Great Canadian Lagerstätten 5. Crawford Lake – A Canadian Holocene Lacustrine Konservat-Lagerstätte with Two-Century-Old Viable Dinoflagellate Cysts

In addition to commonly preserved microfossils like pollen and diatoms, the varved sediments of Crawford Lake, Ontario, contain the fossilized remains of otherwise rare microfossils. Bottom water anoxia resulted from the physiography of this small, deep lake and enhanced biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) during two distinct phases of human settlement: prehistoric Iroquoian (approximately 1268–1486 CE) and historic Euro-Canadians (since 1822 CE). The exceptional preservation of delicate organic-walled microfossils like rotifer loricae and cellulosic dinoflagellate thecae provides unparalleled insights into a Holocene freshwater lake ecosystem and allows the biological and taphonomic components of the fossil assemblage to be isolated. Bottom water anoxia may also have increased the longevity of cell contents: resting cysts of Parvodinium [Peridinium] inconspicuum (Lemmermann) Carty and Peridinium volzii Lemmermann. These were germinated from varves deposited nearly two centuries ago, extending the known span of viability of dinoflagellates.RÉSUMÉEn plus des microfossiles couramment conservés comme le pollen et les diatomées, les sédiments varvés du lac Crawford en Ontario, contiennent les restes fossilisés de microfossiles très rares. Le caractère anoxique des eaux de fond s’explique par la physiographie de ce petit lac profond et par une augmentation de la demande biochimique en oxygène (DBO) durant deux phases distinctes de peuplement humain : phase préhistorique iroquoienne (environ 1268 à 1486 CE) et une phase  historique euro-canadienne (depuis 1822 CE). La préservation exceptionnelle de délicats microfossiles à membranes organiques comme rotifère lorica et les thèques cellulosiques de dinoflagellés, ouvre une fenêtre inédite sur l’écosystème d’un lac d’eau douce Holocène et permet aux composants biologiques et taphonomiques de l'assemblage de fossiles d'être préservés isolément. L’anoxie des eaux de fond peut également avoir augmenté la longévité du contenu des cellules: kystes dormants de Parvodinium [Peridinium] inconspicuum (Lemmermann) Carty et de Peridinium volzii Lemmermann. Ces derniers ont été activés à partir de varves déposés il y a près de deux siècles, ce qui allonge la durée connue de la viabilité des dinoflagellés

Effect of coagulant type and level on the properties of half-salt, half-fat Cheddar cheese made with or without adjunct starter: Improving texture and functionality

peer-reviewedThe potential of increasing proteolysis as a means of enhancing the texture and heat-induced flow of half-fat, half-salt Cheddar cheese made with control culture (CL, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris/lactis) or adjunct culture (AC, CL + Lactobacillus helveticus) was investigated. Proteolysis was altered by substituting bovine chymosin (BC) with camel chymosin (CC), or by a 2.5-fold increase in level of BC. In cheese with CL-culture, increasing BC led to a large increase in pH and more rapid degradation of αS1-casein during maturation, and cheese that was less firm after 180 d. In contrast, substitution of BC with CC in cheeses made with CL-culture had an opposite effect. While chymosin type and level had a similar influence on αS1-casein hydrolysis in the AC-culture cheeses, it did not affect texture or flowability. Grading indicated that cheese made with AC-culture and with a higher level of BC was the most appealing

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) induce concerted changes in the osteoblastic expression of their receptor RAGE and in the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)

An increase in the interaction between advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and their receptor RAGE is believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic complications of Diabetes mellitus, which can include bone alterations such as osteopenia. We have recently found that extracellular AGEs can directly regulate the growth and development of rat osteosarcoma UMR106 cells, and of mouse calvaria-derived MC3T3E1 osteoblasts throughout their successive developmental stages (proliferation, differentiation and mineralisation), possibly by the recognition of AGEs moieties by specific osteoblastic receptors which are present in both cell lines. In the present study we examined the possible expression of RAGE by UMR106 and MC3T3E1 osteoblastic cells, by immunoblot analysis. We also investigated whether short-, medium- or long-term exposure of osteoblasts to extracellular AGEs, could modify their affinity constant and maximal binding for AGEs (by 125I-AGE-BSA binding experiments), their expression of RAGE (by immunoblot analysis) and the activation status of the osteoblastic ERK 1/2 signal transduction mechanism (by immunoblot analysis for ERK and P-ERK). Our results show that both osteoblastic cell lines express readily detectable levels of RAGE. Short-term exposure of phenotypically mature osteoblastic UMR106 cells to AGEs decrease the cellular density of AGE-binding sites while increasing the affinity of these sites for AGEs. This culture condition also dose-dependently increased the expression of RAGE and the activation of ERK. In proliferating MC3T3E1 pre-osteoblasts, 24-72 h exposure to AGEs did not modify expression of RAGE, ERK activation or the cellular density of AGE-binding sites. However, it did change the affinity of these binding sites forAGEs, with both higher- and lower-affinity sites now being apparent. Medium-term ( 1 week) incubation of differentiated MC3T3E1 osteoblasts with AGEs, induced a simultaneous increase in RAGE expression and in the relative amount of P-ERK. Mineralising MC3T3E1 cultures grown for 3 weeks in the presence of extracellular AGEs showed a decrease both in RAGE and P-ERK expression. These results indicate that, in phenotypically mature osteoblastic cells, changes in ERK activation closely follow the AGEs-induced regulation of RAGE expression. Thus, the AGEs-induced biological effects that we have observed previously in osteoblasts, could be mediated by RAGE in the later stages of development, and mediated by other AGE receptors in the earlier pre-osteoblastic stage

Wandering globular clusters: the first dwarf galaxies in the universe?

In the last decade we witness an advent of new types of dwarf stellar systems in cluding ultra-compact dwarfs, ultra-faint dwarf spheroidals, and exotic globular clusters, breaking the old simple paradigm for dwarf galaxies and globular clusters. These objects become more intriguing, and understanding of these new findings be comes more challenging. Recently we discovered a new type of large scale structure in the Virgo cluster of galaxies: it is composed of globular clusters. Globular clusters in Virgo are found wandering between galaxies (intracluster globular clusters) as well as in galaxies. These intracluster globular clusters fill a significant fraction in the area of the Virgo cluster and they are dominated by blue globular clusters. These intracluster globular clusters may be closely related with the first dwarf galaxies in the universe.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Conference Proceedings: "A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies", 14-18 June 2010, Lyon, Franc

Project fuse aerial suppression experiments

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Phonon effects in molecular transistors: Quantum and classical treatment

We present a comprehensive theoretical treatment of the effect of electron-phonon interactions in molecular transistors, including both quantal and classical limits and we study both equilibrated and out of equilibrium phonons. We present detailed results for conductance, noise and phonon distribution in two regimes. One involves temperatures large as compared to the rate of electronic transitions on and off the dot; in this limit our approach yields classical rate equations, which are solved numerically for a wide range of parameters. The other regime is that of low temperatures and weak electron-phonon coupling where a perturbative approximation in the Keldysh formulation can be applied. The interplay between the phonon-induced renormalization of the density of states on the quantum dot and the phonon-induced renormalization of the dot-lead coupling is found to be important. Whether or not the phonons are able to equilibrate in a time rapid compared to the transit time of an electron through the dot is found to affect the conductance. Observable signatures of phonon equilibration are presented. We also discuss the nature of the low-T to high-T crossover.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures. Minor changes, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Reversible maps and composites of involutions in groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line

An element of a group is reversible if it is conjugate to its own inverse, and it is strongly reversible if it is conjugate to its inverse by an involution. A group element is strongly reversible if and only if it can be expressed as a composite of two involutions. In this paper the reversible maps, the strongly reversible maps, and those maps that can be expressed as a composite of involutions are determined in certain groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line

Enhanced superchannel transmission using phase conjugation

We demonstrate polarisation insensitive dual-band optical phase conjugation for multiple 400Gbit/s optical superchannels using a Raman amplified transmission link with a realistic span length of 75km. The resultant increase in transmission distance is confirmed analytically

The Release of Cytochrome c from Mitochondria during Apoptosis of NGF-deprived Sympathetic Neurons Is a Reversible Event

During apoptosis induced by various stimuli, cytochrome c is released from mitochondria into the cytosol where it participates in caspase activation. This process has been proposed to be an irreversible consequence of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, which leads to mitochondrial swelling and rupture of the outer mitochondrial membrane. Here we present data demonstrating that NGF-deprived sympathetic neurons protected from apoptosis by caspase inhibitors possess mitochondria which, though depleted of cytochrome c and reduced in size, remained structurally intact as viewed by electron microscopy. After re-exposure of neurons to NGF, mitochondria recovered their normal size and their cytochrome c content, by a process requiring de novo protein synthesis. Altogether, these data suggest that depletion of cytochrome c from mitochondria is a controlled process compatible with function recovery. The ability of sympathetic neurons to recover fully from trophic factor deprivation provided irreversible caspase inhibitors have been present during the insult period, has therapeutical implications for a number of acute neuropathologies