A review of volatiles in the Martian interior

Multiple observations from missions to Mars have revealed compelling evidence for a volatile-rich Martian crust. A leading theory contends that eruption of basaltic magmas was the ultimate mechanism of transfer of volatiles from the mantle toward the surface after an initial outgassing related to the crystallization of a magma ocean. However, the concentrations of volatile species in ascending magmas and in their mantle source regions are highly uncertain. This work and this special issue of Meteoritics & Planetary Science summarize the key findings of the workshop on Volatiles in the Martian Interior (Nov. 3–4, 2014), the primary open questions related to volatiles in Martian magmas and their source regions, and the suggestions of the community at the workshop to address these open questions

Complete genome sequence and metabolic potential of the quinaldine-degrading bacterium Arthrobacter sp. Rue61a

Background: Bacteria of the genus Arthrobacter are ubiquitous in soil environments and can be considered as true survivalists. Arthrobacter sp. strain Rue61a is an isolate from sewage sludge able to utilize quinaldine (2- methylquinoline) as sole carbon and energy source. The genome provides insight into the molecular basis of the versatility and robustness of this environmental Arthrobacter strain. Results: The genome of Arthrobacter sp. Rue61a consists of a single circular chromosome of 4,736,495 bp with an average G + C content of 62.32%, the circular 231,551-bp plasmid pARUE232, and the linear 112,992-bp plasmid pARUE113 that was already published. Plasmid pARUE232 is proposed to contribute to the resistance of Arthrobacter sp. Rue61a to arsenate and Pb2+, whereas the linear plasmid confers the ability to convert quinaldine to anthranilate. Remarkably, degradation of anthranilate exclusively proceeds via a CoA-thioester pathway. Apart from quinaldine utilization, strain Rue61a has a limited set of aromatic degradation pathways, enabling the utilization of 4-hydroxy-substituted aromatic carboxylic acids, which are characteristic products of lignin depolymerization, via ortho cleavage of protocatechuate. However, 4-hydroxyphenylacetate degradation likely proceeds via meta cleavage of homoprotocatechuate. The genome of strain Rue61a contains numerous genes associated with osmoprotection, and a high number of genes coding for transporters. It encodes a broad spectrum of enzymes for the uptake and utilization of various sugars and organic nitrogen compounds. A. aurescens TC-1 is the closest sequenced relative of strain Rue61a. Conclusions: The genome of Arthrobacter sp. Rue61a reflects the saprophytic lifestyle and nutritional versatility of the organism and a strong adaptive potential to environmental stress. The circular plasmid pARUE232 and the linear plasmid pARUE113 contribute to heavy metal resistance and to the ability to degrade quinaldine, respectively

Magnetic resonance imaging of diverticular disease and its association with adipose tissue compartments and constitutional risk factors in subjects from a western general population

Purpose To determine the association of asymptomatic diverticular disease as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with adipose tissue compartments, hepatic steatosis and constitutional risk factors within a cohort drawn from a Western general population. Materials and Methods Asymptomatic subjects enrolled in a prospective case-control study underwent a 3 Tesla MRI scan, including an isotropic VIBE-Dixon sequence of the entire trunk. The presence and extent of diverticular disease were categorized according to the number of diverticula in each colonic segment in a blinded fashion. The amount of visceral, subcutaneous, and total adipose tissue (VAT, SAT, and TAT) was quantified by MRI. Additionally, the degree of hepatic steatosis, indicated as hepatic proton density fat fraction (hepatic PDFF) was determined using a multi-echo T1w sequence. Constitutional cardiometabolic risk factors were obtained and univariate and multivariate associations were calculated. Results A total of 371 subjects were included in the analysis (58.2% male, 56.2±9.2 years). Based on MRI, 154 participants (41.5%) had diverticular disease with 62 cases (17%) being advanced diverticular disease. Subjects with advanced diverticular disease had a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) (BMI: 29.9±5.1 vs. 27.5±4.6, p<0.001; respectively). Furthermore, all adipose tissue compartments were increased in subjects with advanced diverticular disease (e.g. VAT: 6.0±2.8 vs. 4.2±2.6 and SAT: 9.2±3.6 vs. 7.8±3.6, all p<0.001, respectively). Similarly, subjects with advanced diverticular disease had significantly higher hepatic PDFF (4.9 [2.7, 11.4] vs. 6.1 [5.5, 14.6], p=0.002). Conclusion Advanced diverticular disease is associated with an increased volume of adipose tissue compartments and BMI, which may suggest a metabolic role in disease development. Key Points: Diverticular disease is associated with constitutional risk factors such as BMI. Excess of adipose tissue compartments and hepatic steatosis are associated with the prevalence of diverticular disease. Our results suggest a shared pathological pathway of cardiometabolic alterations and the prevalence of diverticular disease. MRI is feasible for the assessment of adipose tissue compartments, hepatic steatosis, and diverticular disease and allows identification of patients who are at risk but in an asymptomatic disease state. Citation Format Storz C, Rospleszcz S, Askani E etal. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Diverticular Disease and its Association with Adipose Tissue Compartments and Constitutional Risk Factors in Subjects from a Western General Population. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2020; DOI: 10.1055/a-1212-5669

Influence of Solder Pads to PERC Solar Cells for Module Integration

AbstractThe majority of screen printed solar cells has silver pads at the rear side to enable soldering for the module manufacturing. The pads increase the recombination at the silicon/metal interface due to the absence of a back surface field (BSF) at the solder pads. This reduces the efficiency of full-area Al-BSF solar cells. For passivated emitter and rear cells (PERC), a large area fraction of the rear side is covered with the passivation layer. When using specially designed Ag pastes for the rear side of PERC cells, the passivation of this layer is maintained, and the rear recombination is reduced.A comparison of solar cells with and without solder pads confirms that there is no loss in solar cell performance, both cell types achieve an efficiency of 19.6%. We investigate the influence of solder pads to PERC solar cells by calculating the effective rear surface recombination. The calculations confirm that there is a loss in open circuit voltage of less than 2mV due to the solder pads.A 54-cell PERC PV module is manufactured. The cell-to-module loss reveals that the module process is still to be optimized. Comparable modules made from 9 solar cells lost less than 1% relative in all J-V parameters after a 1000h damp-heat test

How Do I Look? Body Image Perceptions among University Students from England and Denmark

This study examined differences in body image perception between university students in two European countries, United Kingdom and Denmark. A total of 816 British and 548 Danish university students participated in a cross-sectional survey. A self-administered questionnaire assessed socio-demographic information, body image perception (as “too thin”, “just right” or “too fat”), and the association of related factors with body image perception (nutrition behaviour, social support, perceived stressors and quality of life). The proportions of students who perceived themselves as “too thin”, “just right”, or “too fat” were 8.6%, 37.7%, and 53.7% respectively. Multi-factorial logistic regression analysis showed that students who perceived themselves as “too fat” were more likely to be from the British university, to be females, to be older than 30 years, to report stress due to their financial situation and were less likely to have a high quality of life. The findings highlight the need for interventions with focus on healthy food choices whilst acknowledging financial stressors and quality of life

Genetic Contribution to Alcohol Dependence: Investigation of a Heterogeneous German Sample of Individuals with Alcohol Dependence, Chronic Alcoholic Pancreatitis, and Alcohol-Related Cirrhosis

The present study investigated the genetic contribution to alcohol dependence (AD) using genome-wide association data from three German samples. These comprised patients with: (i) AD; (ii) chronic alcoholic pancreatitis (ACP); and (iii) alcohol-related liver cirrhosis (ALC). Single marker, gene-based, and pathway analyses were conducted. A significant association was detected for the ADH1B locus in a gene-based approach (puncorrected = 1.2 × 10−6; pcorrected = 0.020). This was driven by the AD subsample. No association with ADH1B was found in the combined ACP + ALC sample. On first inspection, this seems surprising, since ADH1B is a robustly replicated risk gene for AD and may therefore be expected to be associated also with subgroups of AD patients. The negative finding in the ACP + ALC sample, however, may reflect genetic stratification as well as random fluctuation of allele frequencies in the cases and controls, demonstrating the importance of large samples in which the phenotype is well assessed

Expression of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in keratinocytes mediates apoptotic cell death in allogenic T cells

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the aptitude of TRAIL gene expression for inducing apoptosis in co-cultivated T-cells. This should allow preparing a strategy for the development of a durable, allogenic skin substitute based on the induction of an immune-privileged transplant. In order to counteract the significant potential of rejection in transplanted allogenic keratinocytes, we created a murine keratinocyte cell line which expressed TRAIL through stable gene transfer. The exogenic protein was localized on the cellular surface and was not found in soluble condition as sTRAIL. Contact to TRAIL expressing cells in co-culture induced cell death in sensitive Jurkat-cells, which was further intensified by lymphocyte activation. This cytotoxic effect is due to the induction of apoptosis. We therefore assume that the de-novo expression of TRAIL in keratinocytes can trigger apoptosis in activated lymphocytes and thus prevent the rejection of keratinocytes in allogenic, immune-privileged transplants