Equal Abundance Research Articles

Temperature-reducing shocks in optically thin radiative MHD—Analytical and numerical results

Shocks are often invoked as heating mechanisms in astrophysical systems, with both adiabatic compression and dissipative heating that leading to the increase in temperature. While shocks are reasonably well understood for ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) systems, in many astrophysical plasmas, radiation is an important phenomena, which can allow energy to leave the system. As such, energy becomes non-conservative, which can fundamentally change the behavior of shocks. The energy emitted through optically thin radiation post-shock can exceed the thermal energy increase, resulting in shocks that reduce the temperature of the medium, i.e., cooling shocks that have a net decrease in temperature across the interface. In this paper, semi-analytical solutions for radiative shocks are derived to demonstrate that both cooling (temperature decreasing) and heating (temperature increasing) shock solutions are possible across the whole temperature range in optically thin radiative MHD. Numerical simulations of magnetic reconnection for solar-like temperatures and plasma-β with optically thin radiative losses also yield both heating and cooling shocks in roughly equal abundances. The detected cooling shocks feature a significantly lower pressure jump across the shock than their heating counterparts. The compression at the shock front leads to locally enhanced radiative losses, resulting in significant cooling within a few grid cells in the upstream and downstream directions. The presence of temperature-reducing (cooling) shocks is critical in determining the thermal evolution, and heating or cooling, across a wealth of radiative astrophysical plasmas including magnetic reconnection in the solar corona.

Wolverine density, survival, and population trends in the Canadian boreal forest

AbstractThere is limited information available on wolverine (Gulo gulo) population density and trends in the boreal forest of North America. We estimated wolverine density using spatial capture‐recapture methods across 2 boreal forest study areas in Red Lake, Ontario (26,568 km2) and Rainbow Lake, Alberta (19,084 km2), Canada. We also used radio‐telemetry data to estimate annual survival of adult and sub‐adult wolverines and evaluated population trends with a stage‐based matrix model. We used an array of run poles and live traps to detect wolverines. In Red Lake over 3 winter field seasons (2019–2022), we detected 56 individual wolverines (17 females, 32 males, and 7 unknown sex), and in Rainbow Lake over 2 field seasons (2014–2016), we detected 48 individuals (19 females, 18 males, and 11 of unknown sex). Average densities in Red Lake and Rainbow Lake were 3.64 and 6.74 wolverines/1,000 km2, respectively. Adults and sub‐adults occurred at equal abundance. Spring snow cover, roads, and industrial developments were not associated with spatial patterns of wolverine density. Most deaths occurred near roads; wolverines were killed in fur traps set along roads, by wolves using roads to travel, and by vehicles. The largest source of death was from incidental (n = 6 in Red Lake) or licensed fur trapping (n = 8 in Rainbow Lake) and we report 8 injuries from fur trapping sets. Red Lake survival estimates for adults (0.87) and sub‐adults (0.86) contributed to a stable population trend. Rainbow Lake survival estimates for adults (0.66) and sub‐adults (0.50) contributed to a declining population trend based on a relatively low sample of radio‐days. Red Lake and Rainbow Lake combined survival estimates for adults (0.77) and sub‐adults (0.73) also contributed to a declining population trend. Our survival and population modeling suggests that human‐caused mortality is a significant risk to these populations. Our results can be applied to wolverine status assessments and used as benchmarks for future monitoring. Wolverine population stability or growth might be achieved by reducing incidental trapping deaths or injury and hindering human access to wolverine habitats through decommissioning or limiting development of industrial roads or other anthropogenic linear features.

Neopolyploidy-induced changes in giant duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) alter herbivore preference and performance and plant population performance.

Polyploidy is a widespread mutational process in angiosperms that may alter population performance of not only plants but also their interacting species. Yet, knowledge of whether polyploidy affects plant-herbivore dynamics is scarce. Here, we tested whether aphid herbivores exhibit preference for diploid or neopolyploid plants, whether polyploidy impacts plant and herbivore performance, and whether these interactions depend on the plant genetic background. Using independently synthesized neotetraploid strains paired with their diploid progenitors of greater duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza), we evaluated the effect of neopolyploidy on duckweed's interaction with the water-lily aphid (Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae). Using paired-choice experiments, we evaluated feeding preference of the herbivore. We then evaluated the consequences of polyploidy on aphid and plant performance by measuring population growth over multiple generations. Aphids preferred neopolyploids when plants were provided at equal abundances but not at equal surface areas, suggesting the role of plant population surface area in driving this preference. Additionally, neopolyploidy increased aphid population performance, but this result was dependent on the plant's genetic lineage. Lastly, the impact of herbivory on neopolyploid vs. diploid duckweed varied greatly with genetic lineage, where neopolyploids appeared to be variably tolerant compared to diploids, sometimes mirroring the effect on herbivore performance. By experimentally testing the impacts of polyploidy on trophic species interactions, we showed that polyploidization can impact the preference and performance of herbivores on their plant hosts. These results have significant implications for the establishment and persistence of plants and herbivores in the face of plant polyploidy.

Decomposing diversity into measures of evenness, similarity, and richness.

It has long been recognized that diversity has many measurable aspects, such as richness, evenness, and similarity among species. However, given a diversity index, it is unclear whether it necessarily can be decomposed into components that reflect these different aspects. Here, we present a scheme to decompose the Leinster and Cobbold diversity index, which subsumes and generalizes many other indices, into the components of richness, evenness and taxonomic similarity. Our approach addresses the problem that in general a vector of equal relative abundances does not maximize diversity. Furthermore, our approach uses all available information to give unbiased estimates of both evenness and similarity.

Phenalenyl growth reactions and implications for prenucleation chemistry of aromatics in flames.

The energetics and kinetics of phenalene and phenalenyl growth reactions were studied theoretically. Rate constants of phenalene and phenalenyl H-abstraction and C2H2 addition to the formed radicals were evaluated through quantum-chemical and rate-theory calculations. The obtained values, assigned to all π radicals, were tested in deterministic and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of aromatics growth under conditions of laminar premixed flames. Kekulé and non-Kekulé structures of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) evolving in the stochastic simulations were identified by on-the-fly constrained optimization. The numerical results demonstrated an increased PAH growth and qualitatively reproduced experimental observations of Homann and co-workers of non-decaying PAH concentrations with nearly equal abundances of even and odd carbon-atom PAHs. The analysis revealed that the PAH growth proceeds via alternating and sterically diverse acetylene and methyl HACA additions. The rapid and diverse spreading in the PAH population supports a nucleation model as PAH dimerization, assisted by the non-equilibrium phenomena, forming planar aromatics first and then transitioning to the PAH-PAH stacking with size.

Comparative oral metagenome insight into acute and chronic root canal infections

Background: In the dynamic progression of root canal infections, the resultant change in environmental conditions directs the adaptation of the microbiome in terms of richness, evenness, and diversity. Objective: The goal of this study is to contrast the interradicular bacterial community structures of teeth in acute and chronic stages and investigate potential microorganisms associated with persistent apical periapical infections. Methods: Interradicular samples were collected from 10 teeth in the apical periodontitis group and 10 teeth in the chronic apical periodontitis group. High-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based microbial identification through the Illumina platform was used to characterize the complex intraradicular microbial communities in acute and chronic root canal infections. Results: Bacteria were the major domain, with a prevalence of >97% (acute cases: 98.11% and chronic cases: 97.6%) compared to eukaryotes and archaea. Bacterial diversity was relatively higher in acute compared to chronic conditions under 10 and 9 phyla, 79 and 64 genera, and 172 and 135 species, respectively. These endodontically infecting bacteria belonged to Firmicutes (47.21%), Bacteroidetes (20.07%), and Proteobacteria (10.72%) in acute conditions, while in the chronic stage, Firmicutes (40.85%), Proteobacteria (27.80%), and Actinobacteria (14.79%) were abundant. The phylum Candidatus Saccharibacteria was exclusively found in acute samples. Spirochaetes and Synergistetes were found predominantly in acute infections compared to chronic infections. Bacillus and Lactobacillus were found in equal and highest abundance under the phylum Firmicutes in both conditions. Conclusion: This study provides information on the differential microbial community present in the apical root canal system of teeth with acute and chronic apical periodontitis and contributes to new approaches or channels for future research on preventive measures and therapeutic protocols during disease progression and treatment. However, functional characterization and detection of antimicrobial resistance in these two clinical conditions can supplement these findings for deciding routine drug treatment for periodontal infections.

Diversity and Abundance of Insect Pollinators of Cucurbits at Mid-Hills of Meghalaya, India

The current research was carried out at the ICAR-Research Complex for the North Eastern Hill Region (NEH) in Umiam, Meghalaya to investigate the diversity and abundance of insect pollinators of cucurbits at mid-hills of Meghalaya. Ridge gourd, sponge guard, pumpkin, teasel gourd, chow-chow, bottle guard and cucumber were taken as a target crop to observe the data on diversity and abundance. Total twenty-five (25) pollinators were observed in different cucurbits belongs to order Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera which represents that mid-hills of Meghalaya have rich pollinator fauna. Out of 25 insect pollinators 3 pollinators identified from ridge gourd, 6 from sponge gourd, 4 from pumpkin, 3 from bottle gourd, 4 from cucumber, 3 from chow-chow and 2 from teasel gourd. Efficient pollinator was nominated on the basis of their abundance. During investigation it was found that bumble bee emerged as the most abundant pollinator in ridge gourd, pumpkin and sponge gourd. In sponge gourd carpenter bee also showed almost equal abundance. Indian honey bee abundance was high in cucumber and in chow-chow. Among collected pollinators, hymenopterans were the abundant with 80% relative abundance. It is clear from the recorded observation that native bees are equally contributing in pollination service so conservation of these bees is also a demand of nature. Activity time period of pollinators on flowers guided the farmers to avoid pesticide spray during particular time period.

Microbial Assemblages Associated with the Soil-Root Continuum of an Endangered Plant, Helianthemum songaricum Schrenk.

The microbial network of the soil-root continuum plays a key role in plant growth. To date, limited information is available about the microbial assemblages in the rhizosphere and endosphere of endangered plants. We suspect that unknown microorganisms in roots and soil play an important role in the survival strategies of endangered plants. To address this research gap, we investigated the diversity and composition of the microbial communities of the soil-root continuum of the endangered shrub Helianthemum songaricum and observed that the microbial communities and structures of the rhizosphere and endosphere samples were distinguishable. The dominant rhizosphere bacteria were Actinobacteria (36.98%) and Acidobacteria (18.15%), whereas most endophytes were Alphaproteobacteria (23.17%) as well as Actinobacteria (29.94%). The relative abundance of rhizosphere bacteria was higher than that in endosphere samples. Fungal rhizosphere and endophyte samples had approximately equal abundances of the Sordariomycetes (23%), while the Pezizomycetes were more abundant in the soil (31.95%) than in the roots (5.70%). The phylogenetic relationships of the abundances of microbes in root and soil samples also showed that the most abundant bacterial and fungal reads tended to be dominant in either the soil or root samples but not both. Additionally, Pearson correlation heatmap analysis showed that the diversity and composition of soil bacteria and fungi were closely related to pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and organic matter, of which pH and organic matter were the main drivers. These results clarify the different patterns of microbial communities of the soil-root continuum, in support of the better conservation and utilization of endangered desert plants in Inner Mongolia. IMPORTANCE Microbial assemblages play significant roles in plant survival, health, and ecological services. The symbiosis between soil microorganisms and these plants and their interactions with soil factors are important features of the adaptation of desert plants to an arid and barren environment. Therefore, the profound study of the microbial diversity of rare desert plants can provide important data to support the protection and utilization of rare desert plants. Accordingly, in this study, high-throughput sequencing technology was applied to study the microbial diversity in plant roots and rhizosphere soils. We expect that research on the relationship between soil and root microbial diversity and the environment will improve the survival of endangered plants in this environment. In summary, this study is the first to study the microbial diversity and community structure of Helianthemum songaricum Schrenk and compare the diversity and composition of the root and soil microbiomes.

Glucose and cell confluency regulation of HDGF and beta-catenin nuclear localization

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the seventh leading cause of death in the US and diabetic kidney disease (DKD)is the cause of nearly 50% of individuals receiving dialysis. Kidney proximal tubule (PT) cells are sensitive to injury under diabetic conditions of high glucose. Maladaptive repair can cause fibrosis and loss of PT function contributing to end-stage renal disease. PT cell proliferation re-establishes the monolayer responsible for PT functionality. Preliminary lab findings showed increased abundance and nuclear localization of Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF), known to regulate proliferation, in cells grown at low (<40%) confluency in high glucose supplemented growth media. This change associated with altered nuclear co-localization with β-catenin (ß-Cat), involved in renal fibrosis, suggesting crosstalk between both factors may be involved in PT cell responses in DKD. Hypothesis: Cell confluency and glucose concentrations regulate the spatial and absolute abundance/degradation of HDGF altering cell signaling pathways in PT cells. Methods: Cultured human kidney PT cells (HK-11 cell line) were grown to low and high confluency under normal (5mM) and high (25mM) glucose conditions. RNA was collected via column purification for analysis of cell signaling. RNASeq and bioinformatic analysis. revealed transcript abundances and respective statistical significances between normal and high glucose conditions grown to low confluency. MetaCore and STRING were utilized to examine fold change differences of the transcriptome and affected pathways. To determine regulation of protein abundance, HK-11 cells were cultured in normal glucose media to 80-90% confluency and treated with no agent (control), DMSO, MG132 (proteasome inhibitor), and chloroquine (lysosome inhibitor), and abundance of HDGF and β-Cat activation analyzed by immunoblot. Results: HDGF transcripts from conditions of normal and high glucose grown to low confluency were found in relatively equal abundance (q ≤ 1). Pathway analyses revealed genes associated with multiple pathways including nuclear signaling, ER stress, proliferation and ubiquitination exhibited differential transcript abundance at statistically significant values. Immunoblot analysis suggested that HDGF is degraded via the lysosome. Conclusions: HDGF regulation by diabetes-like high glucose does not occur at the level of transcription and but through lysosomal degradation. ß-Cat nuclear localization is increased under conditions of high glucose and low cellular confluency. To confirm HDGF degradation and ß-Cat activation, more replicates are needed for statistical analysis. Future studies will determine the role of β-cat activation on HDGF abundance and nuclear localization. NIH T35-DK072923, P20-GM103436, NIH P20 GM113226, P50 AA024337, P30 ES030283 This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Abundance and composition of forest‐dwelling anurans in cashew plantations in a tropical semi‐evergreen forest landscape

AbstractPlantation crops in tropical human‐modified landscapes provide alternative habitats to biodiversity outside protected areas. The Western Ghats of India are home to a mosaic of closely spaced habitats, including forests and agroecosystems. Cashew is a widely grown plantation crop in the northern Western Ghats and is known to provide economic and societal benefits. However, its role as a supplementary habitat for anurans is not well understood. We assessed the factors that influence understorey anuran composition and abundance in cashew plantations, forest edges, and forest interiors in Tillari Conservation Reserve, Maharashtra. Species composition of cashew plantations differed significantly from forests and was positively influenced by understorey and canopy cover. Cashew plantations had a near equal abundance of anurans as that of forest edges and interiors, which could be due to the preponderance of habitat generalists. Understorey positively influenced anuran abundance while ambient temperature had a negative influence. Reduced understorey and low canopy cover represent habitat modifications that occur in cashew plantations. Such structural changes could lead to reduced environmental refuges for anurans, thereby exposing them to large variations in temperature and moisture. Cashew plantations in Tillari Conservation Reserve serve as supplementary habitats for anurans. That said, cashew cultivation practices and markets must be understood before biodiversity‐friendly plantation practices are proposed.

‘A Certain Noise’: Approaching the ‘Music of Poetry’

This article considers T. S. Eliot’s preoccupation with ‘the music of poetry’, a subject he addressed throughout his career. It was a certain ‘music’ to which the first readers of The Waste Land responded in the poem. This music, I argue, is not a matter of melodious sounds or acoustic mimicry. Rather, it is to be discerned in ‘a certain noise’ (Joseph Brodsky’s phrase), an underlying pulse. In order to examine this rhythmic prompt, I look at the graphic manifestations of another poet, Henri Michaux, who wrote lines of poetry and, in equal abundance, drew and painted maelstroms of lines that often share the page with the poems. These graffiti-like emanations provide us with a visual rendering of the ‘music of poetry’.

Soil Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities Differentially Affect Growth and Nutrient Uptake by Grapevine Rootstocks.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) deliver potentially significant services in sustainable agricultural ecosystems, yet we still lack evidence showing how AMF abundance and/or community composition can benefit crops. In this study, we manipulated AMF communities in grapevine rootstock and measured plant growth and physiological responses. Glasshouse experiments were set up to determine the interaction between rootstock variety and different AMF communities, using AMF communities originating under their own (i.e., "home") soil and other rootstocks' (i.e., "away") soil. The results revealed that specific AMF communities had differential effects on grapevine rootstock growth and nutrient uptake. It was demonstrated that a rootstock generally performed better in the presence of its own AMF community. This study also showed that AMF spore diversity and the relative abundance of certain species is an important factor as, when present in equal abundance, competition between species was indicated to occur, resulting in a reduction in the positive growth outcomes. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the communities with some AMF communities increasing plant growth and nutrient uptake compared with others. The outcomes also demonstrated that some AMF communities indirectly influenced the chlorophyll content in grapevine leaves through the increase of specific nutrients such as K, Mn, and Zn. The findings also indicated that some AMF species may deliver particular benefits to grapevine plants. This work has provided an improved understanding of community level AMF-grapevine interaction and delivered an increased knowledge of the ecosystem services they provide which will benefit the wine growers and the viticulture industry.

Linear Spatial Misregistration Detection and Correction Based on Spectral Unmixing for FAHI Hyperspectral Imagery.

In push-broom hyperspectral imaging systems, the sensor rotation to the optical plane leads to linear spatial misregistration (LSM) in hyperspectral images (HSIs). To compensate for hardware defects through software, this paper develops four methods to detect LSM in HSIs. Different from traditional methods for grayscale images, the method of fitting the sum of abundance (FSAM) and the method of searching for equal abundance (SEAM) are achieved by hyperspectral unmixing for a selected rectangular transition areas containing an edge, which makes good use of spatial and spectral information. The method based on line detection for band-interleaved-by-line (BIL) images (LDBM) and the method based on the Fourier transform of BIL images (FTBM) aim to characterize the slope of line structure in BIL images and get rid of the dependence on scene and wavelength. A full strategy is detailed from aspects of data selection, LSM detection, and image correction. The full spectrum airborne hyperspectral imager (FAHI) is China's new generation push-broom scanner. The HSIs obtained by FAHI are tested and analyzed. Experiments on simulation data compare the four proposed methods with traditional methods and prove that FSAM outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy and stability. In experiments on real data, the application of the full strategy on FAHI verifies its effectiveness. This work not only provides reference for other push-broom imagers with similar problems, but also helps to reduce the requirement for hardware calibration.

Abundance and Equality.

The technology driven post-scarcity society is upon us. Ubiquitous technologies are eradicating scarcity in many industries. These macroscopic system trends are causing our economy to transition from relative scarcity to relative abundance. For many people in the world however, in both developed, developing, and underdeveloped countries, the notion of an Age of Abundance will sound utterly bizarre. There is a tension between abundance and equality. Good governance considers in what manner the state conducts public policy, manages public resources and promotes overall prosperity. This chapter connects good governance to the end of scarcity and integrates equality into abundance. The chapter critically examines the normative justifications of our scarcity based legal institutions, such as property and intellectual property (IP) systems, in light of 10 exponential, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, and the post-scarcity economy. Starting point is that absolute and relative abundance are not utopian. Technology will erase scarcity in more and more economic areas in the foreseeable future, but not everywhere or for everybody. The chapter views relative scarcity and relative abundance as temporal socio-economic categories at two opposite sides of a continuum. The chapter unifies good governance with equality and abundance, by introducing a post-Rawlsian Equal Relative Abundance (ERA) principle of distributive justice. This includes defining a set of material and immaterial primary goods, warranting adequate, sufficient levels of relative abundance (which depend on technological evolution), and equitable results per region or group. Crucially, ERA integrates desert-based principles to the degree that some may deserve a higher level of material goods because of inequality in contributions, i.e., their hard work, talent, luck or entrepreneurial spirit, only to the extent that their unequal rewards do also function to improve the position of the least advantaged. A society governed by the ERA principle should in theory be able to solve the poverty trap on a global level. As lifting people from poverty in Europe is a different thing than achieving ERA in the US, applying equal relative abundance techniques in Asia and Africa each have their own specific challenges and dimensions.

Assortative Mating in an Ecological Context: Effects of Mate Choice Errors and Relative Species Abundance on the Frequency and Asymmetry of Hybridization.

AbstractThe frequency and asymmetry of mixed-species mating set the initial stage for the ecological and evolutionary implications of hybridization. How such patterns of mixed-species mating, in turn, are influenced by the combination of mate choice errors and relative species abundance remains largely unknown. We develop a mathematical model that generates predictions for how relative species abundances and mate choice errors affect hybridization patterns. When mate choice errors are small (<5%), the highest frequency of hybridization occurs when one of the hybridizing species is at low abundance, but when mate choice errors are high (>5%), the highest hybridization frequency occurs when species occur in equal proportions. Furthermore, females of the less abundant species are overrepresented in mixed-species matings. We compare our theoretical predictions with empirical data on naturally hybridizing Ficedula flycatchers and find that hybridization is highest when the two species occur in equal abundance, implying rather high mate choice errors. We discuss ecological and evolutionary implications of our findings and encourage future work on hybrid zone dynamics that take demographic aspects, such as relative species abundance, into account.

Complexity of the serpentinization lipidome

Energy from serpentinization processes potentially fuelled the origin of life on Earth. Thus, if serpentinite-impacted sites facilitate microbial habitability, it is important to understand the source and retention of biological signatures in them. Investigating biological signatures in terrestrial serpentinite-impacted environments is also essential for interpreting molecular signature preservation on extraterrestrial bodies. To expand knowledge on the types of biological signatures derived from microorganisms in the serpentinization microbiome, mass spectrometry analysis was performed on Chimaera serpentinite rocks from Antalya Province, Turkey. The presence of diverse types of core and intact glycerol alkyl diether and tetraether lipids in all samples indicates that methanogenic archaea were present, but not in equal abundance in all rock types (carbonate or brucite) or locations (inside and outside the rock). Bacterial derived brGDGTs (branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers) and phospholipid fatty acids were also identified in all samples. Comparing targeted lipid data from this study with other studies and locations reveals consistency across the serpentinization lipidome. Additionally, an untargeted lipidomics method was tested on the intact polar lipid (IPL) extracts, This resulted in detection of a wide range of intact lipids, many requiring further elucidation (e.g., diacyl glycerol IPLs, triacylglycerols, glycosphingolipids, sterol esters and cardiolipins), suggesting that there may be diverse bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities in the different rock samples, highlighting the additional complexity of the serpentinization lipidome dark matter.

MicroRNA Expression Profile of Purified Alveolar Epithelial Type II Cells.

Alveolar type II (ATII) cells are essential for the maintenance of the alveolar homeostasis. However, knowledge of the expression of the miRNAs and miRNA-regulated networks which control homeostasis and coordinate diverse functions of murine ATII cells is limited. Therefore, we asked how miRNAs expressed in ATII cells might contribute to the regulation of signaling pathways. We purified “untouched by antibodies” ATII cells using a flow cytometric sorting method with a highly autofluorescent population of lung cells. TaqMan® miRNA low-density arrays were performed on sorted cells and intersected with miRNA profiles of ATII cells isolated according to a previously published protocol. Of 293 miRNAs expressed in both ATII preparations, 111 showed equal abundances. The target mRNAs of bona fide ATII miRNAs were used for pathway enrichment analysis. This analysis identified nine signaling pathways with known functions in fibrosis and/or epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In particular, a subset of 19 miRNAs was found to target 21 components of the TGF-β signaling pathway. Three of these miRNAs (miR-16-5p, -17-5p and -30c-5p) were down-modulated by TGF-β1 stimulation in human A549 cells, and concomitant up-regulation of associated mRNA targets (BMPR2, JUN, RUNX2) was observed. These results suggest an important role for miRNAs in maintaining the homeostasis of the TGF-β signaling pathway in ATII cells under physiological conditions.

Geochemical and microbiological profiles in hydrothermal extreme acidic environments (Pisciarelli Spring, Campi Flegrei, Italy).

Although terrestrial hydrothermal systems are considered among the most fascinating environments, how their unique and extreme conditions can affect microorganisms selection and the role in biogeochemical cycles has not yet been well elucidated. A combined geochemical and microbiological exploration in waters and sediments from 10 sampling points along a sharp temperature gradient (15-90°C) within an extremely acidic hydrothermal system (Pisciarelli Spring, Campi Flegrei area, southern Italy) displayed how hydrothermal fluids influence the microbial dynamics. This area was characterized by high levels of reduced gaseous species (e.g. H2S, H2, CH4, CO) and very low pH values (<2.3). Thermodynamic calculations revealed a high microbial catabolic potential in oxidation/reduction reactions of N-, S- and Fe-bearing species. Overall, an increase of the archaeal/bacterial abundance ratio was observed by decreasing temperature and pH values. In particular, Archaea and Bacteria were present in almost equal cell abundance (up to 1.1 × 109 and 9.3 × 108 cell/g, respectively) in the <70°C sampling points (average pH = 2.09); on the contrary, the highest temperature waters (85-90°C; average pH = 2.26) were characterized by a low abundance of archaeal cells. The high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes indicated strong differences in archaeal and bacterial communities composition along the temperature gradient. However, the microbiome in this extreme environment was mainly constituted by chemoautotrophic microorganisms that were likely involved in N-, S- and Fe-bearing species transformations (e.g. Acidianus infernus, Ferroplasma acidarmanus, Acidithiobacillus,Sulfobacillus,Thaumarchaeota), in agreement with thermodynamic calculations.

Textual heterogeneity in massive sandstones from the Grès d'Annot and Numidian Flysch: Implications for depositional processes

ABSTRACT Vertical bed scale heterogeneity in six massive sandstone beds is investigated using digital image analysis to determine flow processes. Images parallel to the bedding plane and perpendicular to the apparent grain long-axis orientation were acquired to minimize the uncertainty in the grain-size and fabric, and increase the statistical significance of the data. Hypothesis testing was used to reduce the subjectivity in assigning vertical trends within each bed. Results show that a significant part of the deposit contains statistically significant vertical variation in grain-size and fabric (ρ-values &amp;lt; 0.01). At the bed scale, grain-size can be normally graded or non-graded. However, at shorter length scales, complex grading patterns emerge in the different percentiles of the grain-size distribution, including “oscillating,” “diverging,” and “converging” trends involving the fine- and coarse-tail percentile. Grain fabrics in the bedding-parallel sections show a consistently flow-oblique trend with an average azimuthal deviation of 48°, but becoming increasingly flow aligned at the tops of most beds. The majority of the bedding-perpendicular sections show imbrication angles &amp;gt; 15°, with an average imbrication angle of 78°. Both up- and down-current imbrication polarities are observed in equal abundance. These textural trends are interpreted as a product of active near-bed sedimentation processes that operate in high concentration near-bed layers, which develop at the base of concentrated, turbulent flows, and active fluidization processes that operate during sediment deposition. The short length-scale grain-size trends are likely a reflection of fluctuations in the sediment concentration in these near-bed layers and elutriation, which led to differential grain segregation processes influencing the different grain-size percentiles. The high shear stresses and frequent grain interaction in the near-bed layers, with concomitant fluidization, also generate the oblique bedding-parallel fabric and very high imbrication angles.

Melanization plasticity of Drosophila kikkawai, Drosophila leontia and reciprocal hybrids under different temperatures

• Drosophila kikkawai and Drosophila leontia produces hybrids. • No plasticity for melanization in D. kikkawai and D. leontia but hybrids show plasticity. • Generations proceed in the direction of female. Drosophila (Sophophora) kikkawai , Burla, 1954 and Drosophila (Sophophora) leontia , Tsacas & David 1978 are closely related sibling species, the former being cosmopolitan and the latter is restricted to tropical localities. We investigated the influence of introgressive hybridization on phenotypic diversity of the two sibling species in the present study. How hybridization supports the relative abundance of pure species according to latitudinal cline is the aim of this study because hybrids show a tendency to acquire geographical location of their parent species in equal or greater abundance. How hybridization supports the plasticity for melanization of hybrids is not explored yet. The two species can cross and generate hybrids. For this, we crossed true breeding strains of both species to obtain the hybrids i.e. dark female (♀) of D. kikkawai ( D. k ) with males (♂) of D. leontia ( D. l ) in cross I and light ♀ of D. k with ♂ of D. l in cross II along with their reciprocal crosses. Finally, we studied the plasticity of both species and their hybrids at 6 growth temperatures (14, 17, 21, 25, 28 and 31 °C). We found that there is no plasticity for melanization in true breeding darker and lighter strain of D. kikkawai as well as D. leontia whereas hybrids of both species showed high phenotypic plasticity. Significant differences in slope values across temperatures in parental and hybrid lines suggest plastic effects. Phenotypic variation in abdominal melanization in hybrids can be interpreted as a result of gene introgression with D. kikkawai . We conclude that introgressive hybridization might be an important, although underestimated, mechanism shaping species distribution and adaptation.