Revisiting land cover observations to address the needs of the climate modeling community

Improving systematic observations of land cover, as an Essential Climate Variable, should contribute to a better understanding of the global climate system and thus improve our ability to predict climatic change. The aim of this paper is to bring global land cover observations closer to meeting the needs of climate science. First, consultation mechanisms were established with the climate modeling community to identify its specific requirements in terms of satellite-based global land cover products. This assessment highlighted specific needs in terms of land cover characterization, accuracy of products, as well as stability and consistency needs that are currently not met or even addressed. The current land cover representation and mapping techniques were then called into question to specifically focus on the critical need of stable products expressed by climate users. Decoupling the stable and dynamic components of the land cover characterization and using a multi-year dataset were proposed as two key approaches to allow generating consistent suites of global land cover products over time

Late onset of new conduction disturbances requiring permanent pacemaker implantation following TAVI

Background: The timing of onset and associated predictors of late new conduction disturbances (CDs) leading to permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) are still unknown, however, essential for an early and safe discharge. This study aimed to investigate the timing of onset and associated predictors of late onset CDs in patients requiring PPI (LCP) following TAVI. Methods and results: We performed retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from five large volume centres in Europe. Post-TAVI electrocardiograms and telemetry data were evaluated in patients with a PPI post-TAVI to identify the onset of new advanced CDs. Early onset CDs were defined as within 48 hours after procedure, and late onset CDs as after 48 hours. A total of 2804 patients were included for analysis. The PPI rate was 12%, of which 18% was due to late onset CDs (>48 hours). Independent predictors for LCP were pre-existing non-specific intraventricular conduction delay, pre-existing right bundle branch block, self-expandable valves and predilation. At least one of these risk factors was present in 98% of patients with LCP. Patients with a balloon-expandable valve without predilation did not develop CDs requiring PPI after 48 hours. Conclusions: Safe early discharge might be feasible in patients without CDs in the first 48 hours after TAVI if no risk factors for LCP are present

Macroecology meets macroevolution: evolutionary niche dynamics in the seaweed <i>Halimeda</i>

Aim Because of their broad distribution in geographical and ecological dimensions, seaweeds (marine macroalgae) offer great potential as models for marine biogeographical inquiry and exploration of the interface between macroecology and macroevolution. This study aims to characterize evolutionary niche dynamics in the common green seaweed genus Halimeda, use the observed insights to gain understanding of the biogeographical history of the genus and predict habitats that can be targeted for the discovery of species of special biogeographical interest.Location Tropical and subtropical coastal waters.Methods The evolutionary history of the genus is characterized using molecular phylogenetics and relaxed molecular clock analysis. Niche modelling is carried out with maximum entropy techniques and uses macroecological data derived from global satellite imagery. Evolutionary niche dynamics are inferred through application of ancestral character state estimation.Results A nearly comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the genus was inferred from a six-locus dataset. Macroecological niche models showed that species distribution ranges are considerably smaller than their potential ranges. We show strong phylogenetic signal in various macroecological niche features.Main conclusions The evolution of Halimeda is characterized by conservatism for tropical, nutrient-depleted habitats, yet one section of the genus managed to invade colder habitats multiple times independently. Niche models indicate that the restricted geographical ranges of Halimeda species are not due to habitat unsuitability, strengthening the case for dispersal limitation. Niche models identified hotspots of habitat suitability of Caribbean species in the eastern Pacific Ocean. We propose that these hotspots be targeted for discovery of new species separated from their Caribbean siblings since the Pliocene rise of the Central American Isthmus

Transcriptional profiling of macaque microglia reveals an evolutionary preserved gene expression program

Microglia are tissue-resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), and important for CNS development and homeostasis. In the adult CNS, microglia monitor environmental changes and react to tissue damage, cellular debris, and pathogens. Here, we present a gene expression profile of purified microglia isolated from the rhesus macaque, a non-human primate, that consists of 666 transcripts. The macaque microglia transcriptome was intersected with the transcriptional programs of microglia from mouse, zebrafish, and human CNS tissues, to determine (dis)similarities. This revealed an extensive overlap of 342 genes between the transcriptional profile of macaque and human microglia, and showed that the gene expression profile of zebrafish is most distant when compared to other species. Furthermore, an evolutionair core based on the overlapping gene expression signature from all four species was identified. This study presents a macaque microglia transcriptomics profile, and identifies a gene expression program in microglia that is preserved across species, underscoring their CNS-tailored tissue macrophage functions as innate immune cells with CNS-surveilling properties

Triplet Exciton Generation in Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells based on Endohedral Fullerenes

Organic bulk-heterojunctions (BHJ) and solar cells containing the trimetallic nitride endohedral fullerene 1-[3-(2-ethyl)hexoxy carbonyl]propyl-1-phenyl-Lu3N@C80 (Lu3N@C80-PCBEH) show an open circuit voltage (VOC) 0.3 V higher than similar devices with [6,6]-phenyl-C[61]-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM). To fully exploit the potential of this acceptor molecule with respect to the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells, the short circuit current (JSC) should be improved to become competitive with the state of the art solar cells. Here, we address factors influencing the JSC in blends containing the high voltage absorber Lu3N@C80-PCBEH in view of both photogeneration but also transport and extraction of charge carriers. We apply optical, charge carrier extraction, morphology, and spin-sensitive techniques. In blends containing Lu3N@C80-PCBEH, we found 2 times weaker photoluminescence quenching, remainders of interchain excitons, and, most remarkably, triplet excitons formed on the polymer chain, which were absent in the reference P3HT:PC61BM blends. We show that electron back transfer to the triplet state along with the lower exciton dissociation yield due to intramolecular charge transfer in Lu3N@C80-PCBEH are responsible for the reduced photocurrent

Optimized Trigger for Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic-Ray and Neutrino Observations with the Low Frequency Radio Array

When an ultra-high energy neutrino or cosmic ray strikes the Lunar surface a radio-frequency pulse is emitted. We plan to use the LOFAR radio telescope to detect these pulses. In this work we propose an efficient trigger implementation for LOFAR optimized for the observation of short radio pulses.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section

Genomics of Aspergillus oryzae: Learning from the History of Koji Mold and Exploration of Its Future

At a time when the notion of microorganisms did not exist, our ancestors empirically established methods for the production of various fermentation foods: miso (bean curd seasoning) and shoyu (soy sauce), both of which have been widely used and are essential for Japanese cooking, and sake, a magical alcoholic drink consumed at a variety of ritual occasions, are typical examples. A filamentous fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, is the key organism in the production of all these traditional foods, and its solid-state cultivation (SSC) has been confirmed to be the secret for the high productivity of secretory hydrolases vital for the fermentation process. Indeed, our genome comparison and transcriptome analysis uncovered mechanisms for effective degradation of raw materials in SSC: the extracellular hydrolase genes that have been found only in the A. oryzae genome but not in A. fumigatus are highly induced during SSC but not in liquid cultivation. Also, the temperature reduction process empirically adopted in the traditional soy-sauce fermentation processes has been found to be important to keep strong expression of the A. oryzae-specific extracellular hydrolases. One of the prominent potentials of A. oryzae is that it has been successfully applied to effective degradation of biodegradable plastic. Both cutinase, responsible for the degradation of plastic, and hydrophobin, which recruits cutinase on the hydrophobic surface to enhance degradation, have been discovered in A. oryzae. Genomic analysis in concert with traditional knowledge and technology will continue to be powerful tools in the future exploration of A. oryzae