The timing of prograde metamorphism in the Garhwal Himalaya, India

The Himalaya provide the most significant example of present-day orogenesis and consequently have been extensively studied to gain an understanding of the principle controls on the response of the crust to continental collision. However, our understanding of the prograde metamorphic evolution of the orogen remains poor. This thesis builds on recent advances in the study of PTt paths, using garnet chronometry, to better constrain the thennobarometric evolution of the Garhwal section of the Indian Himalaya. Results show that the metamorphic core of the Garhwal Himalaya - the High Himalayan Crystalline Series (HHCS) - records a complex, continuous prograde thermal history from initial burial -10 Ma after continental collision at -50 Ma, up to cooling and exhumation at 20-16 Ma BP. PT paths obtained from garnets indicate that prograde metamorphism occurred during crustal thickening and "peak" thermobarometric estimates show that the presently exposed HHCS records temperatures of -700 °C throughout the section accompanied by a decrease in pressures from --13 kbar at the base to -6 kbar at the top. However, chronometric information shows that reorganisation of the orogenic wedge resulted in the juxtaposition of rocks which attained different PT conditions at different times and places during orogenesis. Additionally, temperatures were sufficient in the early stages of orogenesis for the development of small leucogranitic bodies to form by fluid-present melting. The HHCS in Garhwal, therefore, cannot be considered as a single coherent crustal slice. Furthermore, the continued reorganisation of the orogen since collision also means the heat generation within the overthickened orogenic wedge is sufficient for anatexis of the crust to form the well-studied melts intruding the upper levels of the HHCS. However, interpretation of the results is complicated by the isotopic systematics involved in garnet chronometry and by the role of small inclusions with high concentrations of the critical elements of- Nd, Pb, Sr. The systematics of the Sm-Nd system in garnet has been investigated by a comparison of concentrations obtained insitu by LA-ICP-MS with those obtained by isotope dilution. Results show that while such inclusions can pose a problem to chronometry, their effects can be identified and constrained. In the course of such work data was obtained on the trace-element zonation in garnet, which acts as a monitor of the chemical evolution of the rock. While the controls on such zonation are still poorly understood the data presented here emphasise the importance of fractionation of the chemical system from which the garnet grows by both accessory minerals and by garnet itself. Furthermore, different minerals fractionate distinctly different elements this can be recognised in the trace-element zonation preserved in garnet

A comparative study of the efficiency of jet schemes

We present two versions of third order accurate jet schemes, which achieve high order accuracy by tracking derivative information of the solution along characteristic curves. For a benchmark linear advection problem, the efficiency of jet schemes is compared with WENO and Discontinuous Galerkin methods of the same order. Moreover, the performance of various schemes in tracking solution contours is investigated. It is demonstrated that jet schemes possess the simplicity and speed of WENO schemes, while showing several of the advantages as well as the accuracy of DG methods.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, presented at the conference Mathematical Modeling and Applications to Industrial Problems 201

Application of an artificial neural network to the prediction of firedamp emissions in coal mines

International audienceCoal extraction at great depths and high output faces lead to more and more elevated and irregular firedamp emissions. To respect safety conditions, coal production must be programmed to limit methane emissions in airways. In this context, the prediction of firedamp emissions is an interesting tool to optimize safety and production. But mathematical modelling of firedamp desorption and gas circulation physical processes involve non-linear physical laws and a high number of hardly accessible parameters. So artificial neural networks have been developed to model firedamp emissions : artificial neural networks as universal approximators are able to learn from examples and generalize in unknown situations. Artificial neural networks need a large amount of data sufficiently representative to learn the physical processes. Data relative to mining ventilation, such as methane concentration and air velocity in airways, are monitored and can be used to model firedamp emissions. The model based on artificial neural networks has been calibrated and validated using data from coal faces recently exploited in Lorraine Coalfield (East of France). The model reliability has been appreciated on the results of a posteriori forecasts. The model is used to forecast methane concentration values in airways as a function of coal production

Plasmodium vivax-like genome sequences shed new insights into Plasmodium vivax biology and evolution

Although Plasmodium vivax is responsible for the majority of malaria infections outside Africa, little is known about its evolution and pathway to humans. Its closest genetic relative, P. vivax-like, was discovered in African great apes and is hypothesized to have given rise to P. vivax in humans. To unravel the evolutionary history and adaptation of P. vivax to different host environments, we generated using long- and short-read sequence technologies 2 new P. vivax-like reference genomes and 9 additional P. vivax-like genotypes. Analyses show that the genomes of P. vivax and P. vivax-like are highly similar and colinear within the core regions. Phylogenetic analyses clearly show that P. vivax-like parasites form a genetically distinct clade from P. vivax. Concerning the relative divergence dating, we show that the evolution of P. vivax in humans did not occur at the same time as the other agents of human malaria, thus suggesting that the transfer of Plasmodium parasites to humans happened several times independently over the history of the Homo genus. We further identify several key genes that exhibit signatures of positive selection exclusively in the human P. vivax parasites. Two of these genes have been identified to also be under positive selection in the other main human malaria agent, P. falciparum, thus suggesting their key role in the evolution of the ability of these parasites to infect humans or their anthropophilic vectors. Finally, we demonstrate that some gene families important for red blood cell (RBC) invasion (a key step of the life cycle of these parasites) have undergone lineage-specific evolution in the human parasite (e.g., reticulocyte-binding proteins [RBPs])

Genomes of all known members of a Plasmodium subgenus reveal paths to virulent human malaria

Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent agent of human malaria, shares a recent common ancestor with the gorilla parasite Plasmodium praefalciparum. Little is known about the other gorilla- and chimpanzee-infecting species in the same (Laverania) subgenus as P. falciparum, but none of them are capable of establishing repeated infection and transmission in humans. To elucidate underlying mechanisms and the evolutionary history of this subgenus, we have generated multiple genomes from all known Laverania species. The completeness of our dataset allows us to conclude that interspecific gene transfers, as well as convergent evolution, were important in the evolution of these species. Striking copy number and structural variations were observed within gene families and one, stevor, shows a host-specific sequence pattern. The complete genome sequence of the closest ancestor of P. falciparum enables us to estimate the timing of the beginning of speciation to be 40,000–60,000 years ago followed by a population bottleneck around 4,000–6,000 years ago. Our data allow us also to search in detail for the features of P. falciparum that made it the only member of the Laverania able to infect and spread in humans

Aggressive mammary carcinoma progression in Nrf2 knockout mice treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2), which belongs to the basic leucine zipper transcription factor family, is a strategy for cancer chemopreventive phytochemicals. It is an important regulator of genes induced by oxidative stress, such as glutathione S-transferases, heme oxygenase-1 and peroxiredoxin 1, by activating the antioxidant response element (ARE). We <it>hypothesized </it>that (1) the citrus coumarin auraptene may suppress premalignant mammary lesions via activation of Nrf2/ARE, and (2) that Nrf2 knockout (KO) mice would be more susceptible to mammary carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Premalignant lesions and mammary carcinomas were induced by medroxyprogesterone acetate and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene treatment. The 10-week pre-malignant study was performed in which 8 groups of 10 each female wild-type (WT) and KO mice were fed either control diet or diets containing auraptene (500 ppm). A carcinogenesis study was also conducted in KO vs. WT mice (n = 30-34). Comparisons between groups were evaluated using ANOVA and Kaplan-Meier Survival statistics, and the Mann-Whitney U-test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All mice treated with carcinogen exhibited premalignant lesions but there were no differences by genotype or diet. In the KO mice, there was a dramatic increase in mammary carcinoma growth rate, size, and weight. Although there was no difference in overall survival, the KO mice had significantly lower mammary tumor-free survival. Also, in the KO mammary carcinomas, the active forms of NF-κB and β-catenin were increased ~2-fold whereas no differences in oxidized proteins were observed. Many other tumors were observed, including lymphomas. Interestingly, the incidences of lung adenomas in the KO mice were significantly higher than in the WT mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We report, for the first time, that there was no apparent difference in the formation of premalignant lesions, but rather, the KO mice exhibited rapid, aggressive mammary carcinoma progression.</p

Does Work Affect Personality? A Study in Horses

It has been repeatedly hypothesized that job characteristics are related to changes in personality in humans, but often personality models still omit effects of life experience. Demonstrating reciprocal relationships between personality and work remains a challenge though, as in humans, many other influential factors may interfere. This study investigates this relationship by comparing the emotional reactivity of horses that differed only by their type of work. Horses are remarkable animal models to investigate this question as they share with humans working activities and their potential difficulties, such as “interpersonal” conflicts or “suppressed emotions”. An earlier study showed that different types of work could be associated with different chronic behavioural disorders. Here, we hypothesised that type of work would affect horses' personality. Therefore over one hundred adult horses, differing only by their work characteristics were presented standardised behavioural tests. Subjects lived under the same conditions (same housing, same food), were of the same sex (geldings), and mostly one of two breeds, and had not been genetically selected for their current type of work. This is to our knowledge the first time that a direct relationship between type of work and personality traits has been investigated. Our results show that horses from different types of work differ not as much in their overall emotional levels as in the ways they express emotions (i.e. behavioural profile). Extremes were dressage horses, which presented the highest excitation components, and voltige horses, which were the quietest. The horses' type of work was decided by the stall managers, mostly on their jumping abilities, but unconscious choice based on individual behavioural characteristics cannot be totally excluded. Further research would require manipulating type of work. Our results nevertheless agree with reports on humans and suggest that more attention should be given to work characteristics when evaluating personalities

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker candidates associated with human WNV neuroinvasive disease

During the last decade, the epidemiology of WNV in humans has changed in the southern regions of Europe, with high incidence of West Nile fever (WNF) cases, but also of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND). The lack of human vaccine or specific treatment against WNV infection imparts a pressing need to characterize indicators associated with neurological involvement. By its intimacy with central nervous system (CNS) structures, modifications in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition could accurately reflect CNS pathological process. Until now, few studies investigated the association between imbalance of CSF elements and severity of WNV infection. The aim of the present study was to apply the iTRAQ technology in order to identify the CSF proteins whose abundances are modified in patients with WNND. Forty-seven proteins were found modified in the CSF of WNND patients as compared to control groups, and most of them are reported for the first time in the context of WNND. On the basis of their known biological functions, several of these proteins were associated with inflammatory response. Among them, Defensin-1 alpha (DEFA1), a protein reported with anti-viral effects, presente

Breast cancer stem cells: tools and models to rely on

There is increasing evidence for the "cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis", which holds that cancers are driven by a cellular component that has stem cell properties, including self-renewal, tumorigenicity and multi-lineage differentiation capacity. Researchers and oncologists see in this model an explanation as to why cancer may be so difficult to cure, as well as a promising ground for novel therapeutic strategies. Given the specific stem cell features of self-renewal and differentiation, which drive tumorigenesis and contribute to cellular heterogeneity, each marker and assay designed to isolate and characterize CSCs has to be functionally validated. In this review, we survey tools and markers available or promising to identify breast CSCs. We review the main models used to study breast CSCs and how they challenge the CSC hypothesis