The Rapitan Group: Relevance To The Global Association Of Late Proterozoic Glaciation And Iron-formation

The Rapitan Group (770-600 Ma) is a glacio-marine sedimentary sequence cropping out in Mackenzie and Wernecke Mountains. A marked basal unconformity marks the culmination of a regional extensional event, the Hayhook Orogeny. The lowest unit, the Mount Berg Formation, is a grey-green mixtite seen only in the southern Mackenzies. Conformably above this, the Sayunei Formation is dominated by maroon, silty rhythmites with abundant dropstones. Conformably overlying this, the Shezal Formation successively comprises maroon and greenish-grey mixtites. The Sayunei and Shezal Formations crop out nearly continuously throughout the southern and central Mackenzie Mountains. An homologous succession of rhythmites and mixtites is seen in the Upper Tindir Group of eastern Alaska. In the northern Mackenzies, however, only red and greenish-grey mixtites occur. Jasper-hematite iron-formulation of probable rift-related, hydrothermal origin is found in the red mixtites of the northern Mackenzies as well as in the upper Sayunei and Upper Tindir rhythmites. In Mackenzie Mountains the stratigraphic sequence is interpreted to represent an earlier, local(?) glacial advance (Mount Berg) separated from a later, more extensive one (Shezal) by an interstadial period (Sayunei). Submarine hydrothermal activity and possible volcanism are inferred to have taken place at the same time as the iron-formation was deposited.;On nearly every continent late Proterozoic glacial and glacio-marine sequences, commonly bearing iron-formation of hydrothermal origin, were deposited following major episodes of faulting and extensional tectonism. Diachroneity of these sequences over some 400 Ma suggests that widespread glaciations accompanied a global episode of continental disintegration. The development of new seaways in combination with extensive continental uplift resulted in global(?) climatic changes, including glaciation. Rift related hydrothermal activity resulted in local deposition of iron-formation. Hence, both glacial deposits and iron-formation in the late Proterozoic are manifestations of a major tectonic episode in the earth\u27s crustal development

Finite-size critical scaling in Ising spin glasses in the mean-field regime

We study in Ising spin glasses the finite-size effects near the spin-glass transition in zero field and at the de Almeida-Thouless transition in a field by Monte Carlo methods and by analytical approximations. In zero field, the finite-size scaling function associated with the spin-glass susceptibility of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick mean-field spin-glass model is of the same form as that of one-dimensional spin-glass models with power-law long-range interactions in the regime where they can be a proxy for the Edwards-Anderson short-range spin-glass model above the upper critical dimension. We also calculate a simple analytical approximation for the spin-glass susceptibility crossover function. The behavior of the spin-glass susceptibility near the de Almeida-Thouless transition line has also been studied, but here we have only been able to obtain analytically its behavior in the asymptotic limit above and below the transition. We have also simulated the one-dimensional system in a field in the non-mean-field regime to illustrate that when the Imry-Ma droplet length scale exceeds the system size one can then be erroneously lead to conclude that there is a de Almeida-Thouless transition even though it is absent.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Trypanosoma cruzi IIc: phylogenetic and phylogeographic insights from sequence and microsatellite analysis and potential impact on emergent Chagas disease.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, is highly genetically diverse. Numerous lines of evidence point to the existence of six stable genetic lineages or DTUs: TcI, TcIIa, TcIIb, TcIIc, TcIId, and TcIIe. Molecular dating suggests that T. cruzi is likely to have been an endemic infection of neotropical mammalian fauna for many millions of years. Here we have applied a panel of 49 polymorphic microsatellite markers developed from the online T. cruzi genome to document genetic diversity among 53 isolates belonging to TcIIc, a lineage so far recorded almost exclusively in silvatic transmission cycles but increasingly a potential source of human infection. These data are complemented by parallel analysis of sequence variation in a fragment of the glucose-6-phosphate isomerase gene. New isolates confirm that TcIIc is associated with terrestrial transmission cycles and armadillo reservoir hosts, and demonstrate that TcIIc is far more widespread than previously thought, with a distribution at least from Western Venezuela to the Argentine Chaco. We show that TcIIc is truly a discrete T. cruzi lineage, that it could have an ancient origin and that diversity occurs within the terrestrial niche independently of the host species. We also show that spatial structure among TcIIc isolates from its principal host, the armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus, is greater than that among TcI from Didelphis spp. opossums and link this observation to differences in ecology of their respective niches. Homozygosity in TcIIc populations and some linkage indices indicate the possibility of recombination but cannot yet be effectively discriminated from a high genome-wide frequency of gene conversion. Finally, we suggest that the derived TcIIc population genetic data have a vital role in determining the origin of the epidemiologically important hybrid lineages TcIId and TcIIe

Cold heteromolecular dipolar collisions

We present the first experimental observation of cold collisions between two different species of neutral polar molecules, each prepared in a single internal quantum state. Combining for the first time the techniques of Stark deceleration, magnetic trapping, and cryogenic buffer gas cooling allows the enhancement of molecular interaction time by 10$^5$. This has enabled an absolute measurement of the total trap loss cross sections between OH and ND$_3$ at a mean collision energy of 3.6 cm$^{-1}$ (5 K). Due to the dipolar interaction, the total cross section increases upon application of an external polarizing electric field. Cross sections computed from \emph{ab initio} potential energy surfaces are in excellent agreement with the measured value at zero external electric field. The theory presented here represents the first such analysis of collisions between a $^2\Pi$ radical and a closed-shell polyatomic molecule.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Multilocus sequence and microsatellite identification of intra-specific hybrids and ancestor-like donors among natural Ethiopian isolates of Leishmania donovani.

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) cause widespread and devastating human diseases. Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in Ethiopia where it has also been responsible for fatal epidemics. It is postulated that genetic exchange in Leishmania has implications for heterosis (hybrid vigour), spread of virulent strains, resistance to chemotherapeutics, and exploitation of different hosts and vectors. Here we analyse 11 natural Ethiopian Leishmania donovani isolates consisting of four putative hybrids, seven parent-like isolates and over 90 derived biological clones. We apply a novel combination of high resolution multilocus microsatellite typing (five loci) and multilocus sequence typing (four loci) that together distinguish parent-like and hybrid L. donovani strains. Results indicate that the four isolates (and their associated biological clones) are genetic hybrids, not the results of mixed infections, each possessing heterozygous markers consistent with inheritance of divergent alleles from genetically distinct Ethiopian L. donovani lineages. The allelic profiles of the putative hybrids may have arisen from a single hybridisation event followed by inbreeding or gene conversion, or alternatively from two or more hybridisation events. Mitochondrial sequencing showed uniparental maxicircle inheritance for all of the hybrids, each possessing a single mitochondrial genotype. Fluorescence activated cell sorting analysis of DNA content demonstrated that all hybrids and their associated clones were diploid. Together the data imply that intra-specific genetic exchange is a recurrent feature of natural L. donovani populations, with substantial implications for the phyloepidemiology of Leishmania

Limitations of microscopy to differentiate Plasmodium species in a region co-endemic for Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium knowlesi

BackgroundIn areas co-endemic for multiple Plasmodium species, correct diagnosis is crucial for appropriate treatment and surveillance. Species misidentification by microscopy has been reported in areas co-endemic for vivax and falciparum malaria, and may be more frequent in regions where Plasmodium knowlesi also commonly occurs. MethodsThis prospective study in Sabah, Malaysia, evaluated the accuracy of routine district and referral hospital-based microscopy, and microscopy performed by an experienced research microscopist, for the diagnosis of PCR-confirmed Plasmodium falciparum, P. knowlesi, and Plasmodium vivax malaria. ResultsA total of 304 patients with PCR-confirmed Plasmodium infection were enrolled, including 130 with P. knowlesi, 122 with P. falciparum, 43 with P. vivax, one with Plasmodium malariae and eight with mixed species infections. Among patients with P. knowlesi mono-infection, routine and cross-check microscopy both identified 94 (72%) patients as “P. malariae/P. knowlesi”; 17 (13%) and 28 (22%) respectively were identified as P. falciparum, and 13 (10%) and two (1.5%) as P. vivax. Among patients with PCR-confirmed P. falciparum, routine and cross-check microscopy identified 110/122 (90%) and 112/118 (95%) patients respectively as P. falciparum, and 8/122 (6.6%) and 5/118 (4.2%) as “P. malariae/P. knowlesi”. Among those with P. vivax, 23/43 (53%) and 34/40 (85%) were correctly diagnosed by routine and cross-check microscopy respectively, while 13/43 (30%) and 3/40 (7.5%) patients were diagnosed as “P. malariae/P. knowlesi”. Four of 13 patients with PCR-confirmed P. vivax and misdiagnosed by routine microscopy as “P. malariae/P. knowlesi” were subsequently re-admitted with P. vivax malaria. ConclusionsMicroscopy does not reliably distinguish between P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. knowlesi in a region where all three species frequently occur. Misdiagnosis of P. knowlesi as both P. vivax and P. falciparum, and vice versa, is common, potentially leading to inappropriate treatment, including chloroquine therapy for P. falciparum and a lack of anti-relapse therapy for P. vivax. The limitations of microscopy in P. knowlesi-endemic areas supports the use of unified blood-stage treatment strategies for all Plasmodium species, the development of accurate rapid diagnostic tests suitable for all species, and the use of PCR-confirmation for accurate surveillance