needed-to-screen’ was 31 (95% CI: 27–32), which means that 31 students had to be screened in order to generate one successfully treated case of depression. The effects of the psychological treatments at posttest were compared to control conditions in the 8 studies comprising 12 contrast groups, with a total of 413 students. The mean effect size was 0.55 (95% CI: 0.35– 0.76). There were not enough studies to examine whether specific psychotherapies were superior to other psychotherapies. Although the number of studies is small and their quality is limited, screening and early intervention at schools may be an effective strategy to reduce the burden of disease from depression in children and adolescents. More research on the (negative) effects of these interventions is needed

Mild dyserythropoiesis and beta-like globin gene expression imbalance due to the loss of histone chaperone ASF1B

The expression of the human β-like globin genes follows a well-orchestrated developmental pattern, undergoing two essential switches, the first one during the first weeks of gestation (ε to γ), and the second one during the perinatal period (γ to β). The γ- to β-globin gene switching mechanism includes suppression of fetal (γ-globin, HbF) and activation of adult (β-globin, HbA) globin gene transcription. In hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH), the γ-globin suppression mechanism is impaired leaving these individuals with unusual elevated levels of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) in adulthood. Recently, the transcription factors KLF1 and BCL11A have been established as master regulators of the γ- to β-globin switch. Previously, a genomic variant in the KLF1 gene, identified by linkage analysis performed on twenty-seven members of a Maltese family, was found to be associated with HPFH. However, variation in the levels of HbF among family members, and those from other reported families carrying genetic variants in KLF1, suggests additional contributors to globin switching. ASF1B was downregulated in the family members with HPFH. Here, we investigate the role of ASF1B in γ- to β-globin switching and erythropoiesis in vivo. Mouse-human interspecies ASF1B protein identity is 91.6%. By means of knockdown functional assays in human primary erythroid cultures and analysis of the erythroid lineage in Asf1b knockout mice, we provide evidence that ASF1B is a novel contributor to steady-state erythroid differentiation, and while its loss affects the balance of globin expression, it has no major role in hemoglobin switching