475 research outputs found
Offsetting of COâ emissions by air capture in mine tailings at the Mount Keith Nickel Mine, Western Australia: Rates, controls and prospects for carbon neutral mining
The hydrated Mg-carbonate mineral, hydromagnesite [Mgâ
(COâ)â(OH)ââ˘4HâO], precipitates within mine tailings at the Mount Keith Nickel Mine, Western Australia as a direct result of mining operations. We have used quantitative mineralogical data and 䚳C, δšâ¸O and Fšâ´C isotopic data to quantify the amount of COâfixation and identify carbon sources. Our radiocarbon results indicate that at least 80% of carbon stored in hydromagnesite has been captured from the modern atmosphere. Stable isotopic results indicate that dissolution of atmospheric COâ into mine tailings water is kinetically limited, which suggests that the current rate of carbon mineralization could be accelerated. Reactive transport modeling is used to describe the observed variation in tailings mineralogy and to estimate rates of COâ fixation. Based on our assessment, approximately 39,800 t/yr of atmospheric COâ are being trapped and stored in tailings at Mount Keith. This represents an offsetting of approximately 11% of the mine's annual greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, passive sequestration via enhanced weathering of mineral waste can capture and store a significant amount of COâ. Recommendations are made for changes to tailings management and ore processing practices that have potential to accelerate carbonation of tailings and further reduce or completely offset the net greenhouse gas emissions at Mount Keith and many other mines
Construction of two whole genome radiation hybrid panels for dromedary (Camelus dromedarius): 5000RAD and 15000RAD
The availability of genomic resources including linkage information for camelids has been very limited. Here, we describe the construction of a set of two radiation hybrid (RH) panels (5000RAD and 15000RAD) for the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) as a permanent genetic resource for camel genome researchers worldwide. For the 5000RAD panel, a total of 245 female camel-hamster radiation hybrid clones were collected, of which 186 were screened with 44 custom designed marker loci distributed throughout camel genome. The overall mean retention frequency (RF) of the final set of 93 hybrids was 47.7%. For the 15000RAD panel, 238 male dromedary-hamster radiation hybrid clones were collected, of which 93 were tested using 44 PCR markers. The final set of 90 clones had a mean RF of 39.9%. This 15000RAD panel is an important high-resolution complement to the main 5000RAD panel and an indispensable tool for resolving complex genomic regions. This valuable genetic resource of dromedary RH panels is expected to be instrumental for constructing a high resolution camel genome map. Construction of the set of RH panels is essential step toward chromosome level reference quality genome assembly that is critical for advancing camelid genomics and the development of custom genomic tools
CeCoIn5 - a quantum critical superfluid
We have made the first complete measurements of the London penetration depth
of CeCoIn5, a quantum-critical metal where superconductivity
arises from a non-Fermi-liquid normal state. Using a novel tunnel diode
oscillator designed to avoid spurious contributions to , we have
established the existence of intrinsic and anomalous power-law behaviour at low
temperature. A systematic analysis raises the possibility that the unusual
observations are due to an extension of quantum criticality into the
superconducting state.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Does inbreeding contribute to pregnancy loss in Thoroughbred horses?
Background: Excessive inbreeding increases the probability of uncovering homozygous recessive genotypes and has been associated with an increased risk of retained placenta and lower semen quality. No genomic analysis has investigated the association between inbreeding levels and pregnancy loss. Objectives: This study compared genetic inbreeding coefficients (F) of naturally occurring Thoroughbred Early Pregnancy Loss (EPLs), Mid and Late term Pregnancy Loss (MLPL), and Controls. The F value was hypothesised to be higher in cases of pregnancy loss (EPLs and MLPLs) than Controls. Study design: Observational case-control study. Methods: Allantochorion and fetal DNA from EPL (n=37, gestation age 14-65 days), MLPL (n=94, gestational age 70 daysâ24 hours post parturition) and Controls (n=58) were genotyped on the Axiom Equine 670K SNP Genotyping Array. Inbreeding coefficients using Runs Of Homozygosity (FROH) were calculated using PLINK software. ROHs were split into size categories to investigate the recency of inbreeding. Results: MLPLs had significantly higher median number of ROH (188 interquartile range (IQR), 180.8-197.3), length of ROH (3.10, IQR 2.93-3.33), and total number of ROH (590.8, IQR 537.3-632.3), and FROH (0.26, IQR 0.24-0.28) when compared with the Controls and the EPLs (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in any of the inbreeding indices between the EPLs and Controls. The MLPLs had a significantly higher proportion of long (>10 Mb) ROH (2.5%, IQR 1.6-3.6) than the Controls (1.7%, IQR 0.6-2.5), p=0.001. No unique ROHs were found in the EPL or MLPL populations. Limitations: SNP-array data does not allow analysis of every base in the sequence. Conclusions: This first study of the effect of genomic inbreeding levels on pregnancy loss showed that inbreeding is a contributor to MLPL, but not EPL in the UK Thoroughbred population. Mating choices remain critical, because inbreeding may predispose to MLPL by increasing the risk of homozygosity for specific lethal allele(s)
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Seeding Change by Visioning Good Anthropocenes
Although we are surrounded by dystopian stories about the age of the Anthropocene, the future does not have to be bleak. Seeds of alternative good futures occur in many places around the world and we can use these to help us think more creatively about pathways to more desirable futures in the Anthropocene. This paper describes the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes (SOGA) project that aims to identify where elements of Good Anthropocenes (âseedsâ) currently exist on the planet and how they can be used to help us envision pathways towards new, positive futures for the Earth and humanity. Each of the seeds is a potential solution that could help to shift us onto a more sustainable trajectory that will ensure both planetary and human wellbeing. The project has developed and combined novel visioning tools that engage a broad set of stakeholders in identifying potentially game-changing seed initiatives, and exploring how these could develop and combine to create radically alternative futures. This new scenario approach has been used in intergovernmental processes such as the UN Environmentâs Global Environment Outlook (GEO) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). By tapping into creativity and ingenuity, the SOGA scenario process provides a set of methodological tools through which we can think in new ways about how to navigate towards more desirable futures, starting with the pockets of these futures that are already with us in the present
Upwelling events, coastal offshore exchange, links to biogeochemical processes - Highlights from the Baltic Sea Sciences Congress at Rostock University, Germany, 19-22 March 2007
The Baltic Sea Science Congress was held at Rostock University, Germany, from 19 to 22 March 2007. In the session entitled"Upwelling events, coastal offshore exchange, links to biogeochemical processes" 20 presentations were given,including 7 talks and 13 posters related to the theme of the session.This paper summarises new findings of the upwelling-related studies reported in the session. It deals with investigationsbased on the use of in situ and remote sensing measurements as well as numerical modelling tools. The biogeochemicalimplications of upwelling are also discussed.Our knowledge of the fine structure and dynamic considerations of upwelling has increased in recent decades with the advent ofhigh-resolution modern measurement techniques and modelling studies. The forcing and the overall structure, duration and intensity ofupwelling events are understood quite well. However, the quantification of related transports and the contribution to the overall mixingof upwelling requires further research. Furthermore, our knowledge of the links between upwelling and biogeochemical processes is stillincomplete. Numerical modelling has advanced to the extent that horizontal resolutions of c. 0.5 nautical miles can now be applied,which allows the complete spectrum of meso-scale features to be described. Even the development of filaments can be describedrealistically in comparison with high-resolution satellite data.But the effect of upwelling at a basin scale and possible changes under changing climatic conditions remain open questions
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Seeds of good anthropocenes: developing sustainability scenarios for Northern Europe
Scenario development helps people think about a broad variety of possible futures; however, the global environmental change community has thus far developed few positive scenarios for the future of the planet and humanity. Those that have been developed tend to focus on the role of a few common, large-scale external drivers, such as technology or environmental policy, even though pathways of positive change are often driven by surprising or bottom-up initiatives that most scenarios assume are unchanging. We describe an approach, pioneered in Southern Africa and tested here in a new context in Northern Europe, to developing scenarios using existing bottom-up transformative initiatives to examine plausible transitions towards positive, sustainable futures. By starting from existing, but marginal initiatives, as well as current trends, we were able to identify system characteristics that may play a key role in sustainability transitions (e.g., gender issues, inequity, governance, behavioral change) that are currently under-explored in global environmental scenarios. We suggest that this approach could be applied in other places to experiment further with the methodology and its potential applications, and to explore what transitions to desirables futures might be like in different places
Characterization of a Homozygous Deletion of Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis Genes in Horse Chromosome 29 as a Risk Factor for Disorders of Sex Development and Reproduction
Disorders of sex development (DSD) and reproduction are not uncommon among horses, though knowledge about their molecular causes is sparse. Here we characterized a 200 kb homozygous deletion in chromosome 29 at 29.7-29.9 Mb. The region contains AKR1C genes which function as ketosteroid reductases in steroid hormone biosynthesis, including androgens and estrogens. Mutations in AKR1C genes are associated with human DSDs. Deletion boundaries, sequence properties and gene content were studied by PCR and whole genome sequencing of select deletion homozygotes and control animals. Deletion analysis by PCR in 940 horses, including 622 with DSDs and reproductive problems and 318 phenotypically normal controls, detected 67 deletion homozygotes of which 79% were developmentally or reproductively abnormal. Altogether, 8-9% of all abnormal horses were homozygous for the deletion, with the highest incidence (9.4%) among cryptorchids. The deletion was found in 4% of our phenotypically normal cohort, 1% of global warmblood horses and ponies, and 7% of draught breeds of general horse population as retrieved from published data. Based on the abnormal phenotype of the carriers, the functionally relevant gene content, and the low incidence in general population, we consider the deletion in chromosome 29 as a risk factor for equine DSDs and reproductive disorders
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Bright spots: seeds of a good Anthropocene
The scale, rate, and intensity of humansâ environmental impact has engendered broad discussion about how to find plausible pathways of development that hold the most promise for fostering a better future in the Anthropocene. However, the dominance of dystopian visions of irreversible environmental degradation and societal collapse, along with overly optimistic utopias and businessâasâusual scenarios that lack insight and innovation, frustrate progress. Here, we present a novel approach to thinking about the future that builds on experiences drawn from a diversity of practices, worldviews, values, and regions that could accelerate the adoption of pathways to transformative change (change that goes beyond incremental improvements). Using an analysis of 100 initiatives, or âseeds of a good Anthropoceneâ, we find that emphasizing hopeful elements of existing practice offers the opportunity to: (1) understand the values and features that constitute a good Anthropocene, (2) determine the processes that lead to the emergence and growth of initiatives that fundamentally change humanâenvironmental relationships, and (3) generate creative, bottomâup scenarios that feature wellâarticulated pathways toward a more positive future
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