Regional spread of HIV-1 M subtype B in middle-aged patients by random env-C2V4 region sequencing

A transmission cluster of HIV-1 M:B was identified in 11 patients with a median age of 52 (range 26–65) in North-East Germany by C2V4 region sequencing of the env gene of HIV-1, who—except of one—were not aware of any risky behaviour. The 10 male and 1 female patients deteriorated immunologically, according to their information made available, within 4 years after a putative HIV acquisition. Nucleic acid sequence analysis showed a R5 virus in all patients and in 7 of 11 a crown motif of the V3 loop, GPGSALFTT, which is found rarely. Analysis of formation of this cluster showed that there is still a huge discrepancy between awareness and behaviour regarding HIV transmission in middle-aged patients, and that a local outbreak can be detected by nucleic acid analysis of the hypervariable env region

New records from Banks Island expand the diversity of Eocene fishes from Canada’s western Arctic Greenhouse

Eocene vertebrates from the Canadian Arctic, including sharks, bony fishes, turtles, crocodylians, birds, and mammals, have provided strong evidence for relatively warm ice-free conditions in the Arctic during the Eocene Greenhouse interval. Recent expeditions to Banks Island (NWT) in the western Arctic have recovered a relatively more marine-influenced Eocene fauna, including Sand-tiger sharks, bony fishes, turtle shell fragments, and a single crocodylian specimen. We report here on new additions to this fauna, including diagnostic large scales that confirm the presence of Amia in the western Arctic. One very large lateral line scale corresponds to a fish ca. 1.4 meters in total length, larger than the maximum size for extant Amia calva. We also recovered ca. 100 distinctive teeth that we assign to the teleost genus Eutrichiurides, which is otherwise known from lower latitude Paleogene sites in the USA, India, Africa, and Europe. The genus is interpreted as an ambush predator in shallow marine environments, consistent with the inferred Eocene paleoenvironment of Banks Island. The presence of Eutrichiurides in the Arctic adds a distinctive new element to the Eocene Greenhouse fauna and is intriguing with respect to the biogeography and dispersal capabilities of this taxon.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

First record of eocene bony fishes and crocodyliforms from Canada's Western Arctic.

BACKGROUND: Discovery of Eocene non-marine vertebrates, including crocodylians, turtles, bony fishes, and mammals in Canada's High Arctic was a critical paleontological contribution of the last century because it indicated that this region of the Arctic had been mild, temperate, and ice-free during the early - middle Eocene (∼53-50 Ma), despite being well above the Arctic Circle. To date, these discoveries have been restricted to Canada's easternmost Arctic - Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands (Nunavut). Although temporally correlative strata crop out over 1,000 km west, on Canada's westernmost Arctic Island - Banks Island, Northwest Territories - they have been interpreted as predominantly marine. We document the first Eocene bony fish and crocodyliform fossils from Banks Island. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We describe fossils of bony fishes, including lepisosteid (Atractosteus), esocid (pike), and amiid, and a crocodyliform, from lower - middle Eocene strata of the Cyclic Member, Eureka Sound Formation within Aulavik National Park (∼76°N. paleolat.). Palynology suggests the sediments are late early to middle Eocene in age, and likely spanned the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These fossils extend the geographic range of Eocene Arctic lepisosteids, esocids, amiids, and crocodyliforms west by approximately 40° of longitude or ∼1100 km. The low diversity bony fish fauna, at least at the family level, is essentially identical on Ellesmere and Banks Islands, suggesting a pan-High Arctic bony fish fauna of relatively basal groups around the margin of the Eocene Arctic Ocean. From a paleoclimatic perspective, presence of a crocodyliform, gar and amiid fishes on northern Banks provides further evidence that mild, year-round temperatures extended across the Canadian Arctic during early - middle Eocene time. Additionally, the Banks Island crocodyliform is consistent with the phylogenetic hypothesis of a Paleogene divergence time between the two extant alligatorid lineages Alligator mississippiensis and A. sinensis, and high-latitude dispersal across Beringia

Map of Arctic Canada showing location of Eocene crocodyliform locality on northern Banks Island, NWT (inset).

<p>Stars on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands mark localities from which Eocene crocodylian and bony fish fossils were reported prior to this report <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0096079#pone.0096079-Estes1" target="_blank">[3]</a>. Artwork by L. McConnaughey.</p

CMNFV 56059, vertebral centrum of an Eocene crocodyliform from CMN Loc. BKS04-19 on northern Banks Island, NWT.

<p>(A) Left lateral view; (B) dorsal view; (C) ventral view. h, hypapophysis; ncs, neurocentral sutural surface; pc, posterior cotyle. Scale bar equals 5 mm.</p

Fossils of Eocene bony fishes from northern Banks Island, NWT.

<p>CMNFV 56070, lateral line scale of <i>Atractosteus</i> from CMN Loc. BKS04-16, in medial (A) and lateral (B) views. (C) CMNFV 56069, vertebral centrum of ?Amiid. (D) CMNFV 56071, Esocid scale. C and D are from CMN Loc. BKS04-19.</p

Model Catalytic Studies of Novel Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers: Indole, Indoline and Octahydroindole on Pt(111)

Indole derivatives were recently proposed as potential liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) for storage of renewable energies. In this work, we have investigated the adsorption, dehydrogenation and degradation mechanisms in the indole/indoline/octahydroindole system on Pt(111). We have combined infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and DFT calculations. Indole multilayers show a crystallization transition at 200 K, in which the molecules adopt a strongly tilted orientation, before the multilayer desorbs at 220 K. For indoline, a less pronounced restructuring transition occurs at 150 K and multilayer desorption is observed at 200 K. Octahydroindole multilayers desorb already at 185 K, without any indication for restructuring. Adsorbed monolayers of all three compounds are stable up to room temperature and undergo deprotonation at the NH bond above 300 K. For indoline, the reaction is followed by partial dehydrogenation at the 5‐membered ring, leading to the formation of a flat‐lying di‐σ‐indolide in the temperature range from 330–390 K. Noteworthy, the same surface intermediate is formed from indole. In contrast, the reaction of octahydroindole with Pt(111) leads to the formation of a different intermediate, which originates from partial dehydrogenation of the 6‐membered ring. Above 390 K, all three compounds again form the same strongly dehydrogenated and partially decomposed surface species