The evolution of the terrestrial-terminating Irish Sea glacier during the last glaciation

Here we reconstruct the last advance to maximum limits and retreat of the Irish Sea Glacier (ISG), the only land‐terminating ice lobe of the western British Irish Ice Sheet. A series of reverse bedrock slopes rendered proglacial lakes endemic, forming time‐transgressive moraine‐ and bedrock‐dammed basins that evolved with ice marginal retreat. Combining, for the first time on glacial sediments, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) bleaching profiles for cobbles with single grain and small aliquot OSL measurements on sands, has produced a coherent chronology from these heterogeneously bleached samples. This chronology constrains what is globally an early build‐up of ice during late Marine Isotope Stage 3 and Greenland Stadial (GS) 5, with ice margins reaching south Lancashire by 30 ± 1.2 ka, followed by a 120‐km advance at 28.3 ± 1.4 ka reaching its 26.5 ± 1.1 ka maximum extent during GS‐3. Early retreat during GS‐3 reflects piracy of ice sources shared with the Irish‐Sea Ice Stream (ISIS), starving the ISG. With ISG retreat, an opportunistic readvance of Welsh ice during GS‐2 rode over the ISG moraines occupying the space vacated, with ice margins oscillating within a substantial glacial over‐deepening. Our geomorphological chronosequence shows a glacial system forced by climate but mediated by piracy of ice sources shared with the ISIS, changing flow regimes and fronting environments

Ultrafast heating as a sufficient stimulus for magnetization reversal in a ferrimagnet.

The question of how, and how fast, magnetization can be reversed is a topic of great practical interest for the manipulation and storage of magnetic information. It is generally accepted that magnetization reversal should be driven by a stimulus represented by time-non-invariant vectors such as a magnetic field, spin-polarized electric current, or cross-product of two oscillating electric fields. However, until now it has been generally assumed that heating alone, not represented as a vector at all, cannot result in a deterministic reversal of magnetization, although it may assist this process. Here we show numerically and demonstrate experimentally a novel mechanism of deterministic magnetization reversal in a ferrimagnet driven by an ultrafast heating of the medium resulting from the absorption of a sub-picosecond laser pulse without the presence of a magnetic field

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Search for supersymmetric particles in scenarios with a gravitino LSP and stau NLSP

Sleptons, neutralinos and charginos were searched for in the context of scenarios where the lightest supersymmetric particle is the gravitino. It was assumed that the stau is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Data collected with the DELPHI detector at a centre-of-mass energy near 189 GeV were analysed combining the methods developed in previous searches at lower energies. No evidence for the production of these supersymmetric particles was found. Hence, limits were derived at 95% confidence level.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figure

Transplanted Human Amniotic Membrane-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorate Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Cirrhosis in Mouse

BACKGROUND: Human amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMCs) have the potential to reduce heart and lung fibrosis, but whether could reduce liver fibrosis remains largely unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Hepatic cirrhosis model was established by infusion of CCl₄ (1 ml/kg body weight twice a week for 8 weeks) in immunocompetent C57Bl/6J mice. hAMCs, isolated from term delivered placenta, were infused into the spleen at 4 weeks after mice were challenged with CCl₄. Control mice received only saline infusion. Animals were sacrificed at 4 weeks post-transplantation. Blood analysis was performed to evaluate alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Histological analysis of the livers for fibrosis, hepatic stellate cells activation, hepatocyte apoptosis, proliferation and senescence were performed. The donor cell engraftment was assessed using immunofluorescence and polymerase chain reaction. The areas of hepatic fibrosis were reduced (6.2%±2.1 vs. control 9.6%±1.7, p<0.05) and liver function parameters (ALT 539.6±545.1 U/dl, AST 589.7±342.8 U/dl,vs. control ALT 139.1±138.3 U/dl, p<0.05 and AST 212.3±110.7 U/dl, p<0.01) were markedly ameliorated in the hAMCs group compared to control group. The transplantation of hAMCs into liver-fibrotic mice suppressed activation of hepatic stellate cells, decreased hepatocyte apoptosis and promoted liver regeneration. More interesting, hepatocyte senescence was depressed significantly in hAMCs group compared to control group. Immunofluorescence and polymerase chain reaction revealed that hAMCs engraftment into host livers and expressed the hepatocyte-specific markers, human albumin and α-fetoproteinran. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The transplantation of hAMCs significantly decreased the fibrosis formation and progression of CCl₄-induced cirrhosis, providing a new approach for the treatment of fibrotic liver disease

A quantum-chemical study of the binding ability of βXaaHisGlyHis towards copper(II) ion

The present study analyzed binding of Cu2+ to tetrapeptides in water solution at several levels of theoretical approximation. The methods used to study the energetic and structural properties of the complexes in question include semiempirical hamiltonians, density functional theory as well as ab initio approaches including electron correlation effects. In order to shed light on the character of interactions between Cu2+ and peptides, which are expected to be mainly electrostatic in nature, decomposition of interaction energy into physically meaningful components was applied

Grafted ionomer complexes and their effect on protein adsorption on silica and polysulfone surfaces

We have studied the formation and the stability of ionomer complexes from grafted copolymers (GICs) in solution and the influence of GIC coatings on the adsorption of the proteins β-lactoglobulin (β-lac), bovine serum albumin (BSA), and lysozyme (Lsz) on silica and polysulfone. The GICs consist of the grafted copolymer PAA28-co-PAPEO22 {poly(acrylic acid)-co-poly[acrylate methoxy poly(ethylene oxide)]} with negatively charged AA and neutral APEO groups, and the positively charged homopolymers: P2MVPI43 [poly(N-methyl 2-vinyl pyridinium iodide)] and PAH∙HCl160 [poly(allylamine hydrochloride)]. In solution, these aggregates are characterized by means of dynamic and static light scattering. They appear to be assemblies with hydrodynamic radii of 8 nm (GIC-PAPEO22/P2MVPI43) and 22 nm (GIC-PAPEO22/PAH∙HCl160), respectively. The GICs partly disintegrate in solution at salt concentrations above 10 mM NaCl. Adsorption of GICs and proteins has been studied with fixed angle optical reflectometry at salt concentrations ranging from 1 to 50 mM NaCl. Adsorption of GICs results in high density PEO side chains on the surface. Higher densities were obtained for GICs consisting of PAH∙HCl160 (1.6 ÷ 1.9 chains/nm2) than of P2MVPI43 (0.6 ÷ 1.5 chains/nm2). Both GIC coatings strongly suppress adsorption of all proteins on silica (>90%); however, reduction of protein adsorption on polysulfone depends on the composition of the coating and the type of protein. We observed a moderate reduction of β-lac and Lsz adsorption (>60%). Adsorption of BSA on the GIC-PAPEO22/P2MVPI43 coating is moderately reduced, but on the GIC-PAPEO22/PAH∙HCl160 coating it is enhanced

Chemical characterization of oligosaccharides in the milk of six species of New and Old world monkeys

Human and great ape milks contain a diverse array of milk oligosaccharides, but little is known about the milk oligosaccharides of other primates, and how they differ among taxa. Neutral and acidic oligosaccharides were isolated from the milk of three species of Old World or catarrhine monkeys (Cercopithecidae: rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), toque macaque (Macaca sinica) and Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas)) and three of New World or platyrrhine monkeys (Cebidae: tufted capuchin (Cebus apella) and Bolivian squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis); Atelidae: mantled howler (Alouatta palliata)). The milks of these species contained 6–8% total sugar, most of which was lactose: the estimated ratio of oligosaccharides to lactose in Old World monkeys (1:4 to 1:6) was greater than in New World monkeys (1:12 to 1:23). The chemical structures of the oligosaccharides were determined mainly by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Oligosaccharides containing the type II unit (Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc) were found in the milk of the rhesus macaque, toque macaque, Hamadryas baboon and tufted capuchin, but oligosaccharides containing the type I unit (Gal(β1-3)GlcNAc), which have been found in human and many great ape milks, were absent from the milk of all species studied. Oligosaccharides containing Lewis x (Gal(β1-4)[Fuc(α1-3)]GlcNAc) and 3-fucosyl lactose (3-FL, Gal(β1-4)[Fuc(α1-3)]Glc) were found in the milk of the three cercopithecid monkey species, while 2-fucosyl lactose (5'-FL, Fuc(α1-2)Gal(β1-4)Glc) was absent from all species studied. All of these milks contained acidic oligosaccharides that had N-acetylneuraminic acid as part of their structures, but did not contain oligosaccharides that had N-glycolylneuraminic acid, in contrast to the milk or colostrum of great apes which contain both types of acidic oligosaccharides. Two GalNAc-containing oligosaccharides, lactose 3′-O-sulfate and lacto-N-novopentaose I (Gal(β1-3)[Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc(β1-6)]Gal(β1-4)Glc) were found only in the milk of rhesus macaque, hamadryas baboon and tufted capuchin, respectively. Further research is needed to determine the extent to which the milk oligosaccharide patterns observed among these taxa represent wider phylogenetic trends among primates and how much variation occurs among individuals or species

A Diverse Group of Previously Unrecognized Human Rhinoviruses Are Common Causes of Respiratory Illnesses in Infants

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are the most prevalent human pathogens, and consist of 101 serotypes that are classified into groups A and B according to sequence variations. HRV infections cause a wide spectrum of clinical outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe lower respiratory symptoms. Defining the role of specific strains in various HRV illnesses has been difficult because traditional serology, which requires viral culture and neutralization tests using 101 serotype-specific antisera, is insensitive and laborious.To directly type HRVs in nasal secretions of infants with frequent respiratory illnesses, we developed a sensitive molecular typing assay based on phylogenetic comparisons of a 260-bp variable sequence in the 5' noncoding region with homologous sequences of the 101 known serotypes. Nasal samples from 26 infants were first tested with a multiplex PCR assay for respiratory viruses, and HRV was the most common virus found (108 of 181 samples). Typing was completed for 101 samples and 103 HRVs were identified. Surprisingly, 54 (52.4%) HRVs did not match any of the known serotypes and had 12-35% nucleotide divergence from the nearest reference HRVs. Of these novel viruses, 9 strains (17 HRVs) segregated from HRVA, HRVB and human enterovirus into a distinct genetic group ("C"). None of these new strains could be cultured in traditional cell lines.By molecular analysis, over 50% of HRV detected in sick infants were previously unrecognized strains, including 9 strains that may represent a new HRV group. These findings indicate that the number of HRV strains is considerably larger than the 101 serotypes identified with traditional diagnostic techniques, and provide evidence of a new HRV group