Investigating Maar Formation and the climate history of Southern Argentina–the Potrok Aike Maar Lake Sediment Archive Drilling Project (PASADO)

Evidence is increasing that the Southern Ocean plays a key role in the global climate system. The southern hemisphere contains more than 90% of the world’s ice, and eighty-one percent of its total surface area is covered by oceans. On global terms, the most extreme oceanic character is encountered between 40°S and 60°S latitude, where land (Patagonia and a few islands) comprises only 2% of the surface area. Terrestrial archives of past climate changes are thus extremely scarce at these latitudes. As Patagonia is subject to shifts in polar and mid-latitude winds, pressure fi elds, and precipitation regimes, as well as to variations related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Antarctic Oscillation (AO), it has the unique potential to record variations in the hydrological cycle, changes in aeolian dust deposition, the frequency of volcanic activity, and other natural forces that control climatic conditions. Lake sediments can provide important archives for such terrestrial climatic and environmental reconstructions. In the semi-arid steppe region of Patagonia, however, most of the lakes are periodically dry or ephemeral. One exception is the 100-m-deep crater lake Laguna Potrok Aike (Fig. 1), a 770 ± 220 thousand year old maar situated in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina. The lake is located in the Pali Aike Volcanic Field (Fig. 2), the southernmost back-arc Neozoic volcanic fi eld of South America. As Laguna Potrok Aike has not been reached by any Pleistocene ice advance during the last 1 Ma, it is potentially the only mid-latitude lake in the Southern Hemisphere with a continuous sedimentary record covering several glacial to interglacial cycles. In addition to global reconstructions, regional climatic variations represent other important aspects of research.Fil: Zolitschka, Bernd. Universitat Bremen; AlemaniaFil: Corbella, Hugo. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; ArgentinaFil: Maidana, Nora Irene. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ohlendorf, Christian. Universitat Bremen; Alemani

A high-altitude peatland record of environmental changes in the NW Argentine Andes (24 ° S) over the last 2100 years

High-altitude cushion peatlands are versatile archives for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental studies, due to their high accumulation rates, range of proxies, and sensitivity to climatic and/or human-induced changes. Especially within the Central Andes, the knowledge about climate conditions during the Holocene is limited. In this study, we present the environmental and climatic history for the last 2100 years of Cerro Tuzgle peatland (CTP), located in the dry Puna of NW Argentina, based on a multi-proxy approach. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), stable isotope and element content analyses (δ13C, δ15N, TN and TOC) were conducted to analyse the inorganic geochemistry throughout the sequence, revealing changes in the peatlands' past redox conditions. Pollen assemblages give an insight into substantial environmental changes on a regional scale. The palaeoclimate varied significantly during the last 2100 years. The results reflect prominent late Holocene climate anomalies and provide evidence that in situ moisture changes were coupled to the migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). A period of sustained dry conditions prevailed from around 150 BC to around AD 150. A more humid phase dominated between AD 200 and AD 550. Afterwards, the climate was characterised by changes between drier and wetter conditions, with droughts at around AD 650-800 and AD 1000-1100. Volcanic forcing at the beginning of the 19th century (1815 Tambora eruption) seems to have had an impact on climatic settings in the Central Andes. In the past, the peatland recovered from climatic perturbations. Today, CTP is heavily degraded by human interventions, and the peat deposit is becoming increasingly susceptible to erosion and incision.Fil: Schittek, Karsten. University of Heidelberg; Alemania. Universitat Zu Köln; AlemaniaFil: Kock, Sebastian T.. University of Heidelberg; Alemania. Research Center Jülich; AlemaniaFil: Lücke, Andreas. Helmholtz Gemeinschaft. Forschungszentrum Jülich; AlemaniaFil: Hense, Jonathan. Universitaet Bonn; AlemaniaFil: Ohlendorf, Christian. Universitat Bremen; AlemaniaFil: Kulemeyer, Julio José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Jujuy. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Jujuy; ArgentinaFil: Lupo, Liliana Concepcion. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Jujuy. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Jujuy; ArgentinaFil: Schäbitz, Frank. Universitat Zu Köln; Alemani

Malettinin E, an antibacterial and antifungal tropolone produced by a marine Cladosporium strain

The isolation and structure elucidation of malettinins A–C (1–3) along with the new malettinin E (4) are described. The compounds were produced by the fungus Cladosporium sp. strain KF501, which was isolated from the German Wadden Sea. The malettinins are built up of tropolone/dihydropyran ring structures linked to a furan ring. The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was achieved by means of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy supported by mass and UV data. The relative configuration of 4 was determined on the basis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. 1–4 exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities when profiled against Xanthomonas campestris and Trichophyton rubrum. The influence of the chemical structure of the furan ring and of configurational changes on biological activities was observed

High-resolution paleomagnetic records from Laguna Potrok Aike (Patagonia, Argentina) for the last 16,000 years

Holocene and Late-glacial records documenting variations in direction and intensity of the geomagnetic field during the last 16,000 cal. BP are presented for Southern Patagonia. This continuous high-resolution terrestrial record from Laguna Potrok Aike (51°58´S, 70°23´W) was recovered within the SALSA(South Argentinean Lake Sediment Archives and modeling) project. Mineral magnetic measurements indicate that pseudo single-domain magnetite is the major carrier of the remanence allowing the reliable determination of stable natural remanent magnetization inclinations and declinations from alternatingfield demagnetization and principal component analysis. Paleomagnetic secular variation records reveal most of the familiar features of declination and inclination that have previously been reported in other records from South Argentina but conspicuous centennial-scale differences are also observed. The results illustrate the potential of paleosecular variations records for dating sedimentary sequences in southern South America.Fil: Gogorza, Claudia Susana. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Irurzun, Maria Alicia. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Sinito, Ana Maria. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Lisé Pronovost, Agathe. Université du Québec a Montreal; CanadáFil: St Onge, Guillaume. Université du Québec a Montreal; CanadáFil: Haberzettl, Torsten. Universitat Jena; AlemaniaFil: Ohlendorf, Christian. Universitat de Bremen; AlemaniaFil: Kastner, Stephanie. Universitat de Bremen; AlemaniaFil: Zolitschka, Bernd. Universitat de Bremen; Alemani

The first annual meeting of the Nippon Hoken-Gakkai (Insurance Institute of Japan)

The effects of manipulated dental occlusion on body posture has been investigated quite often and discussed controversially in the literature. Far less attention has been paid to the influence of dental occlusion position on human movement. If human movement was analysed, it was mostly while walking and not while running. This study was therefore designed to identify the effect of lower jaw positions on running behaviour according to different dental occlusion positions.Twenty healthy young recreational runners (mean age = 33.9±5.8 years) participated in this study. Kinematic data were collected using an eight-camera Vicon motion capture system (VICON Motion Systems, Oxford, UK). Subjects were consecutively prepared with four different dental occlusion conditions in random order and performed five running trials per test condition on a level walkway with their preferred running shoes. Vector based pattern recognition methods, in particular cluster analysis and support vector machines (SVM) were used for movement pattern identification.Subjects exhibited unique movement patterns leading to 18 clusters for the 20 subjects. No overall classification of the splint condition could be observed. Within individual subjects different running patterns could be identified for the four splint conditions. The splint conditions lead to a more symmetrical running pattern than the control condition.The influence of an occlusal splint on running pattern can be confirmed in this study. Wearing a splint increases the symmetry of the running pattern. A more symmetrical running pattern might help to reduce the risk of injuries or help in performance. The change of the movement pattern between the neutral condition and any of the three splint conditions was significant within subjects but not across subjects. Therefore the dental splint has a measureable influence on the running pattern of subjects, however subjects individuality has to be considered when choosing the optimal splint condition for a specific subject

Intra- and inter-rater reliability of joint range of motion tests using tape measure, digital inclinometer and inertial motion capturing

Background In clinical practice range of motion (RoM) is usually assessed with low-cost devices such as a tape measure (TM) or a digital inclinometer (DI). However, the intra- and inter-rater reliability of typical RoM tests differ, which impairs the evaluation of therapy progress. More objective and reliable kinematic data can be obtained with the inertial motion capture system (IMC) by Xsens. The aim of this study was to obtain the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the TM, DI and IMC methods in five RoM tests: modified Thomas test (DI), shoulder test modified after Janda (DI), retroflexion of the trunk modified after Janda (DI), lateral inclination (TM) and fingertip-to-floor test (TM). Methods Two raters executed the RoM tests (TM or DI) in a randomized order on 22 healthy individuals while, simultaneously, the IMC data (Xsens MVN) was collected. After 15 warm-up repetitions, each rater recorded five measurements. Findings Intra-rater reliabilities were (almost) perfect for tests in all three devices (ICCs 0.886–0.996). Inter-rater reliability was substantial to (almost) perfect in the DI (ICCs 0.71–0.87) and the IMC methods (ICCs 0.61–0.993) and (almost) perfect in the TM methods (ICCs 0.923–0.961). The measurement error (ME) for the tests measured in degree (°) was 0.9–3.3° for the DI methods and 0.5–1.2° for the IMC approaches. In the tests measured in centimeters the ME was 0.5–1.3cm for the TM methods and 0.6–2.7cm for the IMC methods. Pearson correlations between the results of the DI or the TM respectively with the IMC results were significant in all tests except for the shoulder test on the right body side (r = 0.41–0.81). Interpretation Measurement repetitions of either one or multiple trained raters can be considered reliable in all three devices

Practical guidelines and recent advances in the Itrax XRF core-scanning procedure

XRF core scanning has evolved to become a standard analytical technique for the rapid assessment of elemental, density and textural variations in a wide range of sediments and other materials, with applications ranging from palaeoceanography, paleoclimatology, geology, and environmental forensics to environmental protection. In general, scanning provides rapid, non-destructive acquisition of elemental and textural variations at sub-millimetre resolution for a wide range of materials. Numerous procedural adaptations have been developed for the growing number of applications, such as analyses of unconsolidated, water-rich sediments, powdered soil samples, or resin bags. Here, practical expertise and guidance from the Itrax community, gained over 15 years, is presented that should provide insights for new and experienced users

Stable Oxygen Isotope Records (δ18O) of a High-Andean Cushion Peatland in NW Argentina (24° S) Imply South American Summer Monsoon Related Moisture Changes During the Late Holocene

High-elevation cushion peatlands are promising archives for paleoenvironmental studies in their extreme habitat of the Central Andean highlands between ∼4000 and 4800 m a.s.l. The Cerro Tuzgle cushion peatland (CTP, 24°09′ S, 66°24′ W), located in the NW Argentine Andes, is formed by the vascular cushion plants Oxychloe andina (O. andina) and Zameioscirpus muticus (Z. muticus). To extend the knowledge base on the modern ecology of these peatlands, we investigated the stable isotope composition of bulk material and cellulose (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) of the dominant cushion-forming species O. andina (Juncaceae) and Z. muticus (Cyperaceae) as well as water samples (δ18O, δ2H) of several pools interspersed within the peatland. We further applied a multiproxy approach for a peat core from CTP spanning the last 2900 years with XRF scanning, bulk geochemistry and stable isotope analyses on bulk peat and cellulose size fractions. Modern samples of O. andina and Z. muticus expose significant differences in cellulose δ18O, e.g., between leaves and rhizomes of O. andina (Δδ18Ol-r = 4.11‰) and between leaves of O. andina and Z. muticus (Δδ18Ol-l = 2.8‰). Modern water samples exhibit strong isotopic differences between single water pools (max. Δδ18O = 13.09‰) due to local variable evaporative enrichment. Within the peat core, we observe considerable multi-centennial variations in δ18O composition of cellulose confirmed by all size fractions. Based on the regional relation between decreasing δ18Oprec values with increasing precipitation amounts and 18O enrichment in the peatland waters due to evaporation, we suggest an interpretation of our δ18O cellulose record as moisture proxy for CTP. This interpretation is corroborated by a high correlation between oxygen isotopes, peat growth and geochemical data. Accordingly, CTP indicates dryer conditions between 2190 and 2120, 1750 and 1590, 1200 and 1080 and since 130 cal. yr BP, whereas periods with increased humidity prevailed from 2750 to 2250 and from 600 to 130 cal. yr BP. Temporal changes in the match to South American Summer Monsoon (SASM) reconstructions suggest impacts of other large-scale atmospheric variability modes or a different SASM expression at our southerly location

Methodik

Die vegetationskundliche und strukturelle Zuordnung der Lebensraumtypen erfolgt nach der vorrangig von Braun-Blanquet entwickelten Vegetationsklassifizierung, einer hierarchischen Gliederung der Vegetationstypen (Syntaxonomie), die die Ebenen der Assoziation, des Verbandes, der Ordnung und der Klasse umfasst. Hierbei ist die Assoziation die grundlegende Einheit, in der die Pflanzengesellschaften zusammengefasst werden, die sich durch gleiche charakteristische Arten(gruppen)kombinationen auszeichnen. Der Verband vereinigt ähnliche Assoziationen. Das sind bereits umfassendere, jedoch standörtlich noch recht einheitliche Vegetationseinheiten. In Ordnungen werden ähnliche Verbände zusammengefasst. Die Klasse vereinigt ähnliche Ordnungen

Computationally designed Spike antigens induce neutralising responses against the breadth of SARS-COV-2 variants

Updates of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are required to generate immunity in the population against constantly evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants of concerns (VOCs). Here we describe three novel in-silico designed spike-based antigens capable of inducing neutralising antibodies across a spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs. Three sets of antigens utilising pre-Delta (T2_32), and post-Gamma sequence data (T2_35 and T2_36) were designed. T2_32 elicited superior neutralising responses against VOCs compared to the Wuhan-1 spike antigen in DNA prime-boost immunisation regime in guinea pigs. Heterologous boosting with the attenuated poxvirus - Modified vaccinia Ankara expressing T2_32 induced broader neutralising immune responses in all primed animals. T2_32, T2_35 and T2_36 elicited broader neutralising capacity compared to the Omicron BA.1 spike antigen administered by mRNA immunisation in mice. These findings demonstrate the utility of structure-informed computationally derived modifications of spike-based antigens for inducing broad immune responses covering more than 2 years of evolved SARS-CoV-2 variants