A global analysis of Y-chromosomal haplotype diversity for 23 STR loci

In a worldwide collaborative effort, 19,630 Y-chromosomes were sampled from 129 different populations in 51 countries. These chromosomes were typed for 23 short-tandem repeat (STR) loci (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385ab, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635, GATAH4, DYS481, DYS533, DYS549, DYS570, DYS576, and DYS643) and using the PowerPlex Y23 System (PPY23, Promega Corporation, Madison, WI). Locus-specific allelic spectra of these markers were determined and a consistently high level of allelic diversity was observed. A considerable number of null, duplicate and off-ladder alleles were revealed. Standard single-locus and haplotype-based parameters were calculated and compared between subsets of Y-STR markers established for forensic casework. The PPY23 marker set provides substantially stronger discriminatory power than other available kits but at the same time reveals the same general patterns of population structure as other marker sets. A strong correlation was observed between the number of Y-STRs included in a marker set and some of the forensic parameters under study. Interestingly a weak but consistent trend toward smaller genetic distances resulting from larger numbers of markers became apparent.Peer reviewe

Ancient DNA sheds new light on the Svalbard foraminiferal fossil record of the last millennium

International audienceRecent palaeogenetic studies have demonstrated the occurrence of preserved ancient DNA (aDNA) in various types of fossilised material. Environmental aDNA sequences assigned to modern species have been recovered from marine sediments dating to the Pleistocene. However, the match between the aDNA and the fossil record still needs to be evaluated for the environmental DNA approaches to be fully exploited. Here, we focus on foraminifera in sediments up to one thousand years old retrieved from the Hornsund fjord (Svalbard). We compared the diversity of foraminiferal microfossil assemblages with the diversity of aDNA sequenced from subsurface sediment samples using both cloning and high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Our study shows that 57% of the species archived in the fossil record were also detected in the aDNA data. However, the relative abundance of aDNA sequence reads and fossil specimens differed considerably. We also found a limited match between the stratigraphic occurrence of some fossil species and their aDNA sequences, especially in the case of rare taxa. The aDNA data comprised a high proportion of non-fossilised monothalamous species, which are known to dominate in modern foraminiferal communities of the Svalbard region. Our results confirm the relevance of HTS for studying past micro-eukaryotic diversity and provide insight into its ability to reflect fossil assemblages. Palaeogenetic studies including aDNA analyses of non-fossilised groups expand the range of palaeoceanographical proxies and therefore may increase the accuracy of palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

Landfilling of Municipal Solid Waste in Europe

© 2014 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Under the hierarchy of waste management, landfilling is the least desirable option, but it is still commonly practiced. Although biodegradation processes ensure neutralization and stabilization of waste, but because of the long-term period of waste degradation, landfills pose threat to the environment. In order to minimize detrimental influence on the surroundings, landfills should be properly constructed and managed for all the operation time and after the closure. The chapter presents the standards for landfill construction and operation binding in the European Union

CREATION OF A 3D STRUCTURE BASED ON THE HIGH STRENGTH METALLURGICAL GRAPHENE®

Herein, the results of a study focused on graphene in activation and cross-linking reactions with hydrazine are reported. The method provides an approach to the preparation of graphene-based materials, in this case, with a preset distance between individual layer and a relatively low ratio between the Raman G and D bands — D peak intensity/G peak intensity (ID/IG), ca. 1.81 (for unmodified High Strength Metallurgical Graphene® (HSMG® [Trade mark number: 013391669; Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market]), this ratio is 0.16). A 3D structure was created without a substrate (e.g. Si, SiO2 or polymer). This method allows for the preparation of a 3D graphene structure without the π–π interactions between individual layers

Heat and Mass Transport Analysis of MHD Rotating Hybrid Nanofluids Conveying Silver and Molybdenum Di-Sulfide Nano-Particles under Effect of Linear and Non-Linear Radiation

This article is an attempt to explore the heat transfer features of the steady three-dimensional rotating flow of magneto-hydrodynamic hybrid nanofluids under the effect of nonlinear radiation over the bi-directional stretching surface. For this purpose, two different nano-particles, namely silver (Ag) and molybdenum di-sulfide (MoS2), were selected. Three different conventional base fluids were utilized to form desired hybrid nanofluids such as water (H2O), engine oil (EO), and ethylene glycol (EG). We obtained steady three-dimensional highly nonlinear partial differential equations. These highly nonlinear partial differential equations cannot be solved analytically, so these equations were handled in MATLAB with the BVP-4C technique with convergence tolerance at 10−6. The graph depicts the effect of the magnetization effect, thermal radiation, and stretching ratio on rotating hybrid nanofluids. Additionally, the impact of thermal radiation on the heat coefficient of three different hybrid nanofluids is being investigated. The augmentation in magnetization decreases the primary velocity, whereas the increment in radiation enhances the primary velocity. The stretching ratio and the presence of higher magnetic forces increase the temperature profile. The concentration profile was enhanced with an increment in the magnetic field, stretching, and rotation ratio. The maximum Nusselt number was achieved for the Ag-MoS2/EO hybrid nanofluid. It was concluded that augmentation in nonlinear radiation enhances the heat transfer coefficient for the examined cases (I) and (II) of the hybrid nanofluids. The Nusselt number doubled for both the examined cases under nonlinear radiation. Moreover, it was discovered that Ag-MoS2/water produced the best heat transfer results under nonlinear radiation. Therefore, the study recommends more frequent exploration of hybrid nanofluids (Ag-MoS2/water) when employing nonlinear radiation to analyze the heat transfer coefficient

Data from: Ancient DNA complements microfossil record in deep-sea subsurface sediments

Deep-sea subsurface sediments are the most important archives of marine biodiversity. Until now, these archives were studied mainly using the microfossil record, disregarding large amounts of DNA accumulated on the deep-sea floor. Accessing ancient DNA (aDNA) molecules preserved down-core would offer unique insights into the history of marine biodiversity, including both fossilized and non-fossilized taxa. Here, we recover aDNA of eukaryotic origin across four cores collected at abyssal depths in the South Atlantic, in up to 32.5 thousand-year-old sediment layers. Our study focuses on foraminifera and radiolaria, two major groups of marine microfossils also comprising diverse non-fossilized taxa. We describe their assemblages in down-core sediment layers applying both micropaleontological and environmental DNA sequencing approaches. Short fragments of the foraminiferal and radiolarian SSU rRNA gene recovered from sedimentary DNA extracts provide evidence that eukaryotic aDNA is preserved in deep-sea sediments encompassing the Last Glacial Maximum. Most aDNA were assigned to non-fossilized taxa that also dominate in molecular studies of modern environments. Our study reveals the potential of aDNA to better document the evolution of past marine ecosystems and opens new horizons for the development of deep-sea palaeogenomics

Marine biology Ancient DNA complements microfossil record in deep-sea subsurface sediments

Deep-sea subsurface sediments are the most important archives of marine biodiversity. Until now, these archives were studied mainly using the microfossil record, disregarding large amounts of DNA accumulated on the deep-sea floor. Accessing ancient DNA (aDNA) molecules preserved down-core would offer unique insights into the history of marine biodiversity, including both fossilized and non-fossilized taxa. Here, we recover aDNA of eukaryotic origin across four cores collected at abyssal depths in the South Atlantic, in up to 32.5 thousand-year-old sediment layers. Our study focuses on Foraminifera and Radiolaria, two major groups of marine microfossils also comprising diverse non-fossilized taxa. We describe their assemblages in down-core sediment layers applying both micropalaeontological and environmental DNA sequencing approaches. Short fragments of the foraminiferal and radiolarian small subunit rRNA gene recovered from sedimentary DNA extracts provide evidence that eukaryotic aDNA is preserved in deep-sea sediments encompassing the last glacial maximum. Most aDNA were assigned to non-fossilized taxa that also dominate in molecular studies of modern environments. Our study reveals the potential of aDNA to better document the evolution of past marine ecosystems and opens new horizons for the development of deep-sea palaeogenomics

The Dynamics of a Fractional-Order Mathematical Model of Cancer Tumor Disease

This article explores the application of the reduced differential transform method (RDTM) for the computational solutions of two fractional-order cancer tumor models in the Caputo sense: the model based on cancer chemotherapeutic effects which explain the relation between chemotherapeutic drugs, tumor cells, normal cells, and immune cells using a fractional partial differential equations, and the model that describes the different cases of killing rate K of cancer cells (the killing percentage of cancer cells K (I) is dependent on the number of cells, (II) is a function of time only, and (III) is a function of space only). The solutions are presented using Mathematica software as a convergent power series with elegantly computed terms using the suggested technique. The proposed method gives new series form results for various values of gamma. To clarify the complexity of the models, we plot the two- and three-dimensional and contour graphics of the obtained solutions at varied values of fractional-order gamma and the selected system parameters. The solutions are analyzed with fractional and reduced differential transform methods to obtain an idea of invariance regarding the computed solution of the designed mathematical model. The obtained results demonstrate the efficiency and preciseness of the proposed method to achieve a better understanding of chemotherapy effects. It is observed that chemotherapy drugs boost immunity against the specific cancer by decreasing the number of tumor cells, and the killing rate K of cancerous cells depend on the cells concentration

RSBL-2012-0942_DeepSea_aDNA_IlluminaSeqs

DNA sequences generated by cloning/Sanger sequencing and by Illumina sequencing (MiSeq instrument). In each sequence header, several '_'-separated fields that could be indexed indicate: [0] the technology ('cloning' or 'illumina'), [1] the sediment core of origin, [2] the sub-sample layer depth in centimetre, [3] a numeric identifier, and for the cloning sequences, [4] the lab of origin the DNA extract and [5] the primer combination