The Copernicus surface velocity platform drifter with barometer and reference sensor for temperature (SVP-BRST): genesis, design, and initial results

To support calibration and validation of satel- lite sea surface temperature (SST) retrievals, over 60 high- resolution SST (HRSST) drifting buoys were deployed at sea between 2012 and 2017. Their data record is reviewed here. It is confirmed that sea state and immersion depth play an important role in understanding the data collected by such buoys and that the SST sensors need adequate insu- lation. In addition, calibration verification of three recovered drifters suggests that the sensor drift is low, albeit negative at around −0.01 K year−1. However, the statistical significance of these results is limited, and the calibration procedure could not be exactly reproduced, introducing additional uncertain- ties into this drift assessment. Based on lessons learnt from these initial buoys, a new sensor package for the Surface Velocity Platform with Barometer (SVP-B) was designed to serve calibration of SST retrievals by European Union’s Copernicus satellites. The novel sensor package includes an HRSST sensor calibrated by a metrology laboratory. The sensor includes a pressure probe to monitor immersion depth in calm water and acquires SST data at 1 Hz over a 5 min in- terval every hour. This enables the derivation of mean SST as well as several percentiles of the SST distribution. The HRSST sensor is calibrated with an uncertainty better than 0.01 K. Analysis of the data collected by two prototypes de- ployed in the Mediterranean Sea shows that the buoys are able to capture small-scale SST variations. These variations are found to be smaller when the sea state is well mixed and when the buoys are located within eddy cores. This affects the drifter SST data representativeness, which is an aspect of importance for optimal use of these data

Collapse of the world's largest herbivores

Large wild herbivores are crucial to ecosystems and human societies. We highlight the 74 largest terrestrial herbivore species on Earth (body mass ≥100 kg), the threats they face, their important and often overlooked ecosystem effects, and the conservation efforts needed to save them and their predators from extinction. Large herbivores are generally facing dramatic population declines and range contractions, such that ~60% are threatened with extinction. Nearly all threatened species are in developing countries, where major threats include hunting, land-use change, and resource depression by livestock. Loss of large herbivores can have cascading effects on other species including large carnivores, scavengers, mesoherbivores, small mammals, and ecological processes involving vegetation, hydrology, nutrient cycling, and fire regimes. The rate of large herbivore decline suggests that ever-larger swaths of the world will soon lack many of the vital ecological services these animals provide, resulting in enormous ecological and social costs

Different Modes of Retrovirus Restriction by Human APOBEC3A and APOBEC3G In Vivo

The apolipoprotein B editing complex 3 (A3) cytidine deaminases are among the most highly evolutionarily selected retroviral restriction factors, both in terms of gene copy number and sequence diversity. Primate genomes encode seven A3 genes, and while A3F and 3G are widely recognized as important in the restriction of HIV, the role of the other genes, particularly A3A, is not as clear. Indeed, since human cells can express multiple A3 genes, and because of the lack of an experimentally tractable model, it is difficult to dissect the individual contribution of each gene to virus restriction in vivo. To overcome this problem, we generated human A3A and A3G transgenic mice on a mouse A3 knockout background. Using these mice, we demonstrate that both A3A and A3G restrict infection by murine retroviruses but by different mechanisms: A3G was packaged into virions and caused extensive deamination of the retrovirus genomes while A3A was not packaged and instead restricted infection when expressed in target cells. Additionally, we show that a murine leukemia virus engineered to express HIV Vif overcame the A3G-mediated restriction, thereby creating a novel model for studying the interaction between these proteins. We have thus developed an in vivo system for understanding how human A3 proteins use different modes of restriction, as well as a means for testing therapies that disrupt HIV Vif-A3G interactions.United States. Public Health Service (Grant R01-AI-085015)United States. Public Health Service (Grant T32-CA115299 )United States. Public Health Service (Grant F32-AI100512

Multiple Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases Regulate Vaccinia Virus Morphogenesis

Poxvirus morphogenesis is a complex process that involves the successive wrapping of the virus in host cell membranes. We screened by plaque assay a focused library of kinase inhibitors for those that caused a reduction in viral growth and identified several compounds that selectively inhibit phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Previous studies demonstrated that PI3Ks mediate poxviral entry. Using growth curves and electron microscopy in conjunction with inhibitors, we show that that PI3Ks additionally regulate morphogenesis at two distinct steps: immature to mature virion (IMV) transition, and IMV envelopment to form intracellular enveloped virions (IEV). Cells derived from animals lacking the p85 regulatory subunit of Type I PI3Ks (p85α−/−β−/−) presented phenotypes similar to those observed with PI3K inhibitors. In addition, VV appear to redundantly use PI3Ks, as PI3K inhibitors further reduce plaque size and number in p85α−/−β−/− cells. Together, these data provide evidence for a novel regulatory mechanism for virion morphogenesis involving phosphatidylinositol dynamics and may represent a new therapeutic target to contain poxviruses

Copy number variation in the speciation of pigs: a possible prominent role for olfactory receptors

Background: Unraveling the genetic mechanisms associated with reduced gene flow between genetically differentiated populations is key to understand speciation. Different types of structural variations (SVs) have been found as a source of genetic diversity in a wide range of species. Previous studies provided detailed knowledge on the potential evolutionary role of SVs, especially copy number variations (CNVs), between well diverged species of e.g. primates. However, our understanding of their significance during ongoing speciation processes is limited due to the lack of CNV data from closely related species. The genus Sus (pig and its close relatives) which started to diverge ~4 Mya presents an excellent model for studying the role of CNVs during ongoing speciation. Results: In this study, we identified 1408 CNV regions (CNVRs) across the genus Sus. These CNVRs encompass 624 genes and were found to evolve ~2.5 times faster than single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The majority of these copy number variable genes are olfactory receptors (ORs) known to play a prominent role in food foraging and mate recognition in Sus. Phylogenetic analyses, including novel Bayesian analysis, based on CNVRs that overlap ORs retain the well-accepted topology of the genus Sus whereas CNVRs overlapping genes other than ORs show evidence for random drift and/or admixture. Conclusion: We hypothesize that inter-specific variation in copy number of ORs provided the means for rapid adaptation to different environments during the diversification of the genus Sus in the Pliocene. Furthermore, these regions might have acted as barriers preventing massive gene flow between these species during the multiple hybridization events that took place later in the Pleistocene suggesting a possible prominent role of ORs in the ongoing Sus speciation

Surface salinity measurements - COSMOS 2005 experiment in the Bay of Biscay

12 páginas, 7 figuras, 2 tablas.Sea surface salinity (SSS) data were collected in the Bay of Biscay between April and November 2005. The major source of data is 15 surface drifters deployed during the COSMOS experiment in early April and early May 2005 [12 from the Scripps Instution of Oceanography (SIO) and 3 from METOCEAN]. This is complemented by thermosalinograph (TSG) data from four French research vessels and four merchant vessels, from salinity profiles collected by Argo profiling floats and CTD casts, and from surface samples during two cruises. Time during the two cruises was dedicated to direct inspection of the drifters, recovering some, and providing validation data. This dataset provides a unique opportunity to estimate the accuracy of the SSS data and to evaluate the long-term performance of the drifter salinities. Some of the TSG SSS data were noisy, presumably from bubbles. The TSG data from the research vessels needed to be corrected from biases, which are very commonly larger than 0.1 pss-78 (practical salinity scale), and which in some instances evolved quickly from day to day. These corrections are only available when samples were collected or ancillary data are available (e.g., from CTD profiles). The resulting accuracy of the corrected TSG dataset, which varies strongly in time, is discussed. The surface drifter SSS data presented anomalous daytime values during days with strong surface warming. These data had to be excluded from the dataset. The drifter SSS presented initial biases in the range 0.009 to −0.026 pss-78. The (usually) negative bias increased by an average of −0.007 pss-78 during the average 65-day period before the COSMOS-2 cruise on 22–27 June. High chlorophyll derived from satellite ocean color, and therefore high density of phytoplanktonic cells, is observed in Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) composites during part of the period, in particular in late April or early May. No correlation was found between the change in bias and the estimated surface chlorophyll. Evolution during the following summer months is harder to ascertain. For three buoys, there is little change in bias, but for two others, there could have been an increase in bias by up to 0.03 or 0.04 pss-78 during July–August. Seven drifters were recovered in the autumn, which provide recovery or postrecovery estimates of the biases, suggesting in three cases (out of seven) a large (0.02–0.03 pss-78) increase in bias during the autumn months, but no significant increase for the other four drifters.Funding for the research was provided by CNES.Peer reviewe

The OceanoScientific® Programme

The aim of the OceanoScientific® Programme and its SolOceans One-design Class is to collect and transmit scientific data from the ocean-atmosphere interface during regularly starting offshore sailing races. Data collected on board the first vessel proved to be of good quality. Thus the first important step towards the introduction of an accepted as well as highly valuable platform for ocean surface and atmospheric parameter acquisition has been taken and its serial production can begi

The 'Bosco' buoy

Translated from French (Dir. Met., Met-Mar., 1986 (131) p. 11-13)Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:9022.552(MO-Trans--1635)T / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Surface salinity measurements - COSMOS 2005 experiment in the Bay of Biscay

International audienc