HYDROBIA ULVAE: A DEPOSIT-FEEDER FOR CLEANING LIVING HARD-SHELLED FORAMINIFERA

International audienceThis study proposes a new method for fast and inexpensive extraction of a large number of living foraminifera for laboratory cultures. The method is a significant improvement over current extraction methods, which are highly time-consuming. Several treatments were designed to test the method. Sediment bearing foraminifera from Brouage Mudflat (Atlantic coast of France) was washed through a 50-µm sieve and distributed in glass Petri dishes with 20, 40 and 80 specimens of Hydrobia ulvae, a common gastropod from European intertidal mudflats. As a control experiment, one dish was treated similarly but maintained without Hydrobia. After two days, most of the sediment in the Hydrobia treatments was compacted into small cylindrical gastropod feces and the tests of living benthic foraminifera (Ammonia tepida and Haynesina germanica) were clean and easily visible. Additional experiments showed that the foraminifera were not ingested by Hydrobia ulvae, and could be picked quickly and easily

Reference to index of mining shares 1881 -1891: Scrip certificates of shares issued to Edward le Rossignol of New Town in Tasmanian mines

Scrip certificates of shares issued to Edward le Rossignol of NewTown in Tasmanian mines: Royal Mint Gold Mining Company, North Mount Cameron; Savage River Silver Prospecting Company; City Prospecting Association, West Coast; Sunrise Prospecting Association; Godkin Silver Mining Co.,Whyte River Tasmania; New Waverly Gold Mining Co., Lefroy, Tasmania; South Oceana Silver Mining Co., Zeehan

Praeorbulina-like specimens" in sediments of the Northern Arabian Sea during the last glacial period

Date du colloque : 06/2009International audienc

Contrasting intrainterstadial climatic evolution between high and middle North Atlantic latitudes: A close-up of Greenland Interstadials 8 and 12

Three highly resolved pollen and sea surface temperature records from the Iberian margin (36â "42°N) reveal the local evolution of vegetation and climate associated with the rapid climatic variability of marine isotope stage 3. The comparison of the climate at these midlatitudes with δD and d excess from Greenland ice cores shows that the northâ south climatic gradient underwent strong variations during the long Greenland Interstadials (GIs) 8 and 12. After the Northern Hemispheric rapid warming at the Greenland Stadial (GS)â GI transition, the trend during the first part of the GI is a Greenland cooling and an Iberian warming. This increase of the North Atlantic climatic gradient led to moisture transportation to Greenland from midlatitudes (lightest d excess) and to a drying episode in Iberia. The subsequent temperature decrease in Greenland and Iberia associated with the precipitation increase in the latter region occurred when the major source of Greenland precipitation shifted to lower latitudes (d excess increase)

Contrasting sea-surface responses between the western Mediterranean Sea and eastern subtropical latitudes of the North Atlantic during abrupt climatic events of MIS 3

EuroCLIMATE project RESOLuTIONInternational audienceAbstract Dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) analysis was conducted on two cores from the SW Iberian margin and central Alboran Sea from which high quality records of Marine Isotope Stage 3 have been previously derived. Our aim in this study is to compare the dinocyst signature between 50 and 25 ka BP with existing datasets of foraminiferal and geochemical proxies related to hydrological parameters. Quantitative reconstructions of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) and salinities (SSS) based on dinocysts are performed for the first time in this area. The results are compared to SSTs derived from planktonic foraminifera and alkenone measurements, and to SSS calculated from planktonic δ18O and foraminiferal SST. Significant oscillations related to Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles are recorded in both cores. Dinocyst-derived hydrological parameters exhibit synchronous fluctuations and similar values to those derived from the other methods, in particular when considering quantitative reconstructions for February based on foraminifera and dinocysts. Our study shows that the influence of subpolar waters was felt during each Greenland Stadial (GS) off Portugal, and that the amplification of the Heinrich Stadial cooling in the Alboran Sea was related to the penetration of subpolar waters through the Strait of Gibraltar. During Greenland Interstadials (GI), we provide evidence for the occurrence of warm and nutrient-rich sea-surface waters in the Alboran Sea, probably due to gyre-induced upwelling. Finally, the difference between August and February dinocyst SST estimates suggests higher seasonal contrasts during GS compared to GI at the two core sites. Additionally, precession appears to have an imprint on dinocyst-derived long-term seasonality record. However, this observation needs to be confirmed by longer records. Research Highlights ► We provide new dinocyst data on core MD95-2043 (Alboran Sea) during MIS 3. ► Quantitative dinocyst sea-surface parameters (SST, SSS) are reconstructed. ► A multi-proxies compilation (microfossils, alkenones, isotopes) is established. ► This dataset has been compared with the one of a SW Iberian margin core. ► Millennial-scale climatic variability is perfectly apparent from each side of Gibraltar

Assessment of sea surface temperature changes in the Gulf of Cadiz during the last 30 ka: Implications for glacial changes in the regional hydrography

New dinocyst analyses were conducted on core MD99-2339 retrieved from the central Gulf of Cadiz. Dinocyst and foraminiferal assemblages from this core are combined with existing data off SW Portugal and NW Morocco to investigate past hydrological and primary productivity regimes in the subtropical NE Atlantic Ocean over the last 30 ka. Our results have revealed highest upwelling intensity during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS 1) and the Younger Dryas and weaker upwelling cells during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and HS 2, off the SW Iberian and NW Moroccan margins. Similar assemblages between the Gulf of Cadiz and the NW Moroccan margin, and distinct species off Portugal, were observed during the cold climatic extremes that punctuated the last 30 ka. This pattern has been linked to the occurrence of a hydrological structure between SW Iberia and Cadiz during the last glacial period, perhaps similar to the modern Azores Front. This front was probably responsible locally for heterotrophic dinocysts found in the Gulf of Cadiz during the last glacial period, even if this sector is not conductive to upwelling phenomena by Ekman transport. Regional reconstructions of paleo-sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) using dinocyst and foraminiferal transfer functions, as well as alkenones, are also discussed and depict coherent scenarios over the last 30 ka. Seasonal reconstructions Correspondence to: A. Penaud ([email protected].) of LGM SSTs obtained with this multi-proxy panel are discussed jointly with model outputs in order to contribute to ongoing efforts in model-data comparisonC2007-FCT/319/2006info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clinical Determinants and Prognostic Implications of Renin and Aldosterone in Patients with Symptomatic Heart Failure

Aims Activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system plays an important role in the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) and has been associated with poor prognosis. There are limited data on the associations of renin and aldosterone levels with clinical profiles, treatment response, and study outcomes in patients with HF. Methods and results We analysed 2,039 patients with available baseline renin and aldosterone levels in BIOSTAT-CHF (a systems BIOlogy study to Tailored Treatment in Chronic Heart Failure). The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause mortality or HF hospitalization. We also investigated changes in renin and aldosterone levels after administration of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) in a subset of the EPHESUS trial and in an acute HF cohort (PORTO). In BIOSTAT-CHF study, median renin and aldosterone levels were 85.3 (percentile(25-75) = 28-247) mu IU/mL and 9.4 (percentile(25-75) = 4.4-19.8) ng/dL, respectively. Prior HF admission, lower blood pressure, sodium, poorer renal function, and MRA treatment were associated with higher renin and aldosterone. Higher renin was associated with an increased rate of the primary outcome [highest vs. lowest renin tertile: adjusted-HR (95% CI) = 1.47 (1.16-1.86), P = 0.002], whereas higher aldosterone was not [highest vs. lowest aldosterone tertile: adjusted-HR (95% CI) = 1.16 (0.93-1.44), P = 0.19]. Renin and/or aldosterone did not improve the BIOSTAT-CHF prognostic models. The rise in aldosterone with the use of MRAs was observed in EPHESUS and PORTO studies. Conclusions Circulating levels of renin and aldosterone were associated with both the disease severity and use of MRAs. By reflecting both the disease and its treatments, the prognostic discrimination of these biomarkers was poor. Our data suggest that the "point" measurement of renin and aldosterone in HF is of limited clinical utility

WONOEP appraisal: New genetic approaches to study epilepsy

New genetic investigation techniques, including next-generation sequencing, epigenetic profiling, cell lineage mapping, targeted genetic manipulation of specific neuronal cell types, stem cell reprogramming, and optogenetic manipulations within epileptic networks are progressively unraveling the mysteries of epileptogenesis and ictogenesis. These techniques have opened new avenues to discover the molecular basis of epileptogenesis and to study the physiologic effects of mutations in epilepsy associated genes on a multilayer level, from cells to circuits. This manuscript reviews recently published applications of these new genetic technologies in the study of epilepsy, as well as work presented by the authors at the genetic session of the XII Workshop on the Neurobiology of Epilepsy (WONOEP 2013) in Quebec, Canada. Next-generation sequencing is providing investigators with an unbiased means to assess the molecular causes of sporadic forms of epilepsy and has revealed the complexity and genetic heterogeneity of sporadic epilepsy disorders. To assess the functional impact of mutations in these newly identified genes on specific neuronal cell types during brain development, new modeling strategies in animals, including conditional genetics in mice and in utero knock-down approaches, are enabling functional validation with exquisite cell-type and temporal specificity. In addition, optogenetics, using cell-type–specific Cre recombinase driver lines, is enabling investigators to dissect networks involved in epilepsy. In addition, genetically encoded cell-type labeling is providing new means to assess the role of the nonneuronal components of epileptic networks such as glial cells. Furthermore, beyond its role in revealing coding variants involved in epileptogenesis, next-generation sequencing can be used to assess the epigenetic modifications that lead to sustained network hyperexcitability in epilepsy, including methylation changes in gene promoters and noncoding ribonucleic acid (RNA) involved in modifying gene expression following seizures. In addition, genetically based bioluminescent reporters are providing new opportunities to assess neuronal activity and neurotransmitter levels both in vitro and in vivo in the context of epilepsy. Finally, genetically rederived neurons generated from patient induced pluripotent stem cells and genetically modified zebrafish have become high-throughput means to investigate disease mechanisms and potential new therapies. Genetics has changed the field of epilepsy research considerably, and is paving the way for better diagnosis and therapies for patients with epilepsy