Estimating the electrical conductivity of a saturated soil paste extract (ECe) from 1 : 1 (EC1 : 1), 1 : 2 (EC1 : 2) and 1 : 5 (EC1 : 5) soil : water suspension ratios, in calcareous soils from the Mediterranean Islands of Malta

The standard method to determine soil salinity is by measuring the electrical conductivity (EC) of a saturated soil paste extract (ECe). Models that convert EC of soil:water suspensions (EC(soil:water)) to ECe are soil specific and are not universal models. This study aimed to develop models to convert EC(1:1; 1:2; 1:5) to ECe for the calcareous soil of Malta. Moreover, the effect that soil texture, carbonate and organic matter content might have on these models was investigated. Using 114 soil samples with contrasting textural, carbonate and organic matter characteristics, the general models followed the equation ECe = 10(a(logEC(soil:water))+b) with good correlation coefficients (r2 = 0.91–0.93, p < .001). Models specific to fine and medium textured soil, soils with carbonate content between 35% and 50%, and soils with organic matter content between 2.5% and 4.2% showed a higher correlation coefficient (mean r 2 = 0.96). Validation of the models using 22 independent soil samples showed that the general models are reliable (RMSE = 0.93, 0.87, 0.97 dS m−1; NSE = 0.96, 0.97 and 0.95 for 1:1, 1:2 and 1:5, respectively). Except for the models developed from coarse textured soil, all the parameter-specific models were reliable. This study suggests that the general models could be used for soils of Malta having contrasting characteristics except for those with high sand content.peer-reviewe

Broadband measurements of soil complex permittivity

Agriculture is a major consumer of freshwater and is often associated with low water productivity. To prevent drought, farmers tend to over-irrigate, putting a strain on the ever-depleting groundwater resources. To improve modern agricultural techniques and conserve water, quick and accurate estimates of soil water content (SWC) should be made, and irrigation timed correctly in order to optimize crop yield and water use. In this study, soil samples common to the Maltese Islands having different clay, sand, and silt contents were, primarily, investigated to: (a) deduce whether the dielectric constant can be considered as a viable indicator of the SWC for the soils of Malta; (b) determine how soil compaction affects the dielectric constant measurements; and (c) to create calibration curves to directly relate the dielectric constant and the SWC for two different soil types of low and high density. The measurements, which were carried out in the X-band, were facilitated by an experimental setup comprising a two-port Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) connected to a rectangular waveguide system. From data analysis, it was found that for each soil investigated, the dielectric constant increases notably with an increase in both density and SWC. Our findings are expected to aid in future numerical analysis and simulations aimed at developing low-cost, minimally invasive Microwave (MW) systems for localized SWC sensing, and hence, in agricultural water conservation. However, it should be noted that a statistically significant relationship between soil texture and the dielectric constant could not be determined at this stage.peer-reviewe

Water-soluble naphthalimide-based 'Pourbaix sensors': pH and redox-activated fluorescent AND logic gates based on photoinduced electron transfer

Two novel naphthalimide-based 'Pourbaix sensors' for redox potential and pH were designed based on a 'fluorophore–spacer 1 –receptor–spacer 2 –electron-donor' configuration. The synthesised molecular logic gates consist of an alkylated 1,8-naphthalimide fluorophore connected to a tertiary amine by a flexible ethylene spacer to a ferrocene moiety via a methylene spacer. The UV-visible absorption and steady state fluorescent properties were examined in methanol and 1 : 1 (v/v) methanol/water. The spectroscopic properties are modulated by internal charge transfer (ICT) and photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanisms. A log b H + of 9.2 and 8.7 were determined in 1 : 1 (v/v) methanol/water for the methylated 1 and butylated 2 compounds, respectively. An apparent log b Fe 3+ of 4.2 was determined in 1 : 1 (v/v) methanol/ water at pH 4. Time-resolved spectroscopic studies elucidated the stimulus-modulated photoinduced electron transfer pathways. In the oxidised and protonated state, 1 exhibits a single fluorescence lifetime of 8.5 ns, while an efficient photoinduced electron transfer characterised by a time constant of 20 ps is revealed by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the absence of a perturbing stimulus.Architectures à base de foldamères pour le transport d'electron

Aberrant expression of the neuronal transcription factor FOXP2 in neoplastic plasma cells.

FOXP2 mutation causes a severe inherited speech and language defect, while the related transcription factors FOXP1, FOXP3 and FOXP4 are implicated in cancer. FOXP2 mRNA and protein expression were characterised in normal human tissues, haematological cell lines and multiple myeloma (MM) patients' samples. FOXP2 mRNA and protein were absent in mononuclear cells from different anatomical sites, lineages and stages of differentiation. However, FOXP2 mRNA and protein was detected in several lymphoma (8/20) and all MM-derived cell lines (n = 4). FOXP2 mRNA was expressed in bone marrow samples from 96% of MM patients (24/25), 66.7% of patients with the pre-neoplastic plasma cell proliferation monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) (6/9), but not in reactive plasma cells. The frequency of FOXP2 protein expression in CD138(+) plasma cells was significantly higher in MGUS (P = 0.0005; mean 46.4%) and MM patients (P &lt; or = 0.0001; mean 57.3%) than in reactive marrows (mean 2.5%). FOXP2 (&gt;10% nuclear positivity) was detectable in 90.2% of MM (55/61) and 90.9% of MGUS (10/11) patients, showing more frequent expression than CD56 and labelling 75% of CD56-negative MM (9/12). FOXP2 represents the first transcription factor whose expression consistently differentiates normal and abnormal plasma cells and FOXP2 target genes are implicated in MM pathogenesis

Deconvoluting complex correlates of COVID-19 severity with a multi-omic pandemic tracking strategy

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has differentially impacted populations across race and ethnicity. A&nbsp;multi-omic&nbsp;approach represents a powerful tool to examine risk across multi-ancestry genomes. We leverage a pandemic tracking strategy in which we sequence viral and host genomes and transcriptomes from nasopharyngeal swabs of 1049 individuals (736 SARS-CoV-2 positive and 313 SARS-CoV-2 negative) and integrate them with digital phenotypes from electronic health records from a diverse catchment area in Northern California. Genome-wide&nbsp;association disaggregated by admixture mapping reveals novel COVID-19-severity-associated regions containing previously reported markers of neurologic, pulmonary and viral disease susceptibility. Phylodynamic tracking of consensus viral genomes reveals no association with disease severity or inferred ancestry. Summary data from multiomic investigation reveals metagenomic and HLA associations with severe COVID-19. The wealth of data available from residual nasopharyngeal swabs in combination with clinical data abstracted automatically at scale highlights a powerful strategy for pandemic tracking, and reveals distinct epidemiologic, genetic, and biological associations for those at the highest risk

Discovery of the first genome-wide significant risk loci for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink belowAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly heritable childhood behavioral disorder affecting 5% of children and 2.5% of adults. Common genetic variants contribute substantially to ADHD susceptibility, but no variants have been robustly associated with ADHD. We report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 20,183 individuals diagnosed with ADHD and 35,191 controls that identifies variants surpassing genome-wide significance in 12 independent loci, finding important new information about the underlying biology of ADHD. Associations are enriched in evolutionarily constrained genomic regions and loss-of-function intolerant genes and around brain-expressed regulatory marks. Analyses of three replication studies: a cohort of individuals diagnosed with ADHD, a self-reported ADHD sample and a meta-analysis of quantitative measures of ADHD symptoms in the population, support these findings while highlighting study-specific differences on genetic overlap with educational attainment. Strong concordance with GWAS of quantitative population measures of ADHD symptoms supports that clinical diagnosis of ADHD is an extreme expression of continuous heritable traits.Lundbeck Foundation Stanley Medical Research Institute European Research Council European Community (EC) EC Novo Nordisk Foundation Aarhus University NIH K.G. Jebsen Centre for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders, University of Bergen, Norway NIMH Wellcome Trust personal Vici grant of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP Network 'ADHD across the Lifespan') Stiftelsen K.G. Jebsen Copenhagen University Research Council of Norway Spanish 'Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad' Generalitat de Catalunya/AGAUR ECNP network 'ADHD across the lifespan' DFG KG Jebsen Stiftelsen Wellcome Trust Medical Research Council (MRC UK) Action Medical Research Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Research Council NHMR