Palaeoenvironment and taphonomy of a Late Jurassic (Late Tithonian) Lagerstätte from central Poland

A rich assemblage of exceptionally preserved marine and terrestrial fossils occurs in fine‐grained limestones in the upper part of the Late Tithonian (Middle Volgian) shallowing upward carbonate sequence in Central Poland. The richest horizon, a deposit known locally as the Corbulomima horizon, is named after the shallow burrowing suspension feeding bivalve Corbulomima obscura, moulds of which occur in densities of up to 500 per square metre on some bedding planes. The fauna in this bed also includes organic and phosphatic remains of a wide range of other creatures including the exuviae of limulids and decapods, disarticulated fish skeletons and rare isolated pterosaur bones and teeth. There are also perfectly preserved dragonfly wings and beetle exoskeletons. The average stable carbon and oxygen isotope values for ostracod shells and fine‐grained sediment from this horizon suggest precipitation of the calcium carbonate from warm seawater of normal marine salinity. The carbonate sediments overlying the fossiliferous horizon have been interpreted as nearshore to shoreface facies. These pass abruptly into coarse reworked intraclastic sediments interpreted as possible tsunami or storm surge over‐wash deposits. The clasts in this deposit have more positive oxygen isotope values than those in the underlying limestone, which may indicate that they were lithified in a slightly more evaporative, perhaps intertidal, setting. The succession terminates with silicified fine‐grained limestones likely to have formed in extremely shallow lagoonal environments. In contrast with the Solnhofen limestones of Lower Tithonian age in south‐central Germany the Corbulomima horizon is interpreted as a transitional deposit formed in a shallow marine setting by rapid burial with elements of both Konservat‐ and Konzentrat‐Lagerstätte preservation. □Konzentrat and Konservat‐Lagerstätte, Taphonomy, Palaeoenvironment, Paleogeography, Late Jurassic, Poland.     

Geographic and topographic determinants of local FMD transmission applied to the 2001 UK FMD epidemic

Background

Models of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) transmission have assumed a homogeneous landscape across which Euclidean distance is a suitable measure of the spatial dependency of transmission. This paper investigated features of the landscape and their impact on transmission during the period of predominantly local spread which followed the implementation of the national movement ban during the 2001 UK FMD epidemic. In this study 113 farms diagnosed with FMD which had a known source of infection within 3 km (cases) were matched to 188 control farms which were either uninfected or infected at a later timepoint. Cases were matched to controls by Euclidean distance to the source of infection and farm size. Intervening geographical features and connectivity between the source of infection and case and controls were compared.

Results

Road distance between holdings, access to holdings, presence of forest, elevation change between holdings and the presence of intervening roads had no impact on the risk of local FMD transmission (p > 0.2). However the presence of linear features in the form of rivers and railways acted as barriers to FMD transmission (odds ratio = 0.507, 95% CIs = 0.297,0.887, p = 0.018).

Conclusion

This paper demonstrated that although FMD spread can generally be modelled using Euclidean distance and numbers of animals on susceptible holdings, the presence of rivers and railways has an additional protective effect reducing the probability of transmission between holdings.

     

The hypothetical N-glycan charge: a number that characterizes protein glycosylation

The production of recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics requirescharacterization of glycosylation with respect to the lot-to-lotconsistency. Here we introduce the ‘hypothetical N-glycancharge Z’ as a parameter that allows to characterize theprotein glycosylation in a simple, however, efficient manner. The hypothetical N-glycan charge of a given glycoprotein isdeduced from the N-glycan mapping profile obtained via HPAE-PAD.In HPAEC, N-glycans are clearly separated according to theircharge, i.e., their number of sialic acid residues, providingdistinct regions for neutral struc tures as well as for themono- di-, tri, and tetrasialylated N-glycans (Hermentin etal., 1992a). Z is defined as the sum of the products of the respective areas(A) in the asialo, monosialo, disialo, trisialo, tetrasialo,and pentasialo region, each multiplied by the correspondingcharge: Thus, a glycoprotein with mostly C4-4^* structures will provideZ400 (e.g., rhu EPO (CHO), Z=361), a glycoprotein carrying largelyC3-3^* structures will amount to Z300 (e.g., bovine fetuin, Z=290),a glycoprotein with mostly C2-2^* structures will have Z200 (e.g.,human serum transferrin, Z=207, or human plasma AT III, Z=180),and a glycoprotein carrying only high-mannose type or trunkatedstructures will provide Z0 (e.g., bovine pancreas ribonucleaseB, Z=15, and hen ovomucoid, Z=15, respectively). The determination of Z was validated in multiple repetitiveexperiments and proved to be highly accurate and reliable. Zmay therefore be regarded as a new and characteristic parameterfor protein N-glycosylation. high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) HPAE-PAD human plasma recombinant expression CHO BHK interleukin 4-receptor erythropoietin fetuin transferrin thyroglobulin antithrombin ribonuclease ovomucoid orosomucoid ₁-acid glycoprotein fibrinogen ₁ T-glycoprotein ₁-antitrypsin ₁-antichymotrypsin ß₂-glycoprotein I thyroxin-binding globulin ₁B-glycoprotein 8S₃-glycoprotein haptoglobin hydrazinolysis PNGase F consistency clearance in vivo half-life     

Recent shoreline changes in the Volta River delta,West Africa: the roles of natural processes and human impacts§

The Volta River delta developed as an asymmetric lobe in a tectonic offset on the coast of Ghana. The delta comprises a large curvilinear spit that widens in its central portion due to the adjunction of successive sandy beach ridges. The appearance of a distinct spit, in lieu of a continuous barrier from the present mouth of the Volta River to the Bight of Benin coast, may be an outgrowth of a natural change in the location of the mouth of the Volta. The spit marks a segmentation of the unique sand drift cell that hitherto prevailed on this bight coast. Spit growth has been accompanied by a wave of erosion over the last century of the immediate downdrift sector of the bight coast, endangering the town of Keta. Erosion since the 1960s may have been aggravated by the construction of the Akosombo hydropower dam. The tip of the spit has recently welded to the shoreline, thus assuring resumption of sand supply from the Volta towards the rest of this formerly sand-starved sector of the bight coast. Blocking of sediment by the Akosombo Dam is, in due course, likely to become the overarching factor in delta shoreline stability.     

Sexually dimorphic gall structures correspond to differential phytohormone contents in male and female wasp larvae

Sexually dimorphic galls are rare among gall‐inducing insects and the reason for their occurrence is unknown. The pteromalid wasp Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae, which induces galls on Acacia longifolia, is one such species. In the present study, the anatomical and physiological attributes of male and female galls of T. acaciaelongifoliae are examined and compared. Histological preparations are used to characterize anatomical differences between male and female gall chambers. Bioassays, high‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry and an enzyme immunoassay are used to measure concentrations of auxin and cytokinin in normal buds, galled tissues, and larvae of both sexes. Female chambers are found to be 3.3‐fold larger, and are associated with 1.5‐fold more storage tissue and 3.5‐fold more vascular tissues than male chambers. Tissues from female chambers induce stronger cytokinin‐like bioactivity than tissues from male chambers. Female larvae have considerably higher concentrations of cytokinin free bases, ribosides, glucosides and monophosphates than male larvae; higher auxin‐like bioactivity than in normal or galled plant tissues; and almost twice the concentration of auxin than male larvae. Both male and female larvae contain much higher auxin concentrations than either galled or normal plant tissues. These findings suggest that differing levels of phytohormones are involved in the development of sexual dimorphism of gall structures in this species.     

Integrity of a recombinant hemagglutinin protein of an avian influenza virus

An open reading frame representing cDNA from a hemagglutinin (HA) encoding gene of a low pathogenic avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H10N7 was cloned in the pNMT1-TOPO vector under the control of thiamine response promoter. This construct was designated as pNMT1-HA. The pNMT1-HA construct was transformed into Schizosaccharomyces pombe for expression of HA antigen. The correct expression of recombinant HA protein was confirmed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot. The level of expression of recombinant HA protein was approximately 0.2% of total soluble protein. Purified yeast-derived recombinant HA protein showed hemagglutination activity. The 2-D and 3-D scanning images of recombinant HA protein were observed with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The structural integrity of the HA protein under AFM and hemagglutination activity provided support that the recombinant HA protein may be suitable for development of AIV subunit vaccine for mass administration to poultry.     

Laparoscopic hysterectomy with or without pelvic lymphadenectomy or sampling in a high-risk series of patients with endometrial cancer

Background

The purpose of the study was to determine the outcome of all patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma cancer treated by laparoscopic hysterectomy at our institution, many of whom were high-risk for surgery.

Methods

Data was collected by a retrospective search of the case notes and Electronic Patient Records of the thirty eight patients who underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometrial cancer at our institutions.

Results

The median body mass index was 30 (range 19–67). Comorbidities were present in 76% (29 patients); 40% (15 patients) had a single comorbid condition, whilst 18% (7 patients) had two, and a further 18% (7 patients) had more than two. Lymphadenectomy was performed in 45% (17 patients), and lymph node sampling in 21% (8 patients). Median operating time was 210 minutes (range 70–360 minutes). Median estimated blood loss was 200 ml (range 50–1000 ml). There were no intraoperative complications. Post-operative complications were seen in 21% (2 major, 6 minor). Blood transfusion was required in 5% (2 patients). The median stay was 4 post-operative nights (range 1–25 nights). In those patients undergoing lymphadenectomy, the mean number of nodes taken was fifteen (range 8–26 nodes). The pathological staging was FIGO stage I 76% (29 patients), stage II 8% (3 patients), stage III 16% (6 patients). The pathological grade was G1 31% (16 patients), G2 45% (17 patients), G3 24% (8 patients).

Conclusion

Laparoscopic hysterectomy can be safely carried out in patients at high risk for surgery, with no compromise in terms of outcomes, whilst providing all the benefits inherent in minimal access surgery.