First record of avian extinctions from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Timor Leste

Under embargo until: 2020-11-23Timor has yielded the earliest evidence for modern humans in Wallacea, but despite its long history of modern human occupation, there is little evidence for human-induced Late Pleistocene extinctions. Here, we report on Late Pleistocene and Holocene bird remains from Jerimalai and Matja Kuru 1, sites that have yielded extensive archaeological sequences dating back to >40 ka. Avian remains are present throughout the sequence, and quails (Phasianidae), buttonquails (Turnicidae) and pigeons (Columbidae) are the most abundant groups. Taphonomic analyses suggest that the majority of bird remains, with the exception of large-bodied pigeons, were accumulated by avian predators, likely the Barn owl Tyto sp. All species represent extant taxa that are still present on Timor today, with the exception of a crane, Grus sp., from the Late Pleistocene of Jerimalai, and a large buttonquail, Turnix sp., from Matja Kuru 1. The crane likely represents an extirpated population of cranes, which were much more widespread throughout the Indonesian archipelago during the Quaternary. The large buttonquail is present at Matja Kuru 1 alongside the extant T. maculosus until at least 1372–1300 cal BP. These two species represent the first records of avian extinctions on Timor. However, a causal relationship between the extinction of these two taxa and human impact cannot be demonstrated at this point.acceptedVersio

Пути решения современных финансовых проблем предприятий машиностроения

Цель исследования данной статьи: провести анализ текущей ситуации на одном из ведущих предприятий машиностроения в АР Крым ОАО «Завод «Фиолент», выявить «слабые» места и предложить пути по повышению экономической эффективности его функционирования

Mass Partitioning in Fragmenting Tin Sheets

We experimentally study the mass partitioning of a fragmenting liquid sheet formed after the impact of a ns-laser pulse on a tin microdroplet, and its dependence on laser pulse energy and droplet size. We present the temporal evolution of individual liquid fractions: the sheet and its bounding rim, ligaments protruding from the rim, and droplets shed by the ligaments, applying machine learning to analyze subresolution fragments. Our results show that the temporal evolution of the mass partitioning between the sheet, rim, ligaments, and fragments is independent of the deformation Weber number - following Wang and Bourouiba [J. Fluid Mech. 935, A29 (2022)] for the analogous droplet-pillar impact case, extending the work to larger Weber numbers and to a system where the timescale of deformation is fully decoupled from impact. The full mass partitioning is accounted for by quantifying the further contributions unique to the laser-droplet impact case: that of a centrally located mass remnant, and the mass ablated by the laser pulse. These findings can be employed to optimize the mass utilization of the liquid tin that is used as target material in the production of extreme ultraviolet light for nanolithography.</p

The risk of postpartum hemorrhage in women using high dose of low-molecular-weight heparins during pregnancy

Background: Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH) are the most commonly used anticoagulant during pregnancy for prevention or treatment of VTE. However, the size of the associated risk of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is unknown. Objective: To assess the bleeding risk of high dose LMWH, also in relation to time between last dose LMWH and delivery. Material and methods: From 1999 to 2009, we followed 88 pregnant women who were started on therapeutic anticoagulation. Controls were pregnant women without LMWH, matched 1:4 for parity, mode of delivery, age, gestational age and delivery date. PPH was defined as >= 500 ml blood loss for vaginal delivery (severe PPH in vaginal delivery as >= 1000 ml) and >= 1000 ml for cesarean section (CS). Women were divided into subgroups by the interval between last dose of anticoagulation and delivery ( 24 hrs). Results: Risk of PPH after vaginal delivery was 30% and 18% for LMWH-users and non-users, respectively (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.5). Risk of severe PPH after vaginal delivery was not different (5.6 vs 5.0%; OR 1.1; 0.4-3.6). Risk of PPH after CS was 12% in LMWH-users and 4% in non-users (OR 2.9; 0.5-19.4). Both events of LMWH-users occurred after emergency CS. The risk of PPH associated with delivery within 24 hours after last dose of LMWH was 1.2 fold higher (95% CI 0.4-3.6) compared to a larger interval. Conclusion: High dose LMWH carries an increased risk of more than 500 mL blood loss after vaginal delivery. However, this results not in more clinical relevant severe PPHs. The interval between last dose of LMWH and delivery does not influence the risk of PPH. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Effect of Mechanical Stimuli on the Phenotypic Plasticity of Induced Pluripotent Stem-Cell-Derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in a 3D Hydrogel

Introduction: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a pivotal role in vascular homeostasis, with dysregulation leading to vascular complications. Human-induced pluripotent stem-cell (hiPSC)-derived VSMCs offer prospects for personalized disease modeling and regenerative strategies. Current research lacks comparative studies on the impact of three-dimensional (3D) substrate properties under cyclic strain on phenotypic adaptation in hiPSC-derived VSMCs. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of intrinsic substrate properties, such as the hydrogel’s elastic modulus and cross-linking density in a 3D static and dynamic environment, on the phenotypical adaptation of human mural cells derived from hiPSC-derived organoids (ODMCs), compared to aortic VSMCs. Methods and results: ODMCs were cultured in two-dimensional (2D) conditions with synthetic or contractile differentiation medium or in 3D Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMa) substrates with varying degrees of functionalization and percentages to modulate Young’s modulus and cross-linking density. Cells in 3D substrates were exposed to cyclic, unidirectional strain. Phenotype characterization was conducted using specific markers through immunofluorescence and gene expression analysis. Under static 2D culture, ODMCs derived from hiPSCs exhibited a VSMC phenotype, expressing key mural markers, and demonstrated a level of phenotypic plasticity similar to primary human VSMCs. In static 3D culture, a substrate with a higher Young’s modulus and cross-linking density promoted a contractile phenotype in ODMCs and VSMCs. Dynamic stimulation in the 3D substrate promoted a switch toward a contractile phenotype in both cell types. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates phenotypic plasticity of human ODMCs in response to 2D biological and 3D mechanical stimuli that equals that of primary human VSMCs. These findings may contribute to the advancement of tailored approaches for vascular disease modeling and regenerative strategies.</p

A song of volumes, surfaces and fluxes: The case study of the Central Mallorca Depression (Balearic Promontory) during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

The Central Mallorca Depression (CMD) located in the Balearic Promontory (Western Mediterranean) contains a well-preserved evaporitic sequence belonging to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) salt giant, densely covered by high- and low-resolution seismic reflection data. It has been proposed recently that the MSC evaporitic sequence in the CMD could be a non-deformed analogue of the key MSC area represented by the Caltanissetta Basin in Sicily. This presumed similarity makes the CMD an interesting system to better understand the MSC events. Physics-based box models of the water mixing between sub-basins, built on conservation of mass of water and salt, help constrain the hydrological conditions under which evaporites formed during the MSC. Those models have been widely used in the literature of the MSC in the past two decades. They have been mostly applied to the Mediterranean Sea as a whole focusing on the Mediterranean–Atlantic connection, or focusing on the influence of the Sicily Sill connecting the Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we apply a downscaled version of such modelling technique to the CMD. First, we quantify the present-day volumes of the MSC units. We then use a reconstructed pre-MSC paleo-bathymetry to model salinity changes as a function of flux exchanges between the CMD and the Mediterranean. We show that a persistent connection between the CMD and the Mediterranean brine near gypsum saturation can explain volume of Primary Lower Gypsum under a sea level similar to the present. For the halite, on the contrary, we show that the observed halite volume cannot be deposited from a connected CMD-Mediterranean scenario, suggesting a drawdown of at least 850 m (sill depth) is necessary. Comparison between the deep basin halite volume and that of the CMD shows that it is possible to obtain the observed halite volume in both basins from a disconnected Mediterranean basin undergoing drawdown, although determining the average salinity of the Western Mediterranean basin at the onset of drawdown requires further investigation

Transition From Diencephalic Syndrome to Hypothalamic Obesity in Children With Suprasellar Low Grade Glioma: A Case Series

Background: Children with suprasellar low grade glioma (LGG) frequently develop problems to maintain their body weight within the normal range, due to hypothalamic dysfunction. Hypothalamic damage may result in the diencephalic syndrome (DS), characterized by underweight or failure to thrive, but also in hypothalamic obesity (HO). Children with LGG presenting with DS at young age often develop HO later in life. The underlying pathophysiology for this change in body mass index (BMI) is not understood. Previous hypotheses have focused on the tumor or its treatment as the underlying cause. To better understand its etiology, we aimed to relate changes in BMI over time in children with suprasellar LGG presenting with DS to age, tumor progression, treatment, and endocrine function. We hypothesize that the development of HO in children with LGG presenting with DS is related to maturation status of the hypothalamus at time of injury and thus age. Methods: In this retrospective case series, all cases diagnosed in the Netherlands with suprasellar located LGG, currently treated or followed, with a history of DS developing into HO were included. Results: In total, 10 children were included. Median age at LGG diagnosis was 1.5 years (range 0.4–5.5), median BMI SDS was −2.64. The children developed overweight at a median age of 4.5 years (2.2–9.8). The median total difference in BMI SDS between underweight and obesity was +5.75 SDS (4.5–8.7). No association could be found between transition of DS to HO and onset of a pituitary disorder (present in 70.0%), surgery, chemotherapy, or tumor behavior. Two had developed central precocious puberty (CPP), both while having underweight or normal weight. Conclusion: The shift from DS to HO in children with hypothalamic LGG may be associated with age and not to tumor behavior, treatment characteristics or pituitary function. The development of CPP in these children seems not to be related to obesity. Our findings may indicate that the clinical picture of hypothalamic dysfunction reflects the maturation state of the hypothalamus at time of lesioning. Future prospective studies are needed to better understand underlying causative mechanisms of the morbid changes in body weight