Early and Middle Jurassic mires of Bornholm and the Fennoscandian Border Zone: a comparison of depositional environments and vegetation

Suitable climatic conditions for peat formation existed during Early–Middle Jurassic times in the Fennoscandian Border Zone. Autochthonous peat and allochthonous organic matter were deposited from north Jylland, south-east through the Kattegat and Øresund area, to Skåne and Bornholm. The increase in coal seam abundance and thickness from north Jylland to Bornholm indicates that the most favourable peat-forming conditions were present towards the south-east. Peat formation and deposition of organic-rich muds in the Early Jurassic coastal mires were mainly controlled by a continuous rise of relative sea level governed by subsidence and an overall eustatic rise. Watertable rise repeatedly outpaced the rate of accumulation of organic matter and terminated peat formation by lacustrine or lagoonal flooding. Organic matter accumulated in open-water mires and in continuously waterlogged, anoxic and periodically marine-influenced mires. The latter conditions resulted in huminite-rich coals containing framboidal pyrite. The investigated Lower Jurassic seams correspond to peat and peaty mud deposits that ranged from 0.5–5.7 m in thickness, but were generally less than 3 m thick. It is estimated that on Bornholm, the mires existed on average for c. 1200 years in the Hettangian–Sinemurian and for c. 2300 years in the Late Pliensbachian; the Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) mires in the Øresund area existed for c. 1850 years. Aalenian uplift of the Ringkøbing–Fyn High and major parts of the Danish Basin caused a significant change in the basin configuration and much reduced subsidence in the Fennoscandian Border Zone during the Middle Jurassic. This resulted in a more inland position for the Middle Jurassic mires which on occasion enabled peat accumulation to keep pace with, or temporarily outpace, watertable rise. Thus, peat formation was sometimes sustained for relatively long periods, and the mires may have existed for up to 7000 years in the Øresund area, and up to 19 000 years on Bornholm. The combination of the inland position of the mires, a seasonal climate, and on occasion a peat surface above groundwater level caused temporary oxidation of the peat surfaces and formation of inertinite-rich coals. The spore and pollen assemblages from coal seams and interbedded siliciclastic deposits indicate that the dominant plant groups in both the Early and Middle Jurassic mires were ferns and gymnosperms. However, significant floral differences are evident. In the Lower Jurassic coals, the palynology testifies to a vegetation rich in cycadophytes and coniferophytes (Taxodiaceae family) whereas club mosses were of lesser importance. Conversely, in the Middle Jurassic coals, the palynology indicates an absence of cycadophytes, a minor proportion of coniferophytes (Taxodiaceae) and a significant proportion of club mosses. These variations are probably related to adaptation by different plants to varying environmental conditions, in particular of hydrological character

Plasma organochlorine concentrations and bone ultrasound measurements: a cross-sectional study in peri-and postmenopausal Inuit women from Greenland

BACKGROUND: Inuit women are highly exposed through their traditional seafood based diet to organochlorine compounds, some of them displaying endocrine disrupting properties. We hypothesized that this exposure might be related to bone characteristics that are altered in osteoporosis, because hormone deficiency is a known risk factor for the disease. METHODS: We measured quantitative ultrasound parameters (QUS) at the right calcaneum of 153 peri- and postmenopausal Inuit women (49–64 year old) from Nuuk, Greenland, and investigated the relation between these parameters and plasma organochlorine concentrations. We used high-resolution gas chromatography with electron capture detection to analyze plasma samples for 14 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) congeners and 11 chlorinated pesticides and metabolites. We analysed morning urine samples for cadmium, a potential confounder, by atomic absorption spectrometry. We used a validated questionnaire to document dietary and lifestyle habits as well as reproductive and medical histories. RESULTS: Concentrations of PCB 153, a surrogate of exposure to most organochlorines present in plasma samples, were inversely correlated to QUS parameters in univariate analyses (p < 0.001). However, PCB 153 concentrations were not associated with QUS values in multivariate analyses that comprised potential confounding factors such as age, body weight, former oral contraceptive use and current hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use, which were all significant predictors of bone stiffness (total R(2 )= 0.39; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Overall we found little evidence that organochlorines exposure is related to osteoporosis in Greenlandic Inuit women, but the hypothesis that exposure to dioxin-like compounds might be linked to decreased bone quality and osteoporosis deserves further attention

Loss-of-activity-mutation in the cardiac chloride-bicarbonate exchanger AE3 causes short QT syndrome

Mutations in potassium and calcium channel genes have been associated with cardiac arrhythmias. Here, Jensen et al. show that an anion transporter chloride-bicarbonate exchanger AE3 is also responsible for the genetically-induced mechanism of cardiac arrhythmia, suggesting new therapeutic targets for this diseas

Surgical treatment of patients with infective endocarditis:changes in temporal use, patient characteristics, and mortality—a nationwide study

BACKGROUND: Valve surgery guidelines for infective endocarditis (IE) are unchanged over decades and nationwide data about the use of valve surgery do not exist. METHODS: We included patients with first-time IE (1999–2018) using Danish nationwide registries. Proportions of valve surgery were reported for calendar periods (1999–2003, 2004–2008, 2009–2013, 2014–2018). Comparing calendar periods in multivariable analyses, we computed likelihoods of valve surgery with logistic regression and rates of 30 day postoperative mortality with Cox regression. RESULTS: We included 8804 patients with first-time IE; 1981 (22.5%) underwent surgery during admission, decreasing by calendar periods (N = 360 [24.4%], N = 483 [24.0%], N = 553 [23.5%], N = 585 [19.7%], P = < 0.001 for trend). For patients undergoing valve surgery, median age increased from 59.7 to 66.9 years (P ≤ 0.001) and the proportion of males increased from 67.8% to 72.6% (P = 0.008) from 1999–2003 to 2014–2018. Compared with 1999–2003, associated likelihoods of valve surgery were: Odds ratio (OR) = 1.14 (95% CI: 0.96–1.35), OR = 1.20 (95% CI: 1.02–1.42), and OR = 1.10 (95% CI: 0.93–1.29) in 2004–2008, 2009–2013, and 2014–2018, respectively. 30 day postoperative mortalities were: 12.7%, 12.8%, 6.9%, and 9.7% by calendar periods. Compared with 1999–2003, associated mortality rates were: Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.96 (95% CI: 0.65–1.41), HR = 0.43 (95% CI: 0.28–0.67), and HR = 0.55 (95% CI 0.37–0.83) in 2004–2008, 2009–2013, and 2014–2018, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: On a nationwide scale, 22.5% of patients with IE underwent valve surgery. Patient characteristics changed considerably and use of valve surgery decreased over time. The adjusted likelihood of valve surgery was similar between calendar periods with a trend towards an increase while rates of 30 day postoperative mortality decreased. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-022-02761-z

Tumour-associated glial host cells display a stem-like phenotype with a distinct gene expression profile and promote growth of GBM xenografts

Background: Little is known about the role of glial host cells in brain tumours. However, supporting stromal cells have been shown to foster tumour growth in other cancers. Methods: We isolated stromal cells from patient-derived glioblastoma (GBM) xenografts established in GFP-NOD/scid mice. With simultaneous removal of CD11b+ immune and CD31+ endothelial cells by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), we obtained a population of tumour-associated glial cells, TAGs, expressing markers of terminally differentiaed glial cell types or glial progenitors. This cell population was subsequently characterised using gene expression analyses and immunocytochemistry. Furthermore, sphere formation was assessed in vitro and their glioma growth-promoting ability was examined in vivo. Finally, the expression of TAG related markers was validated in human GBMs. Results: TAGs were highly enriched for the expression of glial cell proteins including GFAP and myelin basic protein (MBP), and immature markers such as Nestin and O4. A fraction of TAGs displayed sphere formation in stem cell medium. Moreover, TAGs promoted brain tumour growth in vivo when co-implanted with glioma cells, compared to implanting only glioma cells, or glioma cells and unconditioned glial cells from mice without tumours. Genome-wide microarray analysis of TAGs showed an expression profile distinct from glial cells from healthy mice brains. Notably, TAGs upregulated genes associated with immature cell types and self-renewal, including Pou3f2 and Sox2. In addition, TAGs from highly angiogenic tumours showed upregulation of angiogenic factors, including Vegf and Angiopoietin 2. Immunohistochemistry of three GBMs, two patient biopsies and one GBM xenograft, confirmed that the expression of these genes was mainly confined to TAGs in the tumour bed. Furthermore, their expression profiles displayed a significant overlap with gene clusters defining prognostic subclasses of human GBMs. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that glial host cells in brain tumours are functionally distinct from glial cells of healthy mice brains. Furthermore, TAGs display a gene expression profile with enrichment for genes related to stem cells, immature cell types and developmental processes. Future studies are needed to delineate the biological mechanisms regulating the brain tumour-host interplay.publishedVersio

Novel desmoplakin mutation: juvenile biventricular cardiomyopathy with left ventricular non-compaction and acantholytic palmoplantar keratoderma

Two sons of a consanguineous marriage developed biventricular cardiomyopathy. One boy died of severe heart failure at the age of 6 years, the other was transplanted because of severe heart failure at the age of 10 years. In addition, focal palmoplantar keratoderma and woolly hair were apparent in both boys. As similar phenotypes have been described in Naxos disease and Carvajal syndrome, respectively, the genes for plakoglobin (JUP) and desmoplakin (DSP) were screened for mutations using direct genomic sequencing. A novel homozygous 2 bp deletion was identified in an alternatively spliced region of DSP. The deletion 5208_5209delAG led to a frameshift downstream of amino acid 1,736 with a premature truncation of the predominant cardiac isoform DSP-1. This novel homozygous truncating mutation in the isoform-1 specific region of the DSP C-terminus caused Carvajal syndrome comprising severe early-onset heart failure with features of non-compaction cardiomyopathy, woolly hair and an acantholytic form of palmoplantar keratoderma in our patient. Congenital hair abnormality and manifestation of the cutaneous phenotype in toddler age can help to identify children at risk for cardiac death

K0s K0s Final State in Two-Photon Collisions and Implications for Glueballs

The K0s K0s final state in two-photon collisions is studied with the L3 detector at LEP. The mass spectrum is dominated by the formation of the f_2'(1525) tensor meson in the helicity-two state with a two-photon width times the branching ratio into K Kbar of 76 +- 6 +- 11 eV. A clear signal for the formation of the f_J(1710) is observed and it is found to be dominated by the spin-two helicity-two state. No resonance is observed in the mass region around 2.2 GeV and an upper limit of 1.4 eV at 95% C.L. is derived for the two-photon width times the branching ratio into K0s K0s for the glueball candidate xi(2230)

Direct Observation of Longitudinally Polarised W Bosons

The three different helicity states of W bosons, produced in the reaction e+e- -> W+W- -> l nu q q~ are studied using leptonic and hadronic W decays at sqrt{s}=183GeV and 189GeV. The W polarisation is also measured as a function of the scattering angle between the W- and the direction of the e- beam. The analysis demonstrates that W bosons are produced with all three helicities, the longitudinal and the two transverse states. Combining the results from the two center-of-mass energies and with leptonic and hadronic W decays, the fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured to be 0.261 +/- 0.051(stat.) +/- 0.016(syst.) in agreement with the expectation from the Standard Model