Ostracod-based isotope record from Lake Ohrid (Balkan Peninsula) over the last 140 ka

International audienceThe stable isotope composition of benthic ostracods from a deep-lake sediment core (JO2004-1) recovered from Lake Ohrid (Albania-Macedonia) was studied to investigate regional responses to climate change at the interface between the north-central European and Mediterranean climate systems. Ostracod valves are present only during interglacial intervals, during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and 1. The ostracod oxygen isotope values (delta O-18) quantitatively reflect changes in the oxygen isotope signal of the lake water (delta O-18(L)). The interpretation of this record however, is far from straight forward. delta O-18(L) variations throughout MIS 5/6 transition (TII), MIS 5 and MIS 1 appear to be controlled by site specific hydrological processes as shown by modern isotope hydrology. The delta O-18(L) trends at TII. MIS 5 and MIS 1 match the timing and the main structural feature of the major regional climate records (Corchia cave delta O-18, Iberian margin Sea Surface Temperature) suggesting that the Ohrid delta O-18(L) responded to global-scale climate changes, although it seems certain that the lake experienced a significant degree of evaporation and varying moisture availability. The carbon isotope signal (delta C-13) seems to respond more accurately to climate changes in agreement with other JO2004-1 proxies. delta C-13 of the ostracod calcite is directly linked to the delta C-13 of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the lake, which in this case is controlled by the isotopic composition of the DIC in the incoming water and by the internal processes of the lake. High delta C-13 during cold periods and low values during warm periods reflect changing vegetation cover and soil activity. These results suggest that Lake Ohrid has the potential to capture a long record of regional environment related-temperature trends during interglacial periods, particularly given the exceptional thickness of the lake sediment covering probably the entire Quaternary. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Bimanual motor skill learning with robotics in chronic stroke: comparison between minimally impaired and moderately impaired patients, and healthy individuals.

Most activities of daily life (ADL) require cooperative bimanual movements. A unilateral stroke may severely impair bimanual ADL. How patients with stroke (re)learn to coordinate their upper limbs (ULs) is largely unknown. The objectives are to determine whether patients with chronic supratentorial stroke could achieve bimanual motor skill learning (bim-MSkL) and to compare bim-MSkL between patients and healthy individuals (HIs). Twenty-four patients and ten HIs trained over 3 consecutive days on an asymmetrical bimanual coordination task (CIRCUIT) implemented as a serious game in the REAplan® robot. With a common cursor controlled by coordinated movements of the ULs through robotic handles, they performed as many laps as possible (speed constraint) on the CIRCUIT while keeping the cursor within the track (accuracy constraint). The primary outcome was a bimanual speed/accuracy trade-off (biSAT), we used a bimanual coordination factor (biCO) and bimanual forces (biFOP) for the secondary outcomes. Several clinical scales were used to evaluate motor and cognitive functions. Overall, the patients showed improvements on biSAT and biCO. Based on biSAT progression, the HI achieved a larger bim-MSkL than the patients with mild to moderate impairment (Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE): 28-55, n = 15) but not significantly different from those with minimal motor impairment (FMA-UE: 66, n = 9). There was a significant positive correlation between biSAT evolution and the FMA-UE and Stroke Impact Scale. Both HI and patients with chronic stroke training on a robotic device achieved bim-MSkL, although the more impaired patients were less efficient. Bim-MSkL with REAplan® may be interesting for neurorehabilitation after stroke. ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT03974750. Registered 05 June 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03974750?cond=NCT03974750&draw=2&rank=1

International perspectives on glass waste form development for low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste

International audienceThe global energy transition to low-carbon energy sources will require a significant contribution of nuclearenergy to achieve emission goals. Low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) and intermediate-level radioactivewastes (ILW) are created in various phases in the nuclear fuel cycle for power generation, as well as fromnuclear accidents, legacy weapons production, contaminated site decommissioning, and other nuclear fuelcycle activities such as radiopharmaceutical production. In this review, we will summarize recentdevelopments, state-of-the-art glass formulations, and thermal treatment process developments forvitrification of nuclear LLW and ILW from programs in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.Throughout, we will discuss the selection of glass over other possible waste forms and any specialprocessing considerations due to the nature of the waste. The characteristics of the wastes, such as mixedtechnological waste, waste coming from dismantling of reprocessing facilities, site decommissioning,accident site decontamination, are important considerations. This is balanced with the suite of technologiesavailable to vitrify these wastes, such as variations of incineration, in-can melting, and plasma treatment.Glass properties and microstructural aspects – such as inclusion of crystals or metallic phases – arecompared to give an overview of the versatility of packaging matrices, such as homogeneous glasses,composites, and crystalline matrices. The volume and heterogeneity of the waste, as well as radionuclide,chemical and low silicate solubility components, factor into the selection of a given waste form, processingroute, and technology. Case studies include examples from the United States, United Kingdom, Russia,France, Australia, Japan, Korea, and China

International Perspectives on Glass Waste Form Development for Low-Level and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste

The global energy transition to low-carbon energy sources will require a significant contribution of nuclear energy to achieve emission goals. Low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) and intermediate-level radioactive wastes (ILW) are created in various phases in the nuclear fuel cycle for power generation, as well as from nuclear accidents, legacy weapons production, contaminated site decommissioning, and other nuclear fuel cycle activities such as radiopharmaceutical production. In this review, we will summarize recent developments, state-of-the-art glass formulations, and thermal treatment process developments for vitrification of nuclear LLW and ILW from programs in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Throughout, we will discuss the selection of glass over other possible waste forms and any special processing considerations due to the nature of the waste. The characteristics of the wastes, such as mixed technological waste, waste coming from dismantling of reprocessing facilities, site decommissioning, accident site decontamination, are important considerations. This is balanced with the suite of technologies available to vitrify these wastes, such as variations of incineration, in-can melting, and plasma treatment. Glass properties and microstructural aspects – such as inclusion of crystals or metallic phases – are compared to give an overview of the versatility of packaging matrices, such as homogeneous glasses, composites, and crystalline matrices. The volume and heterogeneity of the waste, as well as radionuclide, chemical and low silicate solubility components, factor into the selection of a given waste form, processing route, and technology. Case studies include examples from the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Australia, Japan, Korea, and China

DEEP-C Consortium: Carbon sink or methane source – local to global scale assessment of lentic waters’ role in the climate system

International audienceLentic waters are biogeochemical reactors, producing and receiving carbon (C) originally fixed by the terrestrial and aquatic biosphere, which is then buried in sediments or respired back to the atmosphere in the forms of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and one of the more potent greenhouse gas (GHG) methane (CH 4 ). Additionally, lakes serve as archives of terrestrial and aquatic carbon processes within their sediments, enabling the reconstruction of historical changes spanning thousands of years. These changes encompass alterations in land cover, indicated by pollen records, soil carbon erosion and shifts in lake productivity resulting from changes in land use and climate. Both the burial of C in lakes and the emissions of GHGs are recognised as important components of Earth's climate system, yet they remain poorly understood and constrained due to inadequate quantities and qualities of observations. In the case of GHG emissions from lakes, observations are often sporadic, failing to capture the significant spatial and temporal variations in emissions across diverse lentic systems. To address this challenge, process-based models that incorporate the interconnected biogeochemical processes occurring within lakes and their watersheds would arguably be the best tool to extrapolate from site-level observations to regional and finally global scales, to quantify the anthropogenic impact on these fluxes and to reconstruct long-term shifts in emissions and burial due to changes in land cover and climate. However, the development and evaluation of such models is hampered by the lack of observations in sufficient quality. In this project, we bring together a unique consortium of specialists in aquatic ecology, biogeochemistry, palynology, sedimentology and modelling of terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemistry. This project will put forth a national programme of systematic, long-term observations of lake GHG and C cycling processes of unmet detail, consistency and quality. First, at 40 pilot sites spanning typological and environmental gradients, there will be a comprehensive data acquisition endeavour to evaluate biological processes and mesological factors influencing the sequestration or recycling of organic carbon. This effort will be complemented with a synthesis of existing data (WP1). Second, based on well-dated sediment records, which include both newly-acquired and synthesised existing data, variability of lake C burial and their climate and land-use controls will be reconstructed over the past 150 years (WP2). For 15 of these pilot sites, reconstruction will go back until the mid-Holocene (5,000 years BP), allowing us to shed light on the anthropogenic perturbation of the C cycle in this earlier part of human history, which is commonly excluded from this type of research due to lack of information. The activities of these first two WPs will result in an open-source national database, guaranteeing valorisation of our research far beyond this project. In WP3, we will use the land surface model (LSM) ORCHIDEE C-lateral to assess C cycling in the terrestrial biosphere and the mobilisation of biospheric C into lakes, which is possible due to an explicit representation of soil C leaching and erosion processes and a downscaling scheme permitting us to assess C exports from watersheds at sub-grid scale. While LSMs are used to assess evolution of biospheric C budgets from the beginning of the Industrial Period, we will use it to hindcast the evolution since the mid-Holocene, using lake sediment records for model validation. Moreover, we will develop a new process-based lake C model supported by the database established in WPs 1 and 2, which we will couple to ORCHIDEE C-lateral to simulate lake C burial and GHG emissions in response to climate and processes in the lake watershed. This model set-up will first be used to better constrain contemporary large-scale lake GHG emissions and to disentangle the anthropogenic perturbation of these fluxes from the natural background flux. These estimates will be revolutionary, as they will allow attributing part of lake GHG emissions to anthropogenic emissions for national GHG budget reporting. Then, these models will be emulated to reconstruct evolution of lake GHG budgets and C budgets of the whole lake watershed since the mid-Holocene. While simulations will first be performed at the scales of France and Europe, the development of international partnerships to implement observations from other biomes (WP4) will finally support simulations at the global scale

DEEP-C Consortium: Carbon sink or methane source -local to global scale assesment of lentic waters' role in the climate system

International audienceLentic waters are biogeochemical reactors, producing and receiving carbon (C) originally fixed by the terrestrial and aquatic biosphere, which is then buried in sediments or respired back to the atmosphere in the forms of carbon dioxide (CO ) and one of the more potent greenhouse gas (GHG) methane (CH ). Additionally, lakes serve as archives of terrestrial and aquatic carbon processes within their sediments, enabling the reconstruction of historical changes spanning thousands of years. These changes encompass alterations in land cover, indicated by pollen records, soil carbon erosion, and shifts in lake productivity resulting from changes in land use and climate. Both the burial of C in lakes and the emissions of GHGs are recognized as an important components of Earth's climate system, yet they remain poorly understood and constrained due to inadequate quantities and qualities of observations. In the case of GHG emissions from lakes, observations are often sporadic, failing to capture the significant spatial and temporal variations in emissions across diverse lentic systems. Toaddress this challenge, process-based models that incorporate the interconnectedbiogeochemical processes occurring within lakes and their watersheds would arguably be the best tool to extrapolate from site-level observations to regional and finally global scales, to quantify the anthropogenic impact on these fluxes, and to reconstruct long-term shifts in emissions and burial due to changes in land cover and climate. But the development and evaluation of such models is hampered by the lack of observations insufficient quality. In this project, we bring together a unique consortium of specialists in aquatic ecology, biogeochemistry, palynology, sedimentology and modelling of terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemistry. This project will put forth a national program of systematic, long-term observations of lake GHG and C cycling processes of unmet detail, consistency and quality. First, at 40 pilot sites spanning typological and environmental gradients,there will be a comprehensive data acquisition endeavor to evaluate biological processes and mesological factors influencing the sequestration or recycling of organic carbon. This effort will be complemented with a synthesis of existing data (WP1). Second, based on well-dated sediment records, which include both newly acquired and synthesized existing data, variability of lake C burial and their climate and land use controls will be reconstructed over the past 150 years (WP2). For 15 of these pilot sites, reconstruction will go back until the mid-Holocene (5,000 years BP), allowing to shedlight on the anthropogenic perturbation of the C cycle in this earlier part of human history,which is commonly excluded from this type of research due to lack of information. The activities of these two first WPs will result in an open-source national database, guaranteeing valorization of our research far beyond this project. In WP3, we will use the land surface model (LSM) ORCHIDEE C-lateral to assess C cycling in the terrestrial biosphere and the mobilization of biospheric C into lakes, which is possible due to an explicit representation of soil C leaching and erosion processes and a downscalingscheme permitting to assess C exports from watersheds at sub-grid scale. While LSMs are used to assess evolution of biospheric C budgets from the beginning of the Industrial Period, we will use it to hindcast the evolution since the mid-Holocene, using lake sediment record for model validation. Moreover, we develop a new process-based lake C model supported by the database established in WPs 1 and 2, which we will couple to ORCHIDEE C-lateral to simulate lake C burial and GHG emissions in response to climate and processes in the lake watershed. This model set-up will first be used to better constrain contemporary large-scale lake GHG emissions and to disentangle the anthropogenic perturbation of these fluxes from the natural background flux. These estimates will be revolutionary, as they will allow attributing part of lake GHG emissions to anthropogenic emissions for national GHG budget reporting. Then, these models will be emulated to reconstruct evolution of lake GHG budgets and C budgets of the whole lakewatershed since the mid-Holocene. While simulations will first be performed at the scales of France and Europe, the development of international partnerships to implement observations from other biomes (WP4) will finally support simulations at the global scal

DEEP-C Consortium: Carbon sink or methane source -local to global scale assesment of lentic waters' role in the climate system

International audienceLentic waters are biogeochemical reactors, producing and receiving carbon (C) originally fixed by the terrestrial and aquatic biosphere, which is then buried in sediments or respired back to the atmosphere in the forms of carbon dioxide (CO ) and one of the more potent greenhouse gas (GHG) methane (CH ). Additionally, lakes serve as archives of terrestrial and aquatic carbon processes within their sediments, enabling the reconstruction of historical changes spanning thousands of years. These changes encompass alterations in land cover, indicated by pollen records, soil carbon erosion, and shifts in lake productivity resulting from changes in land use and climate. Both the burial of C in lakes and the emissions of GHGs are recognized as an important components of Earth's climate system, yet they remain poorly understood and constrained due to inadequate quantities and qualities of observations. In the case of GHG emissions from lakes, observations are often sporadic, failing to capture the significant spatial and temporal variations in emissions across diverse lentic systems. Toaddress this challenge, process-based models that incorporate the interconnectedbiogeochemical processes occurring within lakes and their watersheds would arguably be the best tool to extrapolate from site-level observations to regional and finally global scales, to quantify the anthropogenic impact on these fluxes, and to reconstruct long-term shifts in emissions and burial due to changes in land cover and climate. But the development and evaluation of such models is hampered by the lack of observations insufficient quality. In this project, we bring together a unique consortium of specialists in aquatic ecology, biogeochemistry, palynology, sedimentology and modelling of terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemistry. This project will put forth a national program of systematic, long-term observations of lake GHG and C cycling processes of unmet detail, consistency and quality. First, at 40 pilot sites spanning typological and environmental gradients,there will be a comprehensive data acquisition endeavor to evaluate biological processes and mesological factors influencing the sequestration or recycling of organic carbon. This effort will be complemented with a synthesis of existing data (WP1). Second, based on well-dated sediment records, which include both newly acquired and synthesized existing data, variability of lake C burial and their climate and land use controls will be reconstructed over the past 150 years (WP2). For 15 of these pilot sites, reconstruction will go back until the mid-Holocene (5,000 years BP), allowing to shedlight on the anthropogenic perturbation of the C cycle in this earlier part of human history,which is commonly excluded from this type of research due to lack of information. The activities of these two first WPs will result in an open-source national database, guaranteeing valorization of our research far beyond this project. In WP3, we will use the land surface model (LSM) ORCHIDEE C-lateral to assess C cycling in the terrestrial biosphere and the mobilization of biospheric C into lakes, which is possible due to an explicit representation of soil C leaching and erosion processes and a downscalingscheme permitting to assess C exports from watersheds at sub-grid scale. While LSMs are used to assess evolution of biospheric C budgets from the beginning of the Industrial Period, we will use it to hindcast the evolution since the mid-Holocene, using lake sediment record for model validation. Moreover, we develop a new process-based lake C model supported by the database established in WPs 1 and 2, which we will couple to ORCHIDEE C-lateral to simulate lake C burial and GHG emissions in response to climate and processes in the lake watershed. This model set-up will first be used to better constrain contemporary large-scale lake GHG emissions and to disentangle the anthropogenic perturbation of these fluxes from the natural background flux. These estimates will be revolutionary, as they will allow attributing part of lake GHG emissions to anthropogenic emissions for national GHG budget reporting. Then, these models will be emulated to reconstruct evolution of lake GHG budgets and C budgets of the whole lakewatershed since the mid-Holocene. While simulations will first be performed at the scales of France and Europe, the development of international partnerships to implement observations from other biomes (WP4) will finally support simulations at the global scal

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field