Digit-only sauropod pes trackways from China - evidence of swimming or a preservational phenomenon?

For more than 70 years unusual sauropod trackways have played a pivotal role in debates about the swimming ability of sauropods. Most claims that sauropods could swim have been based on manus-only or manus-dominated trackways. However none of these incomplete trackways has been entirely convincing, and most have proved to be taphonomic artifacts, either undertracks or the result of differential depth of penetration of manus and pes tracks, but otherwise showed the typical pattern of normal walking trackways. Here we report an assemblage of unusual sauropod tracks from the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group of Gansu Province, northern China, characterized by the preservation of only the pes claw traces, that we interpret as having been left by walking, not buoyant or swimming, individuals. They are interpreted as the result of animals moving on a soft mud-silt substrate, projecting their claws deeply to register their traces on an underlying sand layer where they gained more grip during progression. Other sauropod walking trackways on the same surface with both pes and manus traces preserved, were probably left earlier on relatively firm substrates that predated the deposition of soft mud and silt . Presently, there is no convincing evidence of swimming sauropods from their trackways, which is not to say that sauropods did not swim at all

Strategies to obtain designer polymers based on cyanobacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)

Biopolymers derived from polysaccharides are a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to the synthetic counterparts available in the market. Due to their distinctive properties, the cyanobacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), mainly composed of heteropolysaccharides, emerge as a valid alternative to address several biotechnological and biomedical challenges. Nevertheless, biotechnological/biomedical applications based on cyanobacterial EPS have only recently started to emerge. For the successful exploitation of cyanobacterial EPS, it is important to strategically design the polymers, either by genetic engineering of the producing strains or by chemical modification of the polymers. This requires a better understanding of the EPS biosynthetic pathways and their relationship with central metabolism, as well as to exploit the available polymer functionalization chemistries. Considering all this, we provide an overview of the characteristics and biological activities of cyanobacterial EPS, discuss the challenges and opportunities to improve the amount and/or characteristics of the polymers, and report the most relevant advances on the use of cyanobacterial EPS as scaffolds, coatings, and vehicles for drug delivery.This work was financed by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020 - Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028779, contract DL57/2016/CP1327/CT0007 and fellowship SFRH/BD/119920/2016

Influence of child-rearing practices on infants' motor development between the sixth and twelfth months of life

BACKGROUND: Child-rearing practices are defined as specific behavioral patterns used during maternal duties. These practices could influence infants' motor development. OBJECTIVE: To verify the influence of daily child-rearing practices on the motor development of healthy infants from their sixth to twelfth months of life. METHOD: Fourteen healthy full-term infants were selected and longitudinally assessed at the ages of six, nine and twelve months using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale. At each assessment, the mothers answered a closed questionnaire about their main daily childcare practices when the infant was awake. The infants' predominant posture, the places where they were usually kept and how mothers carried the infants in their arms were evaluated. RESULTS: Motor performance at the ninth month was positively influenced by predominance of the hands-and-knees crawling posture, in relation to sitting, prone or supine postures, and by staying on the floor in relation to being in a baby buggy. At the twelfth month, it was positively influenced by hands-and-knees crawling and standing postures. The predominant posture at the sixth month and the way of carrying the infants at six, nine and twelve months did not influence motor development in the study group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that practices that stimulate adoption of the hands-and-knees crawling posture, and utilization of the floor as a place to keep the infant, positively influence the motor development of healthy infants from six months of age onwards.CONTEXTO: Práticas maternas são comportamentos específicos, por meio dos quais as mães/cuidadores desempenham suas tarefas maternais. Estas práticas poderiam influenciar o desenvolvimento motor de lactentes. OBJETIVO: verificar a influência de práticas maternas, utilizadas no cuidado diário de lactentes saudáveis, sobre seu desenvolvimento motor do 6º ao 12º meses de vida. MÉTODO: Selecionados 14 lactentes, nascidos a termo e saudáveis, avaliados longitudinalmente no 6º, 9º e 12º meses de vida, utilizando-se a Alberta Infant Motor Scale. Em cada avaliação/idade a mãe respondeu a um questionário fechado sobre práticas, predominantemente adotadas no cuidado diário do lactente durante os períodos de vigília. Considerou-se neste estudo a postura predominantemente adotada pelo lactente, local preferencial de permanência e a forma de carregar o lactente no colo. RESULTADOS: No 9º mês de vida o desempenho motor dos lactentes foi influenciado positivamente pela predominância na postura de quatro apoios, em relação à sentada e prono ou supino e pela permanência no chão em relação ao carrinho de bebê. No 12º mês houve influência positiva da predominância na postura de quatro apoios e em pé. A postura predominante no 6º mês de vida e a forma de carregar o lactente no 6º, 9º e 12º meses de vida não influenciaram o desempenho motor do grupo estudado. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados sugerem que as práticas que estimulam a adoção da postura de quatro apoios e a utilização do chão como local de permanência influenciam positivamente o desenvolvimento motor de lactentes saudáveis a partir do 6º mês de vida.22523

Prostate Cancer Disparities in Risk Group at Presentation and Access to Treatment for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: A Study With Disaggregated Ethnic Groups

PURPOSE: We identified (1) differences in localized prostate cancer (PCa) risk group at presentation and (2) disparities in access to initial treatment for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) men with PCa after controlling for sociodemographic factors. METHODS: We assessed all patients in the National Cancer Database with localized PCa with low-, intermediate-, and high-risk disease who identified as Thai, White, Asian Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Laotian, Pakistani, Kampuchean, and Hmong. Multivariable logistic regression defined adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% CI of (1) presenting at progressively higher risk group and (2) receiving treatment or active surveillance with intermediate- or high-risk disease, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors. RESULTS: Among 980,889 men (median age 66 years), all AANHPI subgroups with the exception of Thai (AOR = 0.84 [95% CI, 0.58 to 1.21], P > .05), Asian Indian (AOR = 1.12 [95% CI, 1.00 to 1.25], P > .05), and Pakistani (AOR = 1.34 [95% CI, 0.98 to 1.83], P > .05) men had greater odds of presenting at a progressively higher PCa risk group compared with White patients (Chinese AOR = 1.18 [95% CI, 1.11 to 1.25], P < .001; Japanese AOR = 1.36 [95% CI, 1.26 to 1.47], P < .001; Filipino AOR = 1.37 [95% CI, 1.29 to 1.46], P < .001; Korean AOR = 1.32 [95% CI, 1.18 to 1.48], P < .001; Vietnamese AOR = 1.20 [95% CI, 1.07 to 1.35], P = .002; Laotian AOR = 1.60 [95% CI, 1.08 to 2.36], P = .018; Hmong AOR = 4.07 [95% CI, 1.54 to 10.81], P = .005; Kampuchean AOR = 1.55 [95% CI, 1.03 to 2.34], P = .036; Asian Indian or Pakistani AOR = 1.15 [95% CI, 1.07 to 1.24], P < .001; Native Hawaiians AOR = 1.58 [95% CI, 1.38 to 1.80], P < .001; and Pacific Islanders AOR = 1.58 [95% CI, 1.37 to 1.82], P < .001). Additionally, Japanese Americans (AOR = 1.46 [95% CI, 1.09 to 1.97], P = .013) were more likely to receive treatment compared with White patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that there are differences in PCa risk group at presentation by race or ethnicity among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander subgroups and that there exist disparities in treatment patterns. Although AANHPI are often studied as a homogenous group, heterogeneity upon subgroup disaggregation underscores the importance of further study to assess and address barriers to PCa care

Functional characterization of a 28-Kilobase Catabolic Island from Pseudomonas sp. Strain M1 involved in biotransformation of β-Myrcene and related plant-derived volatiles

Pseudomonas sp. strain M1 is able to mineralize highly hydrophobic and recalcitrant compounds, such as benzene, phenol, and their methylated/halogenated derivatives, as well as the backbone of several monoterpenes. The ability to use such a spectrum of compounds as the sole carbon source is, most probably, associated with a genetic background evolved under different environmental constraints. The outstanding performance of strain M1 regarding β-myrcene catabolism was elucidated in this work, with a focus on the biocatalytical potential of the β-myrcene-associated core code, comprised in a 28-kb genomic island (GI), predicted to be organized in 8 transcriptional units. Functional characterization of this locus with promoter probes and analytical approaches validated the genetic organization predictedin silicoand associated the β-myrcene-induced promoter activity to the production of β-myrcene derivatives. Notably, by using a whole-genome mutagenesis strategy, different genotypes of the 28-kb GI were generated, resulting in the identification of a novel putative β-myrcene hydroxylase, responsible for the initial oxidation of β-myrcene into myrcen-8-ol, and a sensor-like regulatory protein, whose inactivation abolished themyr + trait of M1 cells. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the range of monoterpene substrates of the M1 enzymatic repertoire, besides β-myrcene, also includes other acyclic (e.g., β-linalool) and cyclic [e.g.,R-(+)-limonene and (-)-β-pinene] molecules. Our findings are the cornerstone for following metabolic engineering approaches and hint at a major role of the 28-kb GI in the biotransformation of a broad monoterpene backbone spectrum for its future biotechnological applications.IMPORTANCEInformation regarding microbial systems able to biotransform monoterpenes, especially β-myrcene, is limited and focused mainly on nonsystematic metabolite identification. Complete and detailed knowledge at the genetic, protein, metabolite, and regulatory levels is essential in order to set a model organism or a catabolic system as a biotechnology tool. Moreover, molecular characterization of reported systems is scarce, almost nonexistent, limiting advances in the development of optimized cell factories with strategies based on the new generation of metabolic engineering platforms. This study provides new insights into the intricate molecular functionalities associated with β-myrcene catabolism inPseudomonas, envisaging the production of a molecular knowledge base about the underlying catalytic and regulatory mechanisms of plant-derived volatile catabolic pathways.Vectors from the Standard European Vector Architecture (SEVA) library and pBAM1 used in this work were kindly provided by Victor de Lorenzo (CNB-CSIC, Madrid, Spain). This work was supported by the strategic program UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-007569) funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and through a Ph.D. grant (grant SFRH/BD/76894/2011) to P.S.-C.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Use of Screen-printed Electrodes Modified by Prussian Blue and Analogues in Sensing of Cysteine

© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim The utilisation of screen-printing technology allows for a mass scalable approach for the production of electrochemical screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) and the presence of a redox mediator can add new possibilities to the electrochemical properties of the SPEs. Among the materials used as redox mediators, cyanidoferrates polymers can be used for electro-oxidation of cysteine. In this work, two monomers, namely, [Fe(CN) 6 ] 4− and [Fe(CN) 5 NH 3 ] 3− were used to produce Prussian blue (PB) and Prussian blue-Ammine (PB-Ammine), respectively. In addition, two modification methods were compared, firstly via a drop-casting and secondly by the incorporation of these materials into a printable ink. The SPE modified by PB-Ammine (drop-casting) exhibits the highest electroactive area, however the highest heterogeneous rate constant was found with the SPE modified by PB-Ammine that was incorporated into the ink. The highest value of the constant of electro-oxidation of cysteine and lowest limit of detection was also observed in the SPE modified by PB incorporated into the ink. These studies suggest that the electrocatalytic properties of SPE modified by PB and PB-Ammine are dependent upon the availability of Fe 3+ catalytic sites and the increased kinetics of the chemical reaction between the catalytic sites and the analyte

Ni−Fe (Oxy)hydroxide Modified Graphene Additive Manufactured (3D-Printed) Electrochemical Platforms as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim We demonstrate that polylactic acid (PLA)/graphene additive manufactured (3D-printed) electrodes (Gr/AMEs) electrodeposited with Ni−Fe (oxy)hydroxide can efficiently catalyse the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling combined with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Tip Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) deduced the composition and depth of the Ni−Fe (oxy)hydroxide layer. The composition of the resulting electrocatalytic surfaces are tailored through altering the concentrations of nickel and iron within the electrodeposited solutions, which give rise to optimised AMEs OER performance (within 0.1 M KOH). The optimal OER performance was observed from a Ni−Fe (oxy)hydroxide with a 10 % content of Fe, which displayed an OER onset potential and overpotential of+1.47 V (vs. RHE) and 519 mV, respectively. These values arecomparable to that of polycrystalline Iridium (+ 1.43 V (vs. RHE) and ca. 413 mV), as well as being significantly less electropositive than a bare/unmodified AME. This work is essential for those designing, fabricating and modulating additive manufactured electrodes

Transport coefficients for inelastic Maxwell mixtures

The Boltzmann equation for inelastic Maxwell models is used to determine the Navier-Stokes transport coefficients of a granular binary mixture in $d$ dimensions. The Chapman-Enskog method is applied to solve the Boltzmann equation for states near the (local) homogeneous cooling state. The mass, heat, and momentum fluxes are obtained to first order in the spatial gradients of the hydrodynamic fields, and the corresponding transport coefficients are identified. There are seven relevant transport coefficients: the mutual diffusion, the pressure diffusion, the thermal diffusion, the shear viscosity, the Dufour coefficient, the pressure energy coefficient, and the thermal conductivity. All these coefficients are {\em exactly} obtained in terms of the coefficients of restitution and the ratios of mass, concentration, and particle sizes. The results are compared with known transport coefficients of inelastic hard spheres obtained analytically in the leading Sonine approximation and by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The comparison shows a reasonably good agreement between both interaction models for not too strong dissipation, especially in the case of the transport coefficients associated with the mass flux.Comment: 9 figures, to be published in J. Stat. Phy

The Interstellar Medium In Galaxies Seen A Billion Years After The Big Bang

Evolution in the measured rest frame ultraviolet spectral slope and ultraviolet to optical flux ratios indicate a rapid evolution in the dust obscuration of galaxies during the first 3 billion years of cosmic time (z>4). This evolution implies a change in the average interstellar medium properties, but the measurements are systematically uncertain due to untested assumptions, and the inability to measure heavily obscured regions of the galaxies. Previous attempts to directly measure the interstellar medium in normal galaxies at these redshifts have failed for a number of reasons with one notable exception. Here we report measurements of the [CII] gas and dust emission in 9 typical (~1-4L*) star-forming galaxies ~1 billon years after the big bang (z~5-6). We find these galaxies have >12x less thermal emission compared with similar systems ~2 billion years later, and enhanced [CII] emission relative to the far-infrared continuum, confirming a strong evolution in the interstellar medium properties in the early universe. The gas is distributed over scales of 1-8 kpc, and shows diverse dynamics within the sample. These results are consistent with early galaxies having significantly less dust than typical galaxies seen at z<3 and being comparable to local low-metallicity systems.Comment: Submitted to Nature, under review after referee report. 22 pages, 4 figures, 4 Extended Data Figures, 5 Extended Data table