Cloning, sequencing and expression of the PUC genes of two strains of Rubrivivax gelatinosus

An initial observation that the two strains 149 and 151 of Rv. gelatinosus synthesise differing amounts of LH2 (B800-850) when cultured under the same conditions was confirmed. Strain 151 produces approximately one third more LH2 than strain 149 when cultured at any given light intensity, it was also found that both strains vary the level of LH2 to a similar extent in response to changing irradiance levels, both synthesising twice the amount of LH2 under low irradiance than was synthesised at high irradiance. Southern analysis indicated the presence of a single copy of the pucBA genes in each strain, but suggested there may be a difference between them with regard to the pucC gene. Genomic libraries were constructed from the two strains of Rv. gelatinosus using the lambda replacement vector lambda GEM-11. The pucBA genes coding for the alpha and beta-polypeptides of the LH2 complex were cloned and sequenced from both strains, as was the pucC gene from strain 151 and a substantial region of sequence probably involved in transcriptional control. The predicted amino acid sequence of the strain 151 and 149 LH2 alpha and beta-polypeptides matched that achieved by protein sequencing (Brunisholz et al., 1994), whilst the predicted sequence of the strain 151 PucC protein was shown to have high sequence and structural homology to other PucC proteins. The arrangement of the Rv. gelatinosus puc genes was found to be somewhat different from that found in other bacteria from which they have been cloned. With the pucC gene being present downstream of the pucBA genes, but in the opposite orientation. Analysis of the sequence upstream of the pucBA and pucC genes has identified possible E. coli O70 like promoter elements, two upstream of pucBA and one upstream of pucC. Near palindromes similar to the Rhodohacter Pps oxygen sensitive repressor binding sites were also found, two in the promotor more proximal to pucB, and a single one straddling the start of the pucC gene. Northern analysis was carried out on cultures of the two strains grown under a variety of conditions, these indicate that the Rv. gelatinosus pucBA genes are repressed in the presence of oxygen, and are expressed more under low irradiance conditions than at high irradiance. Thus Rv. gelatinosus appears to respond to light and oxygen in a similar manner to other photosynthetic bacteria. The northern analysis also indicates a transcript size of around 600 bp for the puc genes of Rv gelatinosus

An improved estimate of daily precipitation from the ERA5 reanalysis

Precipitation is an essential climate variable and a fundamental part of theglobal water cycle. Given its importance to society, precipitation is oftenassessed in climate monitoring activities, such as in those led by the Coperni-cus Climate Change Service (C3S). To undertake these activities, C3S predomi-nantly uses ERA5 reanalysis precipitation. Research has shown that short-range forecasts for precipitation made from this reanalysis can provide valu-able estimates of the actual (observed) precipitation in extratropical regionsbut can be less useful in the tropics. While some of these limitations will bereduced with future reanalyses because of the latest advancements, there ispotentially a more immediate way to improve the precipitation estimate.This is to use the precipitation modelled in the Four-Dimensional Variational(4D-Var) data assimilation window of the reanalysis, and it is the aim of thisstudy to evaluate this approach. Using observed 24-h precipitation accumula-tions at 5637 stations from 2001 to 2020, results show that smaller root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) and mean absolute errors are generally foundby using the ERA5 4D-Var precipitation. For example, for all available daysfrom 2001 to 2020, 87.5% of stations have smaller RMSEs. These improvementsare driven by reduced random errors in the 4D-Var precipitation because it isbetter constrained by observations, which are themselves sensitive to orinfluence precipitation. However, there are regions (e.g., Europe) where largerbiases occur, and via the decomposition of the Stable Equitable Error inProbability Space score, this is shown to be because the 4D-Var precipitationhas a wetter bias on ‘dry’ days than the standard ERA5 short-range forecasts.The findings also highlight that the 4D-Var precipitation does improve thediscrimination of ‘heavy’ observed events. In conclusion, an improved ERA5precipitation estimate is largely obtainable, and these results could proveuseful for C3S activities and for future reanalyses, including ERA

Engaging Students as Entrepreneurs in local communities

This presentation will unpack the approach taken to embedding entrepreneurship and civic impact across the curriculum by Falmouth University. Presenters will focus on ‘hard-wired’ elements of both UG and PG courses including the Launchpad programme which links to MSc Entrepreneurship (Launchpad). The session will comprise academic and student viewpoints, with plenty of time for discussion

Development of Active Seimic Vector Wavefield Imaging Technology for Geothermal Applications

This manuscript is the final report for the research project conducted under grant no. DE-FG07-97ID 13573, Development of Active Seismic Vector-Wavefield Imaging Technology for Geothermal Applications, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office. The report is structured as two parts. The first, and major, portion describes the development and testing of new vector-wavefield seismic sources that can generate shear (S) waves that may be valuable in geothermal exploration and reservoir characterization. The second part describes a 3-D seismic data-processing effort to create images of Rye Patch geothermal reservoir from 3-D sign-bit data recorded over that geothermal prospect. Vector-wavefield illumination of subsurface targets with S-waves is essential for interpreting anisotropic rock systems, particularly systems that are dominated by fractures, as many geothermal reservoirs are. Two new seismic sources were developed and tested in this study that can be used to illuminate geothermal reservoirs with S-waves. The first source was an explosive package that generates a strong, azimuth-oriented, horizontal force vector when deployed in a conventional shot hole. This vector-explosive source has never been available to industry before. The second source was a dipole formed by operating two vertical vibrators in either a force or phase imbalance. Field data are shown that document the strong S-wave modes generated by these sources. Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic technology has had a tremendous economic influence on oil and gas exploration. Thus applications of 3-D seismic techniques may also have an economic impact on geothermal exploration and must be evaluated. One such 3-D seismic evaluation was done as the final phase of this study. Tape copies of a 3-D P-wave seismic survey (not a vector-wavefield survey) recorded in sign-bit format over Rye Patch geothermal field in northwest Nevada were received from Subsurface Exploration Company. These data were reprocessed, and the results of the data-processing research were coordinated with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The sign-bit data recorded at Rye Patch had low signal-to-noise character, and the final migrated data volume had limited interpretation value. Recommendations for improving 3-D seismic data quality in future geothermal surveys are provided.Bureau of Economic Geolog

MyD88 and TRIF mediate the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) induced corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) expression in JEG3 choriocarcinoma cell line

Background: Classically protein kinase A (PKA) and transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP-1) mediate the cyclic AMP (cAMP) induced-corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) expression in the placenta. However enteric Gram (-) bacterial cell wall component lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may also induce-CRH expression via Toll like receptor (TLR)4 and its adaptor molecule Myd88. Here we investigated the role of MyD88, TRIF and IRAK2 on cAMP-induced CRH promoter activation in JEG3 cells in the absence of LPS/TLR4 stimulation. Methods: JEG3 cells were transfected with CRH-luciferase and Beta-galactosidase expression vectors and either empty or dominant-negative (DN)-MyD88, DN-TRIF or DN-IRAK2 vectors using Fugene6 (Roche). cAMP-induced CRH promoter activation was examined by using a luminometer and luciferase assay. Calorimetric Beta-galactosidase assays were performed to correct for transfection efficiency. Luciferase expression vectors of cAMP-downstream molecules, CRE and AP-1, were used to further examine the signaling cascades. Results: cAMP stimulation induced AP-1 and CRE promoter expression and led to dose-dependent CRH promoter activation in JEG3 cells. Inhibition of MyD88 signaling blocked cAMP-induced CRE and CRH promoter activation. Inhibition of TRIF signaling blocked cAMP-induced CRH but not CRE expression, while inhibition of IRAK2 did not have an effect on cAMP-induced CRH expression. Conclusion: MyD88 and TRIF exert direct regulatory effect on cAMP-induced CRH promoter activation in JEG3 cells in the absence of infection. MyD88 most likely interacts with molecules upstream of IRAK2 to regulate cAMP-induced CRH expression

The fast response of volcano-seismic activity to intense precipitation: Triggering of primary volcanic activity by rainfall at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat

One-minute resolution time series of rainfall and seismic data from the Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat are analysed to explore the mechanism of external forcing of volcanic eruptions by rainfall over three years of activity. The real-time seismic amplitude (RSAM) shows a narrow, statistically significant, peak within 30 min after the start of intense rainfall events, and a much broader peak with a lag of 6?40 h. The classified seismic events indicate that the volcanic response to rainfall begins at the surface and gradually penetrates deeper into the dome, as there is an increase in the pseudo-magnitude of: surface rockfall events (including pyroclastic flows) with lags from the first 30 min to 40 h, long-period rockfalls (from shallow degassing) at lags of 4 and 14 h, and long-period and hybrid events (source depth approximately 1 km) with lags at 14 and 24 h after the start of rainfall events. There was no rainfall-related change in deeper, volcano-tectonic activity. There was no change in the frequency of any type of classified event, indicating that the rainfall acts to modulate existing, internal processes, rather than generating new events itself. These robust results are due to many (229) different rainfall events, and not just to a few, large magnitude cases. The rainfalltriggered volcanic activity examined here is consistent with a model of fast, shallow interactions with rainfall at the dome surface, after which, a deeper dome collapse follows

c-Axis tunneling in YBa2Cu3O7-\delta/PrBa2Cu3O7-\delta superlattices

In this work we report c-axis conductance measurements done on a superlattice based on a stack of 2 layers YBa2Cu3O{7-\delta} and 7 layers PrBa2Cu3O{7-\delta} (2:7). We find that these quasi-2D structures show no clear superconducting coupling along the c-axis. Instead, we observe tunneling with a gap of \Delta_c=5.0\pm 0.5 meV for the direction perpendicular to the superconducting planes. The conductance spectrum show well defined quasi-periodic structures which are attributed to the superlattice structure. From this data we deduce a low temperature c-axis coherence length of \xi_c=0.24\pm 0.03 nm.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.

The Diboson Excess: Experimental Situation and Classification of Explanations; A Les Houches Pre-Proceeding

We examine the `diboson' excess at $\sim 2$ TeV seen by the LHC experiments in various channels. We provide a comparison of the excess significances as a function of the mass of the tentative resonance and give the signal cross sections needed to explain the excesses. We also present a survey of available theoretical explanations of the resonance, classified in three main approaches. Beyond that, we discuss methods to verify the anomaly, determining the major properties of the various surpluses and exploring how different models can be discriminated. Finally, we give a tabular summary of the numerous explanations, presenting their main phenomenological features.Comment: 37 pages, 9 Figures, 1 Tabl