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The Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (ca. 56 million years ago) offers a primary analogue for future global warming and carbon cycle recovery. Yet, where and how massive carbon emissions were mitigated during this climate warming event remains largely unknown. Here we show that organic carbon burial in the vast epicontinental seaways that extended over Eurasia provided a major carbon sink during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. We coupled new and existing stratigraphic analyses to a detailed paleogeographic framework and using spatiotemporal interpolation calculated ca. 720–1300 Gt organic carbon excess burial, focused in the eastern parts of the Eurasian epicontinental seaways. A much larger amount (2160–3900 Gt C, and when accounting for the increase in inundated shelf area 7400–10300 Gt C) could have been sequestered in similar environments globally. With the disappearance of most epicontinental seas since the Oligocene-Miocene, an effective negative carbon cycle feedback also disappeared making the modern carbon cycle critically dependent on the slower silicate weathering feedback.
The use of automated tools to reconstruct lipid metabolic pathways is not warranted in plants. Here, the authors construct Plant Lipid Module for Arabidopsis rosette using constraint-based modeling, demonstrate its integration in other plant metabolic models, and use it to dissect the genetic architecture of lipid metabolism.
Lipids play fundamental roles in regulating agronomically important traits. Advances in plant lipid metabolism have until recently largely been based on reductionist approaches, although modulation of its components can have system-wide effects. However, existing models of plant lipid metabolism provide lumped representations, hindering detailed study of component modulation. Here, we present the Plant Lipid Module (PLM) which provides a mechanistic description of lipid metabolism in the Arabidopsis thaliana rosette. We demonstrate that the PLM can be readily integrated in models of A. thaliana Col-0 metabolism, yielding accurate predictions (83%) of single lethal knock-outs and 75% concordance between measured transcript and predicted flux changes under extended darkness. Genome-wide associations with fluxes obtained by integrating the PLM in diel condition- and accession-specific models identify up to 65 candidate genes modulating A. thaliana lipid metabolism. Using mutant lines, we validate up to 40% of the candidates, paving the way for identification of metabolic gene function based on models capturing natural variability in metabolism.
An earthquake swarm affected the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica, a unique rift basin in transition from intra-arc rifting to ocean spreading. The swarm, counting similar to 85,000 volcano-tectonic earthquakes since August 2020, is located close to the Orca submarine volcano, previously considered inactive. Simultaneously, geodetic data reported up to similar to 11 cm north-westward displacement over King George Island. We use a broad variety of geophysical data and methods to reveal the complex migration of seismicity, accompanying the intrusion of 0.26-0.56 km(3) of magma. Strike-slip earthquakes mark the intrusion at depth, while shallower normal faulting the similar to 20 km long lateral growth of a dike. Seismicity abruptly decreased after a Mw 6.0 earthquake, suggesting the magmatic dike lost pressure with the slipping of a large fault. A seafloor eruption is likely, but not confirmed by sea surface temperature anomalies. The unrest documents episodic magmatic intrusion in the Bransfield Strait, providing unique insights into active continental rifting.
The prevalence of obesity in the pediatric population has become a major public health issue. Indeed, the dramatic increase of this epidemic causes multiple and harmful consequences, Physical activity, particularly physical exercise, remains to be the cornerstone of interventions against childhood obesity. Given the conflicting findings with reference to the relevant literature addressing the effects of exercise on adiposity and physical fitness outcomes in obese children and adolescents, the effect of duration-matched concurrent training (CT) [50% resistance (RT) and 50% high-intensity-interval-training (HIIT)] on body composition and physical fitness in obese youth remains to be elucidated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 9-weeks of CT compared to RT or HIIT alone, on body composition and selected physical fitness components in healthy sedentary obese youth. Out of 73 participants, only 37; [14 males and 23 females; age 13.4 +/- 0.9 years; body-mass-index (BMI): 31.2 +/- 4.8 kg center dot m-2] were eligible and randomized into three groups: HIIT (n = 12): 3-4 setsx12 runs at 80-110% peak velocity, with 10-s passive recovery between bouts; RT (n = 12): 6 exercises; 3-4 sets x 10 repetition maximum (RM) and CT (n = 13): 50% serial completion of RT and HIIT. CT promoted significant greater gains compared to HIIT and RT on body composition (p < 0.01, d = large), 6-min-walking test distance (6 MWT-distance) and on 6 MWT-VO2max (p < 0.03, d = large). In addition, CT showed substantially greater improvements than HIIT in the medicine ball throw test (20.2 vs. 13.6%, p < 0.04, d = large). On the other hand, RT exhibited significantly greater gains in relative hand grip strength (p < 0.03, d = large) and CMJ (p < 0.01, d = large) than HIIT and CT. CT promoted greater benefits for fat, body mass loss and cardiorespiratory fitness than HIIT or RT modalities. This study provides important information for practitioners and therapists on the application of effective exercise regimes with obese youth to induce significant and beneficial body composition changes. The applied CT program and the respective programming parameters in terms of exercise intensity and volume can be used by practitioners as an effective exercise treatment to fight the pandemic overweight and obesity in youth.
Background
Teleost fishes comprise more than half of the vertebrate species. Within teleosts, most phylogenies consider the split between Osteoglossomorpha and Euteleosteomorpha/Otomorpha as basal, preceded only by the derivation of the most primitive group of teleosts, the Elopomorpha. While Osteoglossomorpha are generally species poor, the taxon contains the African weakly electric fish (Mormyroidei), which have radiated into numerous species. Within the mormyrids, the genus Campylomormyrus is mostly endemic to the Congo Basin. Campylomormyrus serves as a model to understand mechanisms of adaptive radiation and ecological speciation, especially with regard to its highly diverse species-specific electric organ discharges (EOD). Currently, there are few well-annotated genomes available for electric fish in general and mormyrids in particular. Our study aims at producing a high-quality genome assembly and to use this to examine genome evolution in relation to other teleosts. This will facilitate further understanding of the evolution of the osteoglossomorpha fish in general and of electric fish in particular.
Results
A high-quality weakly electric fish (C. compressirostris) genome was produced from a single individual with a genome size of 862 Mb, consisting of 1,497 contigs with an N50 of 1,399 kb and a GC-content of 43.69%. Gene predictions identified 34,492 protein-coding genes, which is a higher number than in the two other available Osteoglossomorpha genomes of Paramormyrops kingsleyae and Scleropages formosus. A Computational Analysis of gene Family Evolution (CAFE5) comparing 33 teleost fish genomes suggests an overall faster gene family turnover rate in Osteoglossomorpha than in Otomorpha and Euteleosteomorpha. Moreover, the ratios of expanded/contracted gene family numbers in Osteoglossomorpha are significantly higher than in the other two taxa, except for species that had undergone an additional genome duplication (Cyprinus carpio and Oncorhynchus mykiss). As potassium channel proteins are hypothesized to play a key role in EOD diversity among species, we put a special focus on them, and manually curated 16 Kv1 genes. We identified a tandem duplication in the KCNA7a gene in the genome of C. compressirostris.
Conclusions
We present the fourth genome of an electric fish and the third well-annotated genome for Osteoglossomorpha, enabling us to compare gene family evolution among major teleost lineages. Osteoglossomorpha appear to exhibit rapid gene family evolution, with more gene family expansions than contractions. The curated Kv1 gene family showed seven gene clusters, which is more than in other analyzed fish genomes outside Osteoglossomorpha. The KCNA7a, encoding for a potassium channel central for EOD production and modulation, is tandemly duplicated which may related to the diverse EOD observed among Campylomormyrus species.
Recently, there has been an upsurge of activity in image-based non-photorealistic rendering (NPR), and in particular portrait image stylisation, due to the advent of neural style transfer (NST). However, the state of performance evaluation in this field is poor, especially compared to the norms in the computer vision and machine learning communities. Unfortunately, the task of evaluating image stylisation is thus far not well defined, since it involves subjective, perceptual, and aesthetic aspects. To make progress towards a solution, this paper proposes a new structured, three-level, benchmark dataset for the evaluation of stylised portrait images. Rigorous criteria were used for its construction, and its consistency was validated by user studies. Moreover, a new methodology has been developed for evaluating portrait stylisation algorithms, which makes use of the different benchmark levels as well as annotations provided by user studies regarding the characteristics of the faces. We perform evaluation for a wide variety of image stylisation methods (both portrait-specific and general purpose, and also both traditional NPR approaches and NST) using the new benchmark dataset.
Oxygen (O-2) availability in soils is vital for plant growth and productivity. The transport and consumption of O-2 in the root zone is closely linked to soil moisture content, the spatial distribution of roots, as well as structure and heterogeneity of the surrounding soil. In this study, we measure three-dimensional root system architecture and the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil moisture (& theta;) and O-2 concentrations in the root zone of maize (Zea mays) via non-invasive imaging, and then construct and parameterize a reactive transport model based on the experimental data. The combination of three non-invasive imaging methods allowed for a direct comparison of simulation results with observations at high spatial and temporal resolution. In three different modeling scenarios, we investigated how the results obtained for different levels of conceptual complexity in the model were able to match measured & theta; and O-2 concentration patterns. We found that the modeling scenario that considers heterogeneous soil structure and spatial variability of hydraulic parameters (permeability, porosity, and van Genuchten & alpha; and n), better reproduced the measured & theta; and O-2 patterns relative to a simple model with a homogenous soil domain. The results from our combined imaging and modeling analysis reveal that experimental O-2 and water dynamics can be reproduced quantitatively in a reactive transport model, and that O-2 and water dynamics are best characterized when conditions unique to the specific system beyond the distribution of roots, such as soil structure and its effect on water saturation and macroscopic gas transport pathways, are considered.
Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients receive therapeutic immunosuppression that compromises their immune response to infections and vaccines. For this reason, SOT patients have a high risk of developing severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and an increased risk of death from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Moreover, the efficiency of immunotherapies and vaccines is reduced due to the constant immunosuppression in this patient group. Here, we propose adoptive transfer of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells made resistant to a common immunosuppressant, tacrolimus, for optimized performance in the immunosuppressed patient. Using a ribonucleoprotein approach of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, we have generated tacrolimus-resistant SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell products from convalescent donors and demonstrate their specificity and function through characterizations at the single-cell level, including flow cytometry, single-cell RNA (scRNA) Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes (CITE), and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing analyses. Based on the promising results, we aim for clinical validation of this approach in transplant recipients. Additionally, we propose a combinatory approach with tacrolimus, to prevent an overshooting immune response manifested as bystander T cell activation in the setting of severe COVID-19 immunopathology, and tacrolimus-resistant SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell products, allowing for efficient clearance of viral infection. Our strategy has the potential to prevent severe COVID-19 courses in SOT or autoimmunity settings and to prevent immunopathology while providing viral clearance in severe non-transplant COVID-19 cases.
Background and aims: Accurate and user-friendly assessment tools quantifying alcohol consumption are a prerequisite to effective prevention and treatment programmes, including Screening and Brief Intervention. Digital tools offer new potential in this field. We developed the ‘Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool’ (AAA-Tool), a mobile app providing an interactive version of the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) that facilitates the description of individual alcohol consumption via culturally informed animation features. This pilot study evaluated the Russia-specific version of the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool with regard to (1) its usability and acceptability in a primary healthcare setting, (2) the plausibility of its alcohol consumption assessment results and (3) the adequacy of its Russia-specific vessel and beverage selection. Methods: Convenience samples of 55 patients (47% female) and 15 healthcare practitioners (80% female) in 2 Russian primary healthcare facilities self-administered the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool and rated their experience on the Mobile Application Rating Scale – User Version. Usage data was automatically collected during app usage, and additional feedback on regional content was elicited in semi-structured interviews. Results: On average, patients completed the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool in 6:38 min (SD = 2.49, range = 3.00–17.16). User satisfaction was good, with all subscale Mobile Application Rating Scale – User Version scores averaging >3 out of 5 points. A majority of patients (53%) and practitioners (93%) would recommend the tool to ‘many people’ or ‘everyone’. Assessed alcohol consumption was plausible, with a low number (14%) of logically impossible entries. Most patients reported the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool to reflect all vessels (78%) and all beverages (71%) they typically used. Conclusion: High acceptability ratings by patients and healthcare practitioners, acceptable completion time, plausible alcohol usage assessment results and perceived adequacy of region-specific content underline the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool's potential to provide a novel approach to alcohol assessment in primary healthcare. After its validation, the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool might contribute to reducing alcohol-related harm by facilitating Screening and Brief Intervention implementation in Russia and beyond.
Simulating the space weather in the AU Mic system: stellar winds and extreme coronal mass ejections
(2022)
Two close-in planets have been recently found around the M-dwarf flare star AU Microscopii (AU Mic). These Neptune-sized planets (AU Mic b and c) seem to be located very close to the so-called "evaporation valley" in the exoplanet population, making this system an important target for studying atmospheric loss on exoplanets. This process, while mainly driven by high-energy stellar radiation, will be strongly mediated by the space environment surrounding the planets. Here we present an investigation of this last area, performing 3D numerical modeling of the quiescent stellar wind from AU Mic, as well as time-dependent simulations describing the evolution of a highly energetic coronal mass ejection (CME) event in this system. Observational constraints on the stellar magnetic field and properties of the eruption are incorporated in our models. We carry out qualitative and quantitative characterizations of the stellar wind, the emerging CMEs, as well as the expected steady and transient conditions along the orbit of both exoplanets. Our results predict extreme space weather for AU Mic and its planets. This includes sub-Alfvenic regions for the large majority of the exoplanet orbits, very high dynamic and magnetic pressure values in quiescence (varying within 10(2)-10(5) times the dynamic pressure experienced by Earth), and an even harsher environment during the passage of any escaping CME associated with the frequent flaring observed in AU Mic. These space weather conditions alone pose an immense challenge for the survival of exoplanetary atmospheres (if any) in this system.