Temperature dependence of binary and ternary recombination of H3+ ions with electron

We study binary and the recently discovered process of ternary He-assisted recombination of H3+ ions with electrons in a low temperature afterglow plasma. The experiments are carried out over a broad range of pressures and temperatures of an afterglow plasma in a helium buffer gas. Binary and He-assisted ternary recombination are observed and the corresponding recombination rate coefficients are extracted for temperatures from 77 K to 330 K. We describe the observed ternary recombination as a two-step mechanism: First, a rotationally-excited long-lived neutral molecule H3* is formed in electron-H3+ collisions. Second, the H3* molecule collides with a helium atom that leads to the formation of a very long-lived Rydberg state with high orbital momentum. We present calculations of the lifetimes of H3* and of the ternary recombination rate coefficients for para and ortho-H3+. The calculations show a large difference between the ternary recombination rate coefficients of ortho- and para-H3+ at temperatures below 300 K. The measured binary and ternary rate coefficients are in reasonable agreement with the calculated values.Comment: 15 page

Autophagy of mucin granules contributes to resolution of airway mucous metaplasia

Abstract Exacerbations of muco-obstructive airway diseases such as COPD and asthma are associated with epithelial changes termed mucous metaplasia (MM). Many molecular pathways triggering MM have been identified; however, the factors that regulate resolution are less well understood. We hypothesized that the autophagy pathway is required for resolution of MM by eliminating excess non-secreted intracellular mucin granules. We found increased intracellular levels of mucins Muc5ac and Muc5b in mice deficient in autophagy regulatory protein, Atg16L1, and that this difference was not due to defects in the known baseline or stimulated mucin secretion pathways. Instead, we found that, in mucous secretory cells, Lc3/Lamp1 vesicles colocalized with mucin granules particularly adjacent to the nucleus, suggesting that some granules were being eliminated in the autophagy pathway rather than secreted. Using a mouse model of MM resolution, we found increased lysosomal proteolytic activity that peaked in the days after mucin production began to decline. In purified lysosomal fractions, Atg16L1-deficient mice had reduced proteolytic degradation of Lc3 and Sqstm1 and persistent accumulation of mucin granules associated with impaired resolution of mucous metaplasia. In normal and COPD derived human airway epithelial cells (AECs), activation of autophagy by mTOR inhibition led to a reduction of intracellular mucin granules in AECs. Our findings indicate that during peak and resolution phases of MM, autophagy activity rather than secretion is required for elimination of some remaining mucin granules. Manipulation of autophagy activation offers a therapeutic target to speed resolution of MM in airway disease exacerbations

The pleistocene species pump past its prime:Evidence from European butterfly sister species

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: Read data are available from the ENA at PRJEB43082. Sequence alignments for the COI barcode locus were obtained from the dataset DS-EUGENMAP (dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-EUGENMAP) on BOLD at www.boldsystems.org and were originally produced by Dincӑ et al., (2021). The script used for calculating diversity and divergence is available at https://github.com/samebdon/orthodiver/blob/master/orthodiver.py.The Pleistocene glacial cycles had a profound impact on the ranges and genetic make-up of organisms. Whilst it is clear that the contact zones that have been described for many sister taxa are secondary and have formed during the last interglacial, it is unclear when the taxa involved began to diverge. Previous estimates based on small numbers of loci are unreliable given the stochasticity of genetic drift and the contrasting effects of incomplete lineage sorting and gene flow on gene divergence. Here we use genome-wide transcriptome data to estimate divergence for 18 sister species pairs of European butterflies showing either sympatric or contact zone distributions. We find that in most cases species divergence predates the mid-Pleistocene transition or even the entire Pleistocene period. We also show that although post divergence gene flow is restricted to contact zone pairs, they are not systematically younger than sympatric pairs. This suggests that contact zones are not limited to the initial stages of the speciation process, but can involve notably old taxa. Finally, we show that mitochondrial and nuclear divergence are only weakly correlated and mitochondrial divergence is higher for contact-zone pairs.Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)European Union Horizon 202

Uncertainties and opportunities in delivering environmentally sustainable surgery:the surgeons' view

Surgery is a carbon‐heavy activity and creates a high volume of waste. Surgical teams around the world want to deliver more environmentally sustainable surgery but are unsure what to do and how to create change. There are many interventions available, but resources and time are limited. Capital investment into healthcare and engagement of senior management are challenging. However, frontline teams can change behaviours and drive wider change. Patients have a voice here too, as they would like to ensure their surgery does not harm their local community but are concerned about the effects on them when changes are made. Environmentally sustainable surgery is at the start of its journey. Surgeons need to rapidly upskill their generic knowledge base, identify which measures they can implement locally and take part in national research programmes. Surgical teams in the NHS have the chance to create a world‐leading programme that can bring change to hospitals around the world. This article provides an overview of how surgeons see the surgical team being involved in environmentally sustainable surgery

Banking union in historical perspective: the initiative of the European Commission in the 1960s-1970s

This article shows that planning for the organization of EU banking regulation and supervision did not just appear on the agenda in recent years with discussions over the creation of the eurozone banking union. It unveils a hitherto neglected initiative of the European Commission in the 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing on extensive archival work, this article explains that this initiative, however, rested on a number of different assumptions, and emerged in a much different context. It first explains that the Commission's initial project was not crisis-driven; that it articulated the link between monetary integration and banking regulation; and finally that it did not set out to move the supervisory framework to the supranational level, unlike present-day developments

Energy from the gauge invariant observables

For a classical solution |Psi> in Witten's cubic string field theory, the gauge invariant observable is conjectured to be equal to the difference of the one-point functions of the closed string state corresponding to V, between the trivial vacuum and the one described by |Psi>. For a static solution |Psi>, if V is taken to be the graviton vertex operator with vanishing momentum, the gauge invariant observable is expected to be proportional to the energy of |Psi>. We prove this relation assuming that |Psi> satisfies equation of motion and some regularity conditions. We discuss how this relation can be applied to various solutions obtained recently.Comment: 27 pages; v5: minor revision in section 2, results unchange

Identification of QTLs Associated with Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Barley Accession CIho 4196

Fusarium head blight (FHB), incited by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe [teleomorph Gibberella zea (Schwein)], reduces quality of harvested barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) because of blighted kernels and the presence of deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin produced by the pathogen. CIho 4196, a two-rowed type, is one of the most resistant accessions known in barley; however, it possesses many undesirable agronomic traits. To better understand the genetics of reduced FHB severity and DON accumulation conferred by CIho 4196, a genetic map was generated using a population of recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between Foster (a six-rowed malting cultivar) and CIho 4196. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses were performed using data obtained from 10 field environments. The possible associations of resistance QTLs and various agronomic and morphological traits in barley also were investigated. The centromeric region of chromosome 2H flanked by the markers ABG461C and MWG882A (bins 6–10) likely (P\u3c0.001) contains two QTLs contributing to lower FHB severity and plant height, and one QTL each for DON accumulation, days to heading, and rachis node number. The QTL for low FHB severity in the bin 8 region explained from 3 to 9% of the variation, while the QTL in the bin 10 region explained from 17 to 60% of the variation. A QTL for DON accumulation that explained 9 to 14% of the variation was found in the bin 2 region of chromosome 4H. This may represent a new QTL not present in other FHB resistant sources. Resistance QTLs in the bin 8 region and bin 10 region of chromosome 2HL were provisionally designated Qrgz-2H-8 and Qrgz-2H-10, respectively. The QTL for DON accumulation in chromosome 4H was provisionally named QDON-4H-2

Probing ultrafast carrier dynamics and nonlinear absorption and refraction in core-shell silicon nanowires

We investigate the relaxation dynamics of photogenerated carriers in silicon nanowires consisting of a crystalline core and a surrounding amorphous shell, using femtosecond time-resolved differential reflectivity and transmission spectroscopy at photon energies of 3.15 eV and 1.57 eV. The complex behavior of the differential transmission and reflectivity transients is the mixed contributions from the crystalline core and the amorphous silicon on the nanowire surface and the substrate where competing effects of state filling and photoinduced absorption govern the carrier dynamics. Faster relaxation rates are observed on increasing the photo-generated carrier density. Independent experimental results on crystalline silicon-on-sapphire help us in separating the contributions from the carrier dynamics in crystalline core and the amorphous regions in the nanowire samples. Further, single beam z-scan nonlinear transmission experiments at 1.57 eV in both open and close aperture configurations yield two-photon absorption coefficient \$beta$ (~3 cm/GW) and nonlinear refraction coefficient \$gamma$ (-2.5x10^-4 cm2/GW).Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Aluminum tolerance in maize is associated with higher MATE1 gene copy number

Genome structure variation, including copy number variation and presence/absence variation, comprises a large extent of maize genetic diversity; however, its effect on phenotypes remains largely unexplored. Here, we describe how copy number variation underlies a rare allele that contributes to maize aluminum (Al) tolerance. Al toxicity is the primary limitation for crop production on acid soils, which make up 50% of the world's potentially arable lands. In a recombinant inbred line mapping population, copy number variation of the Al tolerance gene multidrug and toxic compound extrusion 1 (MATE1) is the basis for the quantitative trait locus of largest effect on phenotypic variation. This expansion in MATE1 copy number is associated with higher MATE1 expression, which in turn results in superior Al tolerance. The three MATE1 copies are identical and are part of a tandem triplication. Only three maize inbred lines carrying the three-copy allele were identified from maize and teosinte diversity panels, indicating that copy number variation for MATE1 is a rare, and quite likely recent, event. These maize lines with higher MATE1 copy number are also Al-tolerant, have high MATE1 expression, and originate from regions of highly acidic soils. Our findings show a role for copy number variation in the adaptation of maize to acidic soils in the tropics and suggest that genome structural changes may be a rapid evolutionary response to new environments