A novel population of composite mounds: their initiation, growth and demise. San Emiliano Formation, Cantabrian Mountains, Spain

Purpose: Mounds from the Pennsylvanian aged San Emiliano Formation (Cantabrian Mountains, Spain) are commonly well exposed. These mounds range from 2 to 50 m in height and are observed to be primary geological features. The mounds are described and classified and the factors and controls of mound nucleation, growth and demise have been established. Methods: Microfacies analysis of 177 thin sections has revealed the composition of the mounds and surrounding carbonates. Results: Composite mounds, exhibiting characteristic components of both Cluster mounds and Agglutinated Microbial mounds are described. The mounds are skeletal-microbial/pack-wackestones. Peloidal, homogenous and clotted micrites are the main sedimentological constituents of the mounds. Microfossils are dominant with Donezella, Claracrusta, Rothpletzella and Girvanella being common. Small foraminifera, bryozoans, corals and algae are all present within the mounds, but are more common within off-mound carbonates. Conclusions: The formation of the mounds was controlled by a dynamic relationship between Donezellacean algae, and microscopic encrusters, a bio-mechanism not observed in mud mounds elsewhere. Fluctuating environmental conditions lead to the alternate dominance between the two groups, resulting in accretion and stabilisation of carbonate muds. These mounds are compositionally different to their Pennsylvanian counterparts

Academic Tribalism and Subject Specialists as a Challenge to Teaching and Learning in Dual Honours Systems; a Qualitative Perspective From the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele University, UK.

Here we give an account of our experiences teaching within a tight cognate group (Earth Sciences) and our perception of academic tribalism within a dual honours teaching and learning environment. We pose the question whether academic tribalism represents a positive or negative effect to the teaching and learning process and if it has an impact on our students becoming discipline specialists

Location, location, location: the evolutionary history of CD1 genes and the NKR-P1/ligand systems

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this recordCD1 genes encode cell surface molecules that present lipid antigens to various kinds of T lymphocytes of the immune system. The structures of CD1 genes and molecules are like the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I system, the loading of antigen and the tissue distribution for CD1 molecules are like those in the class II system, and phylogenetic analyses place CD1 between class I and class II sequences, altogether leading to the notion that CD1 is a third ancient system of antigen presentation molecules. However, thus far, CD1 genes have only been described in mammals, birds and reptiles, leaving major questions as to their origin and evolution. In this review, we recount a little history of the field so far and then consider what has been learned about the structure and functional attributes of CD1 genes and molecules in marsupials, birds and reptiles. We describe the central conundrum of CD1 evolution, the genomic location of CD1 genes in the MHC and/or MHC paralogous regions in different animals, considering the three models of evolutionary history that have been proposed. We describe the natural killer (NK) receptors NKR-P1 and ligands, also found in different genomic locations for different animals. We discuss the consequence of these three models, one of which includes the repudiation of a guiding principle for the last 20 years, that two rounds of genome-wide duplication at the base of the vertebrates provided the extra MHC genes necessary for the emergence of adaptive immune system of jawed vertebrates

Tracking Sustainability Concepts in Geology and Earth Science Teaching and Learning, Keele University, UK

Sustainability of the planet is fundamental to our common future, and geologists and geoscientists are key stakeholders in this process. Better understanding of the Earth, its processes and utilisation of its resources, through successful science communication, is necessary for the effective creation of sustainability policy. Whilst the synergy between geoscience and sustainability is often obvious, the framing of the links is often neglected or downplayed within the UK Higher Education setting. This results in geoscientists lacking in familiarity with sustainability issues, including the ability to communicate geoscience issues to non-specialists effectively. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the inclusion and embedding of sustainability issues within Geology and Geoscience modules (offered by the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele University, UK) is framed in an effort to consolidate and enhance our current standing on sustainability issues. Further tracking of the emphasis and positioning of sustainability issues within these modules will enable a better articulation of the importance between geology and society

A Microfacies Analysis of Arid Continental Carbonates from the Cedar Mesa Sandstone Formation, Utah, USA

Arid continental environments are typically dominated by siliciclastic aeolian, alluvial and fluvial deposits. Despite their common recognition within these environments, carbonate deposits are often overlooked, yet they can provide vital insight into the depositional history, climate, and tectonic controls of a sedimentary basin. This work presents a detailed microfacies analysis of the carbonates found within the Cedar Mesa Sandstone Formation of the Western USA. The Cedar Mesa Sandstone Formation is an early Permian, predominantly aeolian succession, exposed across much of the Colorado Plateau of southern Utah and northern Arizona. The formation is dominantly clastic erg deposits, that grade into a mixed carbonate/clastic sedimentary succession interbedded with carbonate and evaporitic units, interpreted to represent sabkha or sabkha‐like deposits. Whilst many authors have worked within the aeolian dominated facies and have proposed various facies schemes for the siliciclastic components, comparatively little attention has been paid to the mixed evaporitic/clastic/carbonate aeolian‐sabkha transition zone. In this work the microfacies of the carbonates present within the Cedar Mesa Sandstone are analysed, in order to: (i) develop a record of, and interpret carbonate components, (ii) propose depositional mechanisms and (iii) identify evolutionary trends that stand alongside the formation's clastic depositional story. Six microfacies are presented: MF1) Clastic Influenced Carbonate Wackestone; MF2) Laminated Carbonate Wackestone/Packstone; MF3) Microbial Laminated Fenestral Bindstone; MF4) Rounded Mudclast Wackestone; MF5) Laminated Bioclastic‐Ostracod‐Carbonate Wackestone and MF6) Microcrystalline Quartz. The microfacies have been interpreted to document the development of carbonate interdune, lacustrine and continental sabkha environments influenced by localised fault control juxtaposed across a wetting and drying climate cycle and provide useful comparisons for other mixed evaporite/carbonate and clastic sequences

Human Rhinovirus 16 Causes Golgi Apparatus Fragmentation without Blocking Protein Secretion

The replication of picornaviruses has been described to cause fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus that blocks the secretory pathway. The inhibition of major histocompatibility complex class I upregulation and cytokine, chemokine and interferon secretion may have important implications for host defense. Previous studies have shown that disruption of the secretory pathway can be replicated by expression of individual nonstructural proteins; however the situation with different serotypes of human rhinovirus (HRV) is unclear. The expression of 3A protein from HRV14 or HRV2 did not cause Golgi apparatus disruption or a block in secretion, whereas other studies showed that infection of cells with HRV1A did cause Golgi apparatus disruption which was replicated by the expression of 3A. HRV16 is the serotype most widely used in clinical HRV challenge studies; consequently, to address the issue of Golgi apparatus disruption for HRV16, we have systematically and quantitatively examined the effect of HRV16 on both Golgi apparatus fragmentation and protein secretion in HeLa cells. First, we expressed each individual nonstructural protein and examined their cellular localization and their disruption of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus architecture. We quantified their effects on the secretory pathway by measuring secretion of the reporter protein Gaussia luciferase. Finally, we examined the same outcomes following infection of cells with live virus. We demonstrate that expression of HRV16 3A and 3AB and, to a lesser extent, 2B caused dispersal of the Golgi structure, and these three nonstructural proteins also inhibited protein secretion. The infection of cells with HRV16 also caused significant Golgi apparatus dispersal; however, this did not result in the inhibition of protein secretion. IMPORTANCE The ability of replicating picornaviruses to influence the function of the secretory pathway has important implications for host defense. However, there appear to be differences between different members of the family and inconsistent results when comparing infection with live virus to expression of individual nonstructural proteins. We demonstrate that individual nonstructural HRV16 proteins, when expressed in HeLa cells, can both fragment the Golgi apparatus and block secretion, whereas viral infection fragments the Golgi apparatus without blocking secretion. This has major implications for how we interpret mechanistic evidence derived from the expression of single viral proteins

Kank Is an EB1 Interacting Protein that Localises to Muscle-Tendon Attachment Sites in Drosophila

Little is known about how microtubules are regulated in different cell types during development. EB1 plays a central role in the regulation of microtubule plus ends. It directly binds to microtubule plus ends and recruits proteins which regulate microtubule dynamics and behaviour. We report the identification of Kank, the sole Drosophila orthologue of human Kank proteins, as an EB1 interactor that predominantly localises to embryonic attachment sites between muscle and tendon cells. Human Kank1 was identified as a tumour suppressor and has documented roles in actin regulation and cell polarity in cultured mammalian cells. We found that Drosophila Kank binds EB1 directly and this interaction is essential for Kank localisation to microtubule plus ends in cultured cells. Kank protein is expressed throughout fly development and increases during embryogenesis. In late embryos, it accumulates to sites of attachment between muscle and epidermal cells. A kank deletion mutant was generated. We found that the mutant is viable and fertile without noticeable defects. Further analysis showed that Kank is dispensable for muscle function in larvae. This is in sharp contrast to C. elegans in which the Kank orthologue VAB-19 is required for development by stabilising attachment structures between muscle and epidermal cells