Supplementary report to the final report of the coral reef expert group: S5. Statistical power of existing AIMS Long-Term Reef Monitoring Programs

[Extract] This report presents estimates of power to detect changes in the rate of coral cover recovery and species richness of herbivorous fishes. Estimates are based on the variability in existing time-series derived from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) long-term reef monitoring programs. The objective is to provide a basis for monitoring program design considerations under the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program (RIMReP). Collectively, the AIMS programs provide the only time series of sufficient spatial and temporal coverage to allow estimation of variability at the scales necessary for considering design options at the scale of the Great Barrier Reef (the Reef).An accessible copy of this report is not yet available from this repository, please contact [email protected] for more information

Mesenchymal stem cells and their use as cell replacement therapy and disease modelling tool.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from adult somatic tissues may differentiate in vitro and in vivo into multiple mesodermal tissues including bone, cartilage, adipose tissue, tendon, ligament or even muscle. MSCs preferentially home to damaged tissues where they exert their therapeutic potential. A striking feature of the MSCs is their low inherent immunogenicity as they induce little, if any, proliferation of allogeneic lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells. Instead, MSCs appear to be immunosuppressive in vitro. Their multilineage differentiation potential coupled to their immuno-privileged properties is being exploited worldwide for both autologous and allogeneic cell replacement strategies. Here, we introduce the readers to the biology of MSCs and the mechanisms underlying immune tolerance. We then outline potential cell replacement strategies and clinical applications based on the MSCs immunological properties. Ongoing clinical trials for graft-versus-host-disease, haematopoietic recovery after co-transplantation of MSCs along with haematopoietic stem cells and tissue repair are discussed. Finally, we review the emerging area based on the use of MSCs as a target cell subset for either spontaneous or induced neoplastic transformation and, for modelling non-haematological mesenchymal cancers such as sarcomas

Signatures of Dark Matter Scattering Inelastically Off Nuclei

Direct dark matter detection focuses on elastic scattering of dark matter particles off nuclei. In this study, we explore inelastic scattering where the nucleus is excited to a low-lying state of 10-100 keV, with subsequent prompt de-excitation. We calculate the inelastic structure factors for the odd-mass xenon isotopes based on state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model calculations with chiral effective field theory WIMP-nucleon currents. For these cases, we find that the inelastic channel is comparable to or can dominate the elastic channel for momentum transfers around 150 MeV. We calculate the inelastic recoil spectra in the standard halo model, compare these to the elastic case, and discuss the expected signatures in a xenon detector, along with implications for existing and future experiments. The combined information from elastic and inelastic scattering will allow to determine the dominant interaction channel within one experiment. In addition, the two channels probe different regions of the dark matter velocity distribution and can provide insight into the dark halo structure. The allowed recoil energy domain and the recoil energy at which the integrated inelastic rates start to dominate the elastic channel depend on the mass of the dark matter particle, thus providing a potential handle to constrain its mass.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Matches resubmitted version to Phys. Rev. D. One figure added; supplemental material (fits to the structure functions) added as an Appendi

Inelastic light scattering and the excited states of many-electron quantum dots

A consistent calculation of resonant inelastic (Raman) scattering amplitudes for relatively large quantum dots, which takes account of valence-band mixing, discrete character of the spectrum in intermediate and final states, and interference effects, is presented. Raman peaks in charge and spin channels are compared with multipole strengths and with the density of energy levels in final states. A qualitative comparison with the available experimental results is given.Comment: 5 pages, accepted in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

Nonlinear Breathing-like Localized Modes in C60 Nanocrystals

We study the dynamics of nanocrystals composed of C60 fullerene molecules. We demonstrate that such structures can support long-lived strongly localized nonlinear oscillatory modes, which resemble discrete breathers in simple lattices. We reveal that at room temperatures the lifetime of such nonlinear localized modes may exceed tens of picoseconds; this suggests that C60 nanoclusters should demonstrate anomalously slow thermal relaxation when the temperature gradient decays in accord to a power law, thus violating the Cattaneo-Vernotte law of thermal conductivity.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Design, construction and evaluation of a 3D printed electrochemical flow cell for the synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles

A 3D-printed prototype of an electrochemical flow cell for the synthesis of superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles of medium size between 15 and 30 nm was constructed and its performance was evaluated. The cell consists of a series of rectangular channels in a parallel electrode arrangement. Electrolyte flows through the channels as the electric current is supplied to the system and a combination of electrochemical and chemical reactions create the appropriate conditions for magnetite precipitation. Different electric configurations were evaluated and both energy and production efficiencies were calculated to determine the best configuration. Different flow and current values were also investigated, and all the materials were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetization curve measurements to determine their effect on particle morphology, composition and magnetic behavior. The best results were obtained for a parallel monopolar configuration, with 100 mA (3 mA cm−2) passing in each two electrodes and a flow value of 30 mL min−1, yielding an energy efficiency of 5.9 kJ g−1 and a production rate of 12.1 mg min−1, approximately 6 times higher than the 100 mL standard cell previously used. Magnetic saturation was 77.3 emu g−1, slightly lower than the bulk material (92–100 emu g−1)The authors gratefully acknowledge the scholarship for doctoral studies of Gerardo Ivan Lozano Gutierrez granted by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT). The authors are also grateful to the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the project MAT2015-67557-C2-2-P. Support for a sabbatical leave for NCS from the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico and Exportadora de Postes S.A. de C.V. are greatly appreciate

8. Effect of iron supplementation and malaria prophylaxis in infants on Plasmodium falciparum genotypes and multiplicity of infection

During a randomized placebo-controlled trial of chemoprophylaxis against Plasmodium falciparum malaria and iron supplementation, in infants living under conditions of intense transmission, all samples of P. falciparum obtained from children aged 5 and 8 months were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for the msp2 locus. One hundred and six blood samples were analysed for the number of concurrent infections (multiplicity), and the allelic family of each msp2 genotype was determined. Mean multiplicity of infection was, overall, 2·76 infections/child, and it was significantly reduced in infants receiving chemoprophylaxis. This finding might help to explain the rebound effect in morbidity observed after prophylaxis was ended. Iron supplementation did not affect multiplicity of infection. In infants receiving placebo only, or placebo and iron supplementation, a significant positive association was observed between the number of infections and parasite densities (Spearman's ϱ = 0·25, P − 0·047). This association was lost in the group receiving chemoprophylaxis alone, or in combination with iron. This study showed a significant association of FC27-like msp2 alleles with prospective risk of clinical malaria in children (relative risk = 1·487, P = 0·013). Such an association was also found for the present risk of clinical malaria in infants receiving prophylaxis (odds ratio = 3·84, P = 0·026), which might imply that chemoprophylaxis may impair the development of premunitio

Residual Expression of the Reprogramming Factors Prevents Differentiation of iPSC Generated from Human Fibroblasts and Cord Blood CD34+ Progenitors

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) have been generated from different tissues, with the age of the donor, tissue source and specific cell type influencing the reprogramming process. Reprogramming hematopoietic progenitors to hiPSC may provide a very useful cellular system for modelling blood diseases. We report the generation and complete characterization of hiPSCs from human neonatal fibroblasts and cord blood (CB)-derived CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors using a single polycistronic lentiviral vector containing an excisable cassette encoding the four reprogramming factors Oct4, Klf4, Sox2 and c-myc (OKSM). The ectopic expression of OKSM was fully silenced upon reprogramming in some hiPSC clones and was not reactivated upon differentiation, whereas other hiPSC clones failed to silence the transgene expression, independently of the cell type/tissue origin. When hiPSC were induced to differentiate towards hematopoietic and neural lineages those hiPSC which had silenced OKSM ectopic expression displayed good hematopoietic and early neuroectoderm differentiation potential. In contrast, those hiPSC which failed to switch off OKSM expression were unable to differentiate towards either lineage, suggesting that the residual expression of the reprogramming factors functions as a developmental brake impairing hiPSC differentiation. Successful adenovirus-based Cre-mediated excision of the provirus OKSM cassette in CB-derived CD34+ hiPSC with residual transgene expression resulted in transgene-free hiPSC clones with significantly improved differentiation capacity. Overall, our findings confirm that residual expression of reprogramming factors impairs hiPSC differentiation