Use of thermal inertia determined by HCMM to predict nocturnal cold prone areas in Florida

Registered data sets were used to develop qualititative temperature and delta T maps of a band across north Florida and across south Florida for use with Carlson's boundary layer energy model balance model. Thermal inertia and moisture availability computations for north Florida are being used to investigate model sensitivity and to evaluate input parameters. Temperature differences of day-night HCMM overpasses clearly differentiate wetlands and uplands areas

Source, sea and sink—A holistic approach to understanding plastic pollution in the Southern Caribbean

Marine plastics are considered to be a major threat to the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources of the Caribbean, on which the region relies heavily for tourism and fishing. To date, little work has quantified plastics within the Caribbean marine environment or examined their potential sources. This study aimed to address this by holistically integrating marine (surface water, subsurface water and sediment) and terrestrial sampling and Lagrangian particle tracking to examine the potential origins, flows and quantities of plastics within the Southern Caribbean. Terrestrial litter and the microplastics identified in marine samples may arise from the maritime and tourism industries, both of which are major contributors to the economies of the Caribbean region. The San Blas islands, Panama had the highest abundance of microplastics at a depth of 25 m, and significantly greater quantities in surface water than recorded in the other countries. Modelling indicated the microplastics likely arose from mainland Panama, which has some of the highest levels of mismanaged waste. Antigua had among the lowest quantities of terrestrial and marine plastics, yet the greatest diversity of polymers. Modelling indicated the majority of the microplastics in Antiguan coastal surface were likely to have originated from the wider North Atlantic Ocean. Ocean currents influence the movements of plastics and thus the relative contributions arising from local and distant sources which become distributed within a country's territorial water. These transboundary movements can undermine local or national legislation aimed at reducing plastic pollution. While this study presents a snapshot of plastic pollution, it contributes towards the void of knowledge regarding marine plastic pollution in the Caribbean Sea and highlights the need for international and interdisciplinary collaborative research and solutions to plastic pollution

The barley amo1 locus is tightly linked to the starch synthase IIIa gene and negatively regulates expression of granule-bound starch synthetic genes

In this study of barley starch synthesis, the interaction between mutations at the sex6 locus and the amo1 locus has been characterized. Four barley genotypes, the wild type, sex6, amo1, and the amo1sex6 double mutant, were generated by backcrossing the sex6 mutation present in Himalaya292 into the amo1 ‘high amylose Glacier’. The wild type, amo1, and sex6 genotypes gave starch phenotypes consistent with previous studies. However, the amo1sex6 double mutant yielded an unexpected phenotype, a significant increase in starch content relative to the sex6 phenotype. Amylose content (as a percentage of starch) was not increased above the level observed for the sex6 mutation alone; however, on a per seed basis, grain from lines containing the amo1 mutation (amo1 mutants and amo1sex6 double mutants) synthesize significantly more amylose than the wild-type lines and sex6 mutants. The level of granule-bound starch synthase I (GBSSI) protein in starch granules is increased in lines containing the amo1 mutation (amo1 and amo1sex6). In the amo1 genotype, starch synthase I (SSI), SSIIa, starch branching enzyme IIa (SBEIIa), and SBEIIb also markedly increased in the starch granules. Genetic mapping studies indicate that the ssIIIa gene is tightly linked to the amo1 locus, and the SSIIIa protein from the amo1 mutant has a leucine to arginine residue substitution in a conserved domain. Zymogram analysis indicates that the amo1 phenotype is not a consequence of total loss of enzymatic activity although it remains possible that the amo1 phenotype is underpinned by a more subtle change. It is therefore proposed that amo1 may be a negative regulator of other genes of starch synthesis

Outcomes of elective liver surgery worldwide: a global, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

Background: The outcomes of liver surgery worldwide remain unknown. The true population-based outcomes are likely different to those vastly reported that reflect the activity of highly specialized academic centers. The aim of this study was to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting from centers across the globe. The geographic distribution of liver surgery activity and complexity was also evaluated to further understand variations in outcomes. Methods: LiverGroup.org was an international, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study following the Global Surgery Collaborative Snapshot Research approach with a 3-month prospective, consecutive patient enrollment within January–December 2019. Each patient was followed up for 90 days postoperatively. All patients undergoing liver surgery at their respective centers were eligible for study inclusion. Basic demographics, patient and operation characteristics were collected. Morbidity was recorded according to the Clavien–Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications. Country-based and hospital-based data were collected, including the Human Development Index (HDI). (NCT03768141). Results: A total of 2159 patients were included from six continents. Surgery was performed for cancer in 1785 (83%) patients. Of all patients, 912 (42%) experienced a postoperative complication of any severity, while the major complication rate was 16% (341/2159). The overall 90-day mortality rate after liver surgery was 3.8% (82/2,159). The overall failure to rescue rate was 11% (82/ 722) ranging from 5 to 35% among the higher and lower HDI groups, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first to our knowledge global surgery study specifically designed and conducted for specialized liver surgery. The authors identified failure to rescue as a significant potentially modifiable factor for mortality after liver surgery, mostly related to lower Human Development Index countries. Members of the LiverGroup.org network could now work together to develop quality improvement collaboratives

Lipophile Inhaltsstoffe aus Schinus Terebinthifolius Raddi und Schinu Molle L

SIGLECopy held by FIZ Karlsruhe; available from UB/TIB Hannover / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Analyse fonctionnelle de trois isoformes d'amidon-synthétases solubles de la feuille d'Arabidopsis thaliana

Les ADP-glucose alpha-l,4 glucane alpha-4-glucosyltransférases ou amidon-synthétases (SS) catalysent le transfert du résidu de glucose de l'ADP-glucose sur l'extrémité non-réductrice d'une chaîne de glucose en croissance, engendrant ainsi une nouvelle liaison O-glycosidique de type alpha-1,4. Dans tous les organismes de la lignée verte accumulant de l'amidon, on retrouve au moins 5 isoformes d'amidon-synthétases (4 amidon-synthétases solubles et 1 liée au grain d'amidon). La multiplication des isoformes de SS, conservée au cours de l'évolution, laisse présager d'un rôle spécifique pour chaque classe dans la synthèse de l'amidon. La publication en 2000 de la séquence du génome nucléaire de l'organisme modèle Arabidopsis thaliana ainsi que la création de vastes collections de mutants d'interruption génique par l'insertion d'une forme modifiée de l'ADN-T d'Agrobacterium tumefaciens nous ont pour la première fois donné l'opportunité d'étudier les spécificités propres à chaque classe d' amidonsynthétases et de caractériser, s'ils existent, les phénomènes de redondance fonctionnelle existant entre les différentes isoformes au sein d'un même organisme. Au cours de nos travaux, nous avons pu pour la première fois décrire le phénotype d'une lignée déficiente pour une amidon-synthétase de type l (SSI). Ces observations in vivo, couplées a la caractérisation in vitro des propriétés catalytiques de l'enzyme recombinante nous ont permis de proposer pour la SSI un rôle dans l'élongation des chaînes externes les plus courtes de l'amylopectine. L'étude de lignées d'Arabidopsis thaliana déficientes pour d'autres amidon-synthétases (SSII et SSIII), ainsi que la caractérisation d'une lignée double mutante pour les isoformes l et III nous ont permis de mettre en évidence l'absence de recouvrement des fonctions de la SSI et la SSIII..Un tel phénomène pourrait toutefois exister entre les isoformes II et III, comme l'indiquent les phénotypes affichés par les deux lignées mutantes aux loci correspondants.LILLE1-BU (590092102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Factors that Affect Dissociation Degree of Strong Aggregated Peptide Chains when Bound to a Polymer or Free in Solution

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc