New thylacocephalans from the Early Triassic Paris Biota (Bear Lake County, Idaho, USA).

International audienceTwo new genera and species of thylacocephalans (Arthropoda, Thylacocephala), Parisicaris triassica Charbonnier and Ligulacaris parisiana Charbonnier, are described from the early Spathian Paris Biota. These new occurrences are the first reports of thylacocephalans from Triassic rocks in North America. They considerably enlarge the spatiotemporal distribution of these enigmatic arthropods and highlight their relatively high generic richness during the Early Triassic. It also confirms that the Triassic was the taxonomically richest period for Thylacocephala

Role of nitric oxide signaling components in differentiation of embryonic stem cells into myocardial cells

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in number of physiological and pathological events. Our previous studies demonstrated a differential expression of NO signaling components in mouse and human ES cells. Here, we demonstrate the effect of NO donors and soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) activators in differentiation of ES cells into myocardial cells. Our results with mouse and human ES cells demonstrate an increase in Nkx2.5 and myosin light chain (MLC2) mRNA expression on exposure of cells to NO donors and a decrease in mRNA expression of both cardiac-specific genes with nonspecific NOS inhibitor and a concomitant increase and decrease in the mRNA levels of sGC α1 subunit. Although sGC activators alone exhibited an increase in mRNA expression of cardiac genes (MLC2 and Nkx2.5), robust inductions of mRNA and protein expression of marker genes were observed when NO donors and sGC activators were combined. Measurement of NO metabolites revealed an increase in the nitrite levels in the conditioned media and cell lysates on exposure of cells to the different concentrations of NO donors. cGMP analysis in undifferentiated stem cells revealed a lack of stimulation with NO donors. Differentiated cells however, acquired the ability to be stimulated by NO donors. Although, 3-(4-amino-5-cyclopropylpyrimidin-2-yl)-1-(2-fluorobenzyl)-1H-pyrazolo [3,4-b]pyridine (BAY 41-2272) alone was able to stimulate cGMP accumulation, the combination of NO donors and BAY 41-2272 stimulated cGMP levels more than either of the agents separately. These studies demonstrate that cGMP-mediated NO signaling plays an important role in the differentiation of ES cells into myocardial cells

A Mild and Selective Method for the Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of Cyanurate Activated Phenols in Multi-Phasic Continuous Flow.

A low energy, high selectivity approach to the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of phenols is reported using batch or continuous flow methods to react 3 equivalents of phenol with cyanuric chloride then hydrogenolyzing the triarylcyanurate intermediate to give 3 equivalents of de-oxo aromatic. The use of cyanuric chloride compares favorably with existing activation methods, showing improved scalability, atom efficiency and economics. The scope of both the activation and hydrogenolysis stages are explored using lignin-related phenols. Initial development has identified that continuous stir tank reactors (CSTRs) enable a multi-phasic process for converting guaiacol to anisole, and at steady-state overcome the catalyst deactivation issues observed in batch, seemingly caused by the cyanurate by-product. Green chemistry aspects, and the potential for industrial adoption are discussed

Vented explosion of hydrogen/air mixture: An intercomparison benchmark exercise

International audienceExplosion venting is a widely used mitigation solution in the process industry to protect indoor equipment or buildings from excessive internal pressure caused by accidental explosions. However, vented explosions are very complicated to model using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In the framework of a French working group, the main target of this investigation is to assess the predictive capabilities of five CFD codes used by five different organizations by means of comparison with recent experimental data. On this basis several recommendations for the CFD modelling of vented explosions are suggested

An Early Triassic gladius associated with soft tissue remains from Idaho, USA - a squid-like coleoid cephalopod at the onset of Mesozoic Era.

15 pagesInternational audienceWe describe an Olenekian (Early Triassic) “fossil squid” belonging to the oldest complex Mesozoic marine biota collected in the Lower Shale unit of the Lower Triassic Thaynes Group in Idaho, USA. The studied specimen shows a tapered structure embedded in a cylindrical soft body. Morphological, ultrastructural and geochemical features of the specimen suggest that it corresponds to an internally-shelled cephalopod exhibiting a tapered micro-laminated gladius with rachis, narrow median and lateral fields and a large conus; a pair of posterior large fin-supported cartilages and fins; ventral and dorsal mantle band-shape structures, the dorsal one being cartilaginous; mantle patches; a stomach containing undigested arm-hooks and sheet-like pieces of potential flooded ink. Coupled SEM/EDS analyses show that (i) arm-hooks and ink were pseudomorphed by nanoparticles (less than 0.6 mm in diameter) of carbon, (ii) gladius and soft tissues were substituted by granules of calcium phosphate, (iii) cartilage canalicula’s were partially filled with calcium phosphate grains and crystals of Zn- and S-containing minerals. The specimen was hence probably fossilized due to metabolism of P- and C-accumulating bacteria. Based on this specimen, Idahoteuthis parisiana Doguzhaeva and Brayard gen. et sp. nov. and Idahoteuthidae Doguzhaeva and Brayard fam. nov. are erected. This family is characterized by an elongated, cylindrical, dorsally cartilaginous muscular mantle; well-developed, about 0.2 mantle length, rounded anteriorly and acute posteriorly, fin-supported cartilages and similarly shaped two fins at conical mantle termination, and thin slender gladius with narrow median and lateral fields, rachis and breviconic conus. This family assumedly falls in Myopsida (Decabrachia). A streamlined body, large fin-supported cartilages and eroded arm-hooks in the stomach of Idahoteuthis Doguzhaeva and Brayard gen. nov. suggest that this was a maneuverable cannibal predator that dwelled in the subequatorial shallow sea of the west coast of Pangaea

Ammonoids and nautiloids from the earliest Spathian Paris Biota and other early Spathian localities in southeastern Idaho, USA.

24 pagesInternational audienceIntensive sampling of three earliest Spathian sites represented by the Lower Shale unit and coeval bedswithin the Bear Lake vicinity and neighboring areas, southeastern Idaho, yielded several new ammonoidand nautiloid assemblages. These new occurrences overall indicate that the lower boundary of theTirolites beds, classically used as a regional marker for the base of the early Spathian, and therefore theregional Smithian/Spathian boundary, must be shifted downward into the Lower Shale unit and coevalbeds. Regarding ammonoids, one new genus (Caribouceras) and two new species (Caribouceras slugenseand Albanites americanus) are described. In addition, the regional temporal distribution of Bajarunia,Tirolites, Columbites, and Coscaites is refined, based on a fourth sampled site containing a newly reportedoccurrence of the early Spathian Columbites fauna in coeval beds of the Middle Shale unit. As acomplement to ammonoids, changes observed in nautiloid dominance are also shown to facilitatecorrelation with high-latitude basins such as Siberia during this short time interval, and they alsohighlight the major successive environmental fluctuations that took place during the late Smithian–earlySpathian transition

Glow in the dark: use of synchrotron μXRF trace elemental mapping and multispectral macro-imaging on fossils from the Paris Biota (Bear Lake County, Idaho, USA).

International audienceThe end-Permian mass extinction is the largest global-scale event ever recorded; it also corresponds to the expansion of the Modern Evolutionary Fauna, which will lead to present-day ecosystems. The Early Triassic is thus a pivotal interval in the evolution of many marine groups. An exceptionally well-preserved early Spathian fossil assemblage, the Paris Biota, was recently discovered in southeastern Idaho, USA; it represents the earliest complex marine ecosystem known to date for the post-crisis aftermath. Here we use synchrotron μXRF imaging to retrieve further anatomical, paleobiological and taphonomical data on some of the most intriguing fossils from the Paris Biota, such as contours of the central disc and the full length of arms in an ophiuroid specimen. We also show that multispectral macro-imaging is powerful to reveal or enhance the visualization of some specimens, particularly shrimps, that are barely perceptible under visible and UV lights. The complementary use of both techniques suggests that the actual richness and abundance of organisms in this exceptionally well-preserved Early Triassic ecosystem is likely to remain underestimated, and this situation may be even worse in other less well-preserved spatiotemporal contexts

A new holocrinid (Articulata) from the Paris Biota (Bear Lake County, Idaho, USA) highlights the high diversity of Early Triassic crinoids.

9 pagesInternational audienceAfter the end-Permian crisis and the extinction of their four Paleozoic subclasses, crinoids rapidly recovered. This group is classically believed to have radiated from a small surviving clade and to have diversified during the Middle and Upper Triassic from two lineages. Nevertheless, recent findings suggested that several lineages of crinoids had already diversified during the Early Triassic, and that their diversity has been overlooked. Here we describe a new form of holocrinid, Holocrinus nov. sp., from the earliest Spathian (Early Triassic) of southeastern Idaho (USA). So far, the exceptional completeness of sampled specimens, with skeletal elements of arms and stem in connection, is unique for the Early Triassic. They show that derived morphological features had already evolved ∼1.3 million years after the Permian–Triassic boundary, supporting the scenario of a rapid Early Triassic diversification of crinoids

Deciphering the exceptional preservation of the Early Triassic Paris Biota (Bear Lake County, Idaho, USA).

13 pagesInternational audienceAfter the end-Permian mass extinction, the Early Triassic (∼251.9 to 247 Ma) is characterized by several biotic crises that particularly affected marine faunas; accordingly, marine ecosystems from this unstable interval have been often described as heavily depauperate. This assumption, however, may relate to a biased fossil record. The discovery of taphonomic windows, like Konservat-Lagerstätten, in the Early Triassic would help to better understand the composition and diversity of ecosystems at that time. The Paris Biota (Idaho, USA) is a highly diverse fossil assemblage from the earliest Spathian (early late Olenekian, ∼250.6 Ma), indicating a rapid rediversification for many groups after the end-Permian crisis and pointing toward a remarkably complex marine ecosystem ∼1.3 m.y. after the Permian-Triassic boundary. However, its detailed taphonomy has not yet been investigated. Here we present the mineral characterization of four of its most abundant taxa: discinoid and linguloid brachiopods, leptomitid sponges, and caridean shrimps. For this purpose, we combined data from Raman microspectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy, and SEM-EDXS. Although all taxa were preserved in calcium phosphate, the morphology, structuring and size of crystals are highly dissimilar at a nano- to micrometric scale. In brachiopods, the ultrastructure of calcium phosphate shows unorganized bacillary-like crystals, while in crustaceans their size is considerably smaller and round-shaped. Similar small crystals are observed in sponges. However, the ultrastructure of calcium phosphate in sponges exhibits a well-defined preferential orientation. In addition, sponges show some compressed but preserved three-dimensional features, with an inner surface better preserved. Such analyses are essential to understand the taphonomic pathways enabling exceptional preservation. The further comprehension of preservation features would help to understand potential bias on observed diversity signals and their interpretation